Disturbed – Asylum

Another studio album by Disturbed – who have long established a well distinguishable sound – entitled “Asylum” came to my attention. To be frank and sincere, Asylum fits the band’s profile perfectly, since it doesn’t escape the greater context of the band’s musical background. However, it slightly pushes things one step further with the title track being a concrete example of this.

It’s an ultimately powerful track with over-the-edge guitar riffs by Donegan and raw, up-front lyrics, which actually prevail throughout the album. Even though it’s awesome that Draiman has put down some very straightforward and provocative lyrics, I have to admit that at tracks such as “Never Again” it feels like propaganda in favor of the Jews:

“You dare to tell me that there never was a Holocaust / You think that history will leave the memory lost
Another Hitler using fear to control / You’re gonna fail this time for the world to see. […] “Their depraved society / Didn’t end up, killing me / Scream with me, never again /Not again…”

Apart from “Never Again” though, all other tracks can be interpreted in any way to fit the current situation worldwide or any suffering throughout the world.

I’ve always thought that Moyer was underrated in both “Ten Thousand Fists” and “Indestructible” and my belief came true with Asylum; On “My Child” we have a great guitar and bass “confrontation” solo, which however I’m not 100% sure if it is correctly integrated to the rest of the track, but still gives great justice to Moyer. The final track entitled “Innocence” is a remarkable end to Asylum and it gives the album a cyclical pattern and provides a sense of closure.

Overall, Asylum has much “recycled” material from Believe or even The Sickness, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s not a good album. It’s worth a listen or two, but I wouldn’t risk saying whether it’s a must-have or not based on just a couple of tracks that caught my attention.