Review Summary: While the album had some promising material, it lacks any sort of cohesion or flow to give it any sort of identity.
When Disturbed's Immortalized hit the shelves on August 21, anticipation was at an all time high. This was in fact the return of one of the most popular metal bands in recent years, who went on a hiatus one year after their fifth effort Asylum was released. The band went their separate ways with promises of a reunion 'someday', but most of us thought they were gone for good. In the years between Asylum and Immortalized each band member would release side project material but none of it measured up to the success they found together as Disturbed. The hype train is one that should be cautiously ridden however because this is not the return album we've been wanting for the last 4 years. As Draiman shouts in "What are you waiting for"; "Tell me what you're waiting for, break new ground and defy it". This is something the band never does on their sixth effort, and it's painful for me to say this.
There are songs on here that sound as if Disturbed are genuinely trying to sound different but not caring about making a cohesive final product; for example a song about toking up and smoking weed comes directly after a serious song about saying goodbyes to a loved one dying of cancer. It's jarring moments like these that make up most of the record, while the other parts sound like traditional Disturbed (i.e. The Vengeful One, Immortalized, Who, Never Wrong). "The Light" is a song I didn't particular care for for the above reason; they tried so hard to be different to the point where the influences and sounds they are adding don't complement each other at all and serve as a distraction to the listener.
One song that does succeed at reinventing the formula-gone-stale is the song "You're Mine", which adds a mid-tempo pop beat to some heavy guitars. It sounds very refreshing, as do songs like What Are You Waiting For; a song almost completely driven by the vocals. One of my main gripes with Immortalized aside from it's lack of cohesion, is it's lack of memorable guitar parts or even guitar solos. Dan Donegan is very under utilized for this album, only providing a handful of mini-solos on select tracks and one elongated one on "The Brave and the Bold", which happens to be a bonus track.
With that said the overall production value of the album is top notch, especially in the vocal area. David Draiman gives it his all in this one, and it definitely shows how he has grown as a singer. Moments on songs such as "The Sound Of Silence" (a Simon and Garfunkel Cover) and "Save Our Last Goodbye" definitely show his versatile range. My favorite song on the album is the latter, closely followed by You're Mine.
In conclusion I felt that while the album had some promising material, it lacks any sort of cohesion or flow to give it any sort of identity. As a 2015 metal album, Immortalized falls very flat. However as an album for a fan of the band, it is a must buy. There is simply too many diamonds in the rough to miss out on this one.
