The sophomore CD from nu-metal band Disturbed,titled Believe, just might be one of the strongest releases from any heavy band this year. Combining riffs that rival mid-period Metallica in intensity, the awesome and original vocals of David Draiman, added with a multitude of catchy, melodic tunes, should make Believe a big seller.
The opening track "Prayer" is a precursor to the solid songwriting to follow, with catchy instrumentation and melodic vocals that highten a song about the horrors of the world. The trademark vocal style of Draiman is in full force on "Awaken", a brutal song with machine-gun vocal torrents and effective guitar from Dan Donegan. With lyrics like "...Awaken you/With a little evil inside/Feed on your nothing/You'll never live up to me", how can you go wrong? In fact, the band even outdoes Staind on tunes like "Believe" and "Breathe", combining dark, melodic passages with lyrics of despair, yet somehow making it sound so accessible. However, it's the monstrous energy of songs like "Intoxication" or "Devour" that really drive this CD, with guitar riffs so huge that you would swear these were leftover ideas from Metallica's Master of Puppets or even Savatage's Hall of the Mountain King.
The closing song "Darkness" shows just how much this band has grown, and features lush keyboards, acoustic guitars, and emotional vocals from Draiman. Whoever thought that Disturbed would pull of something this huge so soon. Highly recommended for all in the metal audience.