10,000 Fists

When Disturbed first burst upon the metal scene back in 2000, they seemed to mesh in with all the other so called "Nu-Metal" bands. However, they have taken things one step further with each release. Disturbed is quickly separating themselves from the rest of the herd, solidifying an identity and style that is catapulting them to the top of the "Mainstream Metal" world. "10,000 Fists" is Disturbed's third release. It is fourteen tracks of supercharged, driving, rhythmic, mainstream metal. It went straight to number one on the Billboard charts within it's first week of release; an accomplishment for any metal band! "10,000 Fists" takes the aggressiveness of the first album, "The Sickness" and combines it with the melody aspect found throughout their second release, "Believe". The end result is a hybrid of unrelenting, driving metal. The songs have a danceable groove to them. The tribal like drum beat patterns and the quick, firing attack of the guitar power chord outbursts and riffing both compliment each other well. Both are supported by the pounding metallic bass lines to help give the music its bottom end. The vocals of David Draiman are his best to date. He uses the full range of his voice. He focuses more on singing with feeling and melody, cutting back tremendously on the monkey scats and vocal raps. Another notable aspect of "10,000 Fists" is Dan Donegan's attempt at incorporating guitar solos; something that has lacked on the last two albums. Check out tracks like "Stricken", "Overburdened", "Forgiven" and "Avarice". The solos aren't overdone or considered the really flashy, off the wall kind. They are more along the lines of melodic guitar fill breaks with a little spice thrown in to give them flavor. The rhythm guitars aren't as detuned or as layered as with most "Nu-Metal". It's a step in a direction that is taking Disturbed along a path that seems to be successful. Also, there are plenty of memorable, chanting chorus parts that are going to work very well for live shows. Disturbed do a cover of the Genesis song "Land of Confusion" and do justice to it. It actually fits on this album nicely! The tempo of this song adds some variety to the album, taking a break from their normal pace and formula. One of my few minor complaints with this release is that there are too many tracks. I just feel they could have gotten away with ten instead of fourteen. Sometimes too many tracks can take away from the rest of the album. The artwork was done by none other than Todd McFarlane (Spawn). Also, McFarlane has a link on his website that allows any visitor to listen to "10,000 Fists" in its entirety. Just go to the following link:(http://www.warnerbrosrecords.com/disturbed/spawn/party.html). As a side note, Disturbed did something really cool; they dedidcated "10,000 Fists" to the late Dimebag Darrell (R.I.P.). I probably would have never given this band a chance had it not been for a friend of mine who gave me their second album, "Believe"; (before that the only two songs I heard from Disturbed were "Down With The Sickness" and "Remember"). He had received it from the BMG Music Club as a "Selection of the Month" and didn't care for it. I gave it a chance and liked what I heard. "Believe" actually made my list of "Top Five Surprises of 2003". Just a few days ago I finally got the first album, "The Sickness" and was able to listen to the whole album . "10,000 Fists" will no doubt be somewhere on my "Top 15 of 2005". I highly recommend this album, this band. They are re-defining what is expected of "Nu-Metal". Check out the link I mentioned earlier.