Disturbed's New Album "Evolution" is a Display of Creative Genius.
Photo Credit To: Travis Shinn
Band: Disturbed (David Draiman, vocals; Dan Donegan, Guitars/Keys; John Moyer, bass; and Mike Wengren, drums)
Title: “Evolution”
Released: October 19, 2018
Reprise Records
We are almost into the new year Mayhem! There have been many albums release this year. Some good, some not so good. My last review of the year will be a fitting one. Disturbed released a new album on October 19, 2018 entitled “Evolution.” I have not necessarily been a huge fan of Disturbed, but I am now.
What I really enjoyed about the album, is that it was very diverse in sound. There are many artists who have tried to blend different genres or sounds into their albums and either they pull it off, or it doesn’t work out well leaving the listener thinking, “Where the heck were they going with that?” It had their usual fist pumping aggressive songs. But it also included some reduced tempo music, and several acoustic songs. I will expand on this further later in the review. Here are Mayhem’s picks for Ground Shakers:
Mayhem’s Ground Shakers
Are You Ready – Some synthesizers involved in the beginning. But heavy crunchy riffs and pulsating bass and drum beats kick in to know this song is going to be wicked awesome. Especially the drums. Excellent job by Mike Wengren. I love how this song is heavy, but you could dance to it. This song belongs on everyone’s gym playlist. It is uplifting and all I can think of is that it encourages the listener block out people that are negative and hurtful, and to be strong and have the courage to kick that crap out!
In Another Time – We hear the opening with keys and synth work, we notice the use of synthesizers in small pieces of the song, but it fits in well, which is a sign of an effective team of producers. This song flows perfectly between verse and chorus. Screaming solo work by Dan Donegan.
Watch You Burn – This song is the perfect example of how an artist successfully blends the acoustics and electric sounds of music together into one song. We also hear David Draiman flexing his vocal muscles to a higher range. He does so with ease, without dropping notes or sounding strained. I really enjoyed the bass in this song as well. Blending orchestral strings into the song, again, it is blended well so it fits well. When an artist tries to squeeze a different sound into a song, sometimes it’s like forcing a square peg into a round opening. Doesn’t work. But in this case, sounds great!
Stronger on Your Own – That evil laugh at the beginning, I was thinking it was going to be a very heavy song. Not too heavy, but I like it. The song has a great swaying beat to it. Great lyrics with a message of inner strength. Loved the bass work with the glissandos added in. Kudos to John Moyer.
Already Gone – While this is not a heavy song, it is beautiful. Again, we see David Draiman going in a different direction with his vocals. Reaching low, but very clean and soft as well. Backing vocals blended in very nicely and honestly, got chills listening to it.
Disturbed has been around since the mid 1990’s, so they are veterans on the music scene. This album is unique in that it consisted of quite a bit of acoustic or lower tempo songs. Draiman also showed his vocal versatility very powerfully. He is very capable of using his signature gritty voice, but he is also able to sing clean vocals very well. They are a group of musicians that fit and work very well together and it shows in how they sound. This album displays their ability to blend their normally heavy style with acoustics, ballads (check out the song “Hold On to Memories” for an absolutely beautiful ballad), and heavy but lower tempo songs (“Stronger on Your Own”). That’s not always an easy task. I’ve heard bands put together albums that are just all over the place and you really don’t know what they were trying to do when they put the album together. That’s not the case with Disturbed’s “Evolution.” Excellent piece of work. I encourage you to check out this album, and to check out their previous work.
Happy New Year Mayhem! Looking forward to a new year of new music. - Lady Siren Song.
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