Disturbed

Inde-struct- ible

First off,Kudos to the most kick ass album cover since the Nazareth's [via Frank Frazetti]'Expect No Mercy' album cover.

Secondly,I love metal.I love metal fans.Metal is a genre with fans that say Led Zeppelin is an acoustical band.Metal fans claim that pounding your thumb with a hammer against a wall is a way of creating meaningful lyrics.Metal fans are a very loyal and creative lot.But only one band is truly a metal band to these fellows...their band.

So,with that in mind,I will just classify 'Disturbed' as a hard rock band.Which pretty much puts them into a 'pop' music sub-genre.So what?How else can the number one cd in the country be classified?

I suppose that the first two songs are shout outs to all the group's fans based in Iraq and Afghanistan.These songs are meant to be jammed to-I suppose- to get the troops psyched up.It works for me.Though I am against the war,these songs make me want to go out kill something.

Disturbed is a very good name for these hard rockers.They are not afraid to ask the hard questions...or perhaps,better put...question the powers that be....be it your nation,God,your loved ones,or,hell,especially,yourself.

The only question about this ask questions style is...are these boys locking themselves into a musical corner?

i.e.{OK,I am dating myself,here} I used to be a big Journey' fan.Hell,after their first couple of albums they got themselves a new singer,and bam!The upped their game.Shift to years later...some interviewer asked them if they ever thought of changing their musical style.They replied,no...they did not want to'disturb' their fan base.

'Journey' instantly lost me.I didn't want the same old album over and over again.I wanted to be challenged.Think,'The Clash'.Think,'The Beatles'.Think,Neil Young.

Yes,I know that there are subtle nuances that can't be ignored in metal.I had a good friend named Bob that showed me this while we were listening to Pantera.Back in the day when 'Jethro Tull' was winning Grammies for best metal group,people were already bored with 'Kiss' because they became caricatures of themselves.

There may come a time when 'Disturbed' might become too old,too rich,or too comfortable to be 'disturbed' without having to fake it.Will their loyal fans boo and hiss if they decide to do a 'Music From the Elders',type cd?Yes,I think these loyal fans would.

Which is a shame.Disturbed(David Draiman,Dan Donegan,John Moyer,Mike Wengren and former memberSteve "Fuzz" Kmak) are surprisingly very good musicians.At some point,'Disturbed' may even decide within all the hypocrisy that there are answers within the anger(there are hints of it on 'Indestructible').

*

Their metal fans may object,but as I said before,'Disturbed' is a hard rock band.In hard rock it is preferable not to pull a Journey.Change is good.

*

I just realized,I've said very little about this cd.Here's the important part:

B+