A lot of noise has been made since the announcement of the return of the might Disturbed after the band’s four year hiatus (read the article here). So, I sat back and thought about who I would do my net album of the week about and it just naturally clicked that I would review an album from an artist that I hadn’t reviewed before and Disturbed is that artist. So, I decided to take the band’s first record The Sickness and review it for all of you out there. The Sickness was the band’s debut record that was released on March 7, 2000 which also means that it is celebrating it’s 15TH Anniversary. The band at the time was made up of David Draiman (Vocals), Dan Donegan (Guitars), Steve Kmak (Bass), and Mike Wengren (Drums). The album was very successful as it went 4X platinum and peaked at 29 on The Billboard Top 200 charts while going number 3 on the US Top Heatseekers Charts. So, I think it safe to say with all that info that the album was a perfect storm for the Nu-Metal scene at the time and it certainly made us believe that yelling like a monkey was a valid form of scat singing.
1. Voices– This is actually one of my favorite songs on the record. The song starts off very calm and you can hear the build up coming right before it explodes into this high octane full blast of energy in a track that is about someone listening to the voices in their head as they command him to do terrible things. 5/5
2. The Game– A quote online says that this track is David describing it as, “speaking about the manipulative nature of most people. That you should be cautious when playing with another person’s emotions or someone may make you accountable at some point in time.” The song starts with the techno like beats in the beginning before it once again explodes on full throttle. 4.5/5
3. Stupify– This was the first single released off the album that features more of their signature high octane styled music that is extremely fun to sing along to live. 5/5
4. Down With The Sickness– This is the track that features David Draiman’s world famous staccato scream that sounds like a monkey chant in a track that talks about how society looks down on those that are different. 5/5
5. Violent Fetish– Another high octane track that has an amazing bass line when the chaos calms down for a measure, but the track is about inner demons and how they can screw you up if they are not controlled. 4/5
6. Fear– The track starts off sounding like something out of A Nightmare On Elm Street before the band turns it up way past 11. 4/5
7. Numb– This is a different type of track on the album that is more melodic with the heavy distortion with it. The song could be about being hurt by someone or something that has happened. 4/5
8. Want-A track that could be talking about how you want something so bad, but your mind won’t let you take it. 4/5
9. Conflict– This is an excellent track on the later part of the album that is about the inner conflict or battle inside that we all experience. 4/5
10. Shout 2000– This was the band’s cover of the Tears For Fears song that is pretty decent. 4/5
11. Droppin Plates– The track has that Nu-Metal flavor to it as David does his best Faith No More styled singing/spitting lyrics in a song that is about not getting the proper support in their early days, but that no longer matters as they are dropin plates (records). 4/5
12. Meaning Of Life– This is the last track on the album and it starts off with the Ministry styled industrial beats matched with the power chord heavy guitars in a track about going psycho. 4/5
My Final Thoughts- This is definitely one of the essential records you need to own from Disturbed and one of the top albums from the Nu-Metal era. The band would kind of change their sound as they went for a more Metal sound later on in the next record and their careers. I am giving the record 4 stars out of five for a final grade.
Moshpits And Movies 