Disturbed, "Indestructible"

Latest offering from David Draiman and his merry, heavy men

Disturbed have always held a special place in my heart. Their debut, The Sickness (2000) came out just as nu-metal was starting to bore me - its blending of the better elements of the genre and Draiman's quirky vocal tics, not to mention a healthy attention to melody grabbed my attention and I've remained hooked ever since.

As one of the only surviving band from that era maintaining a decent fanbase (probably a growing one, in fact), Disturbed have evolved their sound over the years, culminating in Indestructible, which blends all the heavier elements of The Sickness and builds on the melodic and bombastic elements that emerged on the truly excellent Believe (2002) and Ten Thousand Fists (2005).

On first listen, Indestructible sounded competent and melodic, but didn't fully grab me. Now that I've been listening to it for a good while, though, it can safely sit among Disturbed's other releases as another example of melodic hard rock done very, very well. The darker atmosphere of the album ("Inside the Fire") combine flawlessly with bombastic bounce ("The Night") making a varied and exciting album on all fronts.

If you're familiar with Disturbed, you probably won't be surprised by anything on here (that's a good thing). If you're new to Disturbed, you'll find an accesible hard rock album that you can both dance to and sing along with, without sacrifice of heaviness.

Highly recommended.