I feel that people were a bit in shock when Disturbed announced they would be taking a hiatus after their run on the Mayhem Festival tour several years ago. But after listening to their fifth album, Asylum, I think it made more sense. Asylum was good, don’t get me wrong; there were plenty of fantastic riffs that were woven throughout the record. But there was something that was missing. Even after going back and listening to their entire discography in preparation for this review, I can’t tell you what it was that was missing.
Well whatever was missing, they found it during their five year break. Immortalized is Disturbed’s triumphant return to the forefront of heavy metal. It isn’t the greatest album the band has ever put out, but there’s something about them that feels reinvigorated. They’re just getting back into the swing of things, so it’ll take time before things get back to the level of Ten Thousand Fists and Indestructible, but this is a damn good start.
The ambient opener, “The Eye of The Storm”, leads into the title track, but things really kick off on “The Vengeful One”. This was an interesting album because I found the band to be much more experimental in practice. “The Light” is by far the most positive song I’ve ever heard from the band in their six-album career (not including the b-side album The Lost Children). “What Are You Waiting For” keeps things going at an octane level.
Two standout tracks were “Save Our Last Goodbye” and “Fire It Up”, not just because of the songs themselves, but the use of natural sound for transitions. A voicemail that’s persistent throughout the course of “Save Our Last Goodbye” finishes by rolling into the sound of a bong being lit. I don’t know why, but it felt like a nice transition point.
As always, the band included a cover song with laced with their own signature, this time having published a rather haunting rendition of “The Sound of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel. This leads into the closing tracks, “Never Wrong” and “Who Taught You How To Hate”.
As I stated previously, Disturbed have undoubtedly found their missing element. It’s not a ground-breaking record, but there are hints of experimentation that could lead to something much bigger in the band’s future discography. They’re on the right track with Immortalized. The variation in song types really makes the band seem a bit more fearless. This newly renowned fearlessness could help the band create their greatest record yet.
Wait. Maybe that was the missing element. Fearlessness. The Guy will be pleased.
This has been another Shameless Promotion.