Album Review: Disturbed – Asylum

Of all the bands that came (and went) during the nu-metal era, Disturbed are arguably one of only three who continue to find favour in the metal community, along with Korn and Deftones. With three consecutive Billboard number 1 albums and a debut that is still heralded as a classic, ‘Asylum‘ was bound to garner a lot of attention.

If anything, this latest offering from the American quartet is something of a disappointment. Without comparing ‘Asylum’ to its predecessors, let’s not forget that Disturbed have become as big as they are today because they have consistently delivered albums that consistently excited and engaged. No one can stay on top of their game endlessly, and an eventual decline was inevitable – ‘Asylum’ appears to be just that.

It’s not a bad album; if anything it gets off to a fantastic start with instrumental opener ‘Remnants’, followed by the title track. Both tracks are trademark Disturbed with a chugging riff and vocalist David Draiman’s typically venomous scream-singing voice and spitfire delivery of rhymes. Dan Donegan continues with his fantastic solos, something that has only made Disturbed stronger in recent years.

The trouble is that the good songs are few and far between and too much of the record feels like filler. Instead of the consistently killer riffs and well arranged songs, a lot of the offerings on ‘Asylum’ almost feel like they were written on auto-pilot, rehashing older, left over material. Even Mike Wengren’s usually frenetic drumming seems to have disappeared, replaced with rather predictable patterns.

In the end, we are left an album that isn’t bad, but just sounds uninspired. Records like ‘Indestructible’ took our breath away and made us beg for more, and ‘Asylum’ doesn’t come anywhere near that standard. It’s definitely worth a listen, but it is hard not to be disappointed when a band as consistent as Disturbed drops a collection of tunes that leave you cold.

We don’t hate you, Disturbed, we just expected more.

Album rating – 7