Review Summary: Nu Metal At It's Finest.
To tell you how important this album is to me in mere words is hard, although it's a rather angry metal album, it is loved
and hated by many. I guess nestolgia plays a big part in how It's always remained with me. My brother, my cousin, and I used
to stay up late and listen to this album over and over and over again playing death match and infected on Halo. It was a more
simple time in my life, and I look back on it fondly. I remember the first time hearing this album and loving every minute of it.
It was angsty and heavy, but still relatable to my 12 year old mind, and that band and album would remian infinitely important to me.
Years and years later.
Now I'm 20 years old, and The Sickness doesn't have much listens for me anymore. I own the CD, but rarely do I play it, and
sometimes I wonder why, the album I grew up with wasn't as important to me anymore. The album that I once listened to on repeat for days.
That got my through Jr. High, that I told everyone I knew about. This album is far from perfect, but Disturbed was exactly what I wanted
in a band at that age. Heavy but not too heavy, relatable but not whiney, diverse but not boring, but as people grow so do tastes and opinions.
The album is angry, and It continues this theme throughout.
With the most bitter being "The Game"
Detailing the a woman whom likes to play mind games and emotionally break people.
Now Disturbed has never nor will never be known for writing thought provoking lyrics but David's lyrics are original and clever.
For example this line in stupify.
"Why, do you like playing around with
My, narrow scope of reality
I, can feel it all start slipping
I think I'm breaking down"
But Voices is the start of the album so we'll go from there.
And it's great, catchy, and fun.
So nothing wrong there.
Moving on.
So then we come to "The Game"
One of the best song lyrically.
As I've said previously.
Good stuff.
Really catchy.
Next.
Stupify.
A song about David seeing all these people suffering of substance abuse everywhere he looks.
And doing pretty much anything to get another fix.
He finds this activity quite stupid and feels their poor decissions are effecting those around them.
Or in other words their getting stupified.
The song is heavy and he says *** alot in sometimes hilarious ways.
Moving on.
And now we come to Down With The Sickness.
Their most popular song about child abuse and it's effect on a child's psyche.
It's lyrically actually really good.
Detailing the fracturing of a persons sanity as they undergo this tragedy.
The song is pretty mellow getting heavier as it goes along.
Pretty great song.
Now Violence Fetish.
A great song.
With a pretty dumb title.
But a powerful message about not taking society's *** and he's just gonna be himself and if you don't like it....
Their's the door.
It has some more of draimens iconic screams and me thinking he says Jew but he really says drone.
My bad.
Moving on.
Fear, kind of a generic title.
But the song is anything but that.
The song is about not letting society craft you in their image.
This verse kinda says it all
"Punk ass, are you listening?
Can you hear me or are you deaf and dumb to my language?
Do the real words seem to hurt you
Well put em' up mother***er
You'll feel it
When I stamp it on your forehead
So you will never forget
That you're a reject
And you're no one
And you're nothing
Little impotent one"
Anyways the song is pretty great.
Some more of that Disturbed goodness.
Heavy with some really cool building moment throughout.
And of course more David screams.
Numb.
A more mellow song than usual.
Not as much David screaming in this song.
But it makes up for that with some damn good lyrics such as:
"Yeah, you've created a rift within me
Now there have been several complications
That have left me feeling nothing
I might say, you were wrong to take it from me
Left me feeling nothing...."
Another great song.
With some badass guitar moment sprinkled throughout.
and ending with a David scream.
***ing awesome.
Then we come to the song Want
And it starts with some kind of atmospheric sound clip or something.
Then David screams and uhhhhhh vocalizes
I honestly don't know what the hell to call that.
He just kinda makes random sounds sometimes it seems.
But yeah it's a damn good song!
The song seems to be about someone suffering drug addiction, and is not listening to the warnings of others.
And more badass guitar parts!
Cool!
One of the best songs on the album instrumentally, lyrically it's pretty good.
And has those awesome David screams we all love so much!
Then conflict starts with more of Davids inaudible noises.
Then he ya know sings actually.
The song doesn't make too much sense lyrically.
And is not really that great all in all.
He kinda just repeats the same thing over and over again, but it's not bad.
It has more David screams at the end that's always cool.
Shout 2000
This is a cover of a song by a band called Tears for Fears.
And the title apperantly is also a reference to Vaniila Ice (I know that's disgusting, just go with it)
Disturbed really made this song their own and it's pretty damn good.
Heavy and has a great chorus you wanna (dare I say it) shout with.
Awful pun aside, I like this song.
It's good, which is good I neeeded something with a little more substance after conflict.
It has a pretty badass guitar solo in it too.
But little to no David screaming.
Which brings us to the heaviest and most nonsensical song on the album.
Dropping Plates.
Disturbed has that the song was a piece of proof how heavy the band can be.
After being rejected to play a Heavy Metal festival.
Guess who got the last laugh?
Anyways, the song is angry and heavy.
The lyrics really don't make too much sense and I am not gonna even attempt to decipher them.
Now we come to the last song on the album.
Meaning of Life.
A title that makes up for Violence Fetish
I mean come on that was just....
I'm getting off track.
So, Meaning of Life.
It's a closer all right.
Pretty ***ing badass one.
Heavy, angry, and catchy.
That's this song and album in a nutshell really.
Lyrically the song is fun.
It doesn't seem 100% serious.
Just kinda self aware and rediculous.
A nice closing note.
Oh and we get fast David screaming.
And that is just a ***ing holy thing.
So does this album hold up.
Actually, yeah.
It does.
I still do really like this album.
And I'm really kicking myself for not listening to it more over the years.
I think will be one of those albums I will always love.
Much like 10,000 Fists.
But we'll get to that.
