Disturbed-Believe

Record Label: Reprise
Year: 2002
Track listing:
01. prayer
02. liberate
03. awaken
04. believe
05. remember
06. intoxication
07. rise
08. mistress
09. breathe
10. devour
11. darkness

I first heard David Dramian sing in 2002, and instantly fell in love with his voice. I'd bought the "Queen Of The Damned" soundtrack, and from the beginning was hooked on "Forsaken" and "Down With The Sickness".

Although I loved those two songs, I wasn't quite prepared to venture out and get one of Disturbed's albums, in the fear of bitter disappointment. That was until recently; after friends of mine insisted I would love it, I succumbed and bought 10,000 Fists.
I played the album nonstop for about a week before deciding to seek out more Disturbed. That led me to Believe.

What is it about David Draiman's voice that I love so much? There is a unique quality about it, in which you would expect the music to be much heavier than alt-metal, but in discovering it isn’t, there is no feeling of disappointment.
Draiman also has this ability to sing aggressively, and then just as quickly switch to singing softly. In some Metal vocalists it is a move that can not be pulled off successfully, but Draiman does it perfectly.

This time around there are none of the 'jungle noises' that he made on their first album. His voice is less aggressive, and there is a calmness and mellowness, which may come from the fact Draiman's constant gutteral singing caused him to injure his vocal chords.

While Disturbed's music tends to be mixed with messages of nonconformity, self-empowerment and individuality, it also contains rage, disgust, menace and passion.
This time around there is also a spiritual and religious theme to the album. The album cover is a combination of different religious symbols including Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The cover art depicts a Star of David, a Pentagram, a Crescent Moon, and a Cross all superimposed on each other.

Believe is a lot softer and melodic than their debut album, but that may come from the effects that were 9/11. An indication of this come from the song "Liberate", which is about the war in the Middle East.
"Prayer", is without a doubt one of the best tracks on the album. It was also one of their most successful. Inspired by the death of Draiman's grandfather, the song is supposedly a conversaton between Draiman and God.

Fans of Disturbed may find this album a little too mellow, and there is no "Down With The Sickness", on the album.
They seem to have lost their darkness, but there is still much angst, and Draiman’s voice is as haunting as ever.

It's not a path fans expected Disturbed to go down - without the hardcore agression or growling vocals, but it's not a bad thing.
The band is growing. Instead of sticking to the same style of music, they are experimenting with acoustic guitars and emotional vocals.

It's a move that works well for the band.

Tracks not to miss: "Liberate", "Prayer", and "Rise"
Buy Disturbed's Believe here
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