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Despite the endless proclamations concerning the 'death' of nu metal I see no signs, however I am awaiting the day when Linkin Park are social outcasts. Seeking music pitched somewhere between Deadsy and Pantera I borrowed my brother's copy of the new Static X album. I should have known better having seen the video for the song on the 'Queen of the Damned' soundtrack. Sure enough 47 minutes later I was searching ashen-faced for something worse to restore my faith in Static X.
I ended up choosing Disturbed's 'The Sickness' as I vaguely recalled it being played at local clubs when it first came out and had dismissed it as uninspired nu-metal. Having only heard it in the context of something else to dance to I had missed out on an entire other level of pointlessness to both the band and the music.
Some bands produce lousy music but can justify it, for example Fatboy Slim stated that he wanted to see how annoying songs he could create before people stopped buying it. Unfortunately David Draiman and co can't even convince us what they do is fun or worthwhile: "What I'm trying to do from a lyrical perspective is bring back the majesty of metal." To be brutally honest it sounds like a bunch of rednecks trying to rap, but more than this the lyrics concerned me. When someone sings "wanna get psycho...I want your power glowing, juice flowing, red hot" in a song entitled 'Meaning of Life' should it be a reason for mild concern about their mental health and happiness or just dismissed as meaningless?
The current batch of 'alternative' bands appear to delight in exorcising their demons and have punters pay money for them. It is possible to blame Korn for both this trend and the entire of nu-metal, for now I will just blame Korn for limpbizkit and if the new album sucks I will allot the rest of the blame too. Disturbed are no different form Papa Roach in the songs hinting at abusive childhood and failed relationships for which the woman gets the blame. In any other culture it would be a sign of weakness to air personal details in this way, especially detailing humiliation by a woman. However if the music produced is good the band can sing about pretty much anything for all I care, the problem is that Disturbed's music is lacking in depth so I focus lyrically and am disappointed.
What is actually disturbing is that the album is almost listenable and a couple of the songs even stick in short-term memory, 'Stupify' is one of these. It is the lyrics which prevent 'The Sickness' from being listenable, even NWA would have difficulty saying "all the people in the projects" with an entirely straight face and yet Disturbed don't appear to even crack a smile.
Even Disturbed's own site merely states that "among his many distinguishing characteristics, Draiman has superb enunciation." This is reminiscent of the Chris Rock sketch detailing how all anyone says about Collin Powell is that "he speaks so well". Apparently Draiman's voice "can both bludgeon and slash at a level that transcends his lyrics' literal meaning." Transcending the literal meaning of 'droppin' plates' can only be a positive step. I could be missing the deeper meaning of the lines "well here I come I'm droppin' plates on your ass bitch" but probably not.
I am prepared to believe that Disturbed are fundamentally nice people. This view being sustained by statements such as "We have a responsibility. Two and a half million people invested in us and believed in us with the last album. We owe it to them and to ourselves and to everything we stand for, to respect the lineage and the tradition and the purity of metal." But good intentions do not necessarily lead to good lyrics or music, as demonstrated by Zwan's musical offerings.
Contrary to my better judgment I am prepared to allow the record company blurb some credit, Draiman does have a pretty singular voice. This voice is basically a guttural feral roar that is the only memorable part of "Down with the Sickness" and certainly the reason for the songs use on countless US sporting event commercials. "The noises... oh, how they love the noises," Draiman says with a chuckle. "When 'Down with the Sickness' broke as a single, some people forgot about the rest of the song. They would say, 'Come on, make the noise!' What the fuck am I? I was determined to let people know that I can do much more than just make animal noises." Shame about the album that followed this statement, 'Believe' comes across as someone with a God-complex and not quite enough skill to convince everyone else.
Draiman's desire to "remain faithful to what metal was first established to be" is commendable, but ultimately flawed by the media desire to label every band that comes along, the newest daft label being 'metalcore'. As far as I can tell the only thing of any real note about Disturbed is David Draiman's bad piercings. I respect that it is his body and all that jazz but the idea of having spikes protruding from your face and tucked under your chin gives me the creeps. Musically they are ok, better than Crazy Town but still playing by numbers. Lyrically Disturbed are limited, by far the most proficient lyrics on either 'Believe' or 'The Sickness' being from 'Darkness' "Dare to believe for one last time. Then I'll let the darkness cover me, deny everything, slowly walk away to breathe again on my own."
Draiman himself says "there is so much more to prove", maybe there is hope that their next album will be better.
