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Purpose of latest Disturbed LP not to disturb listener Fri 20 Aug 2010, 08:52
CrowX
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The guys in Disturbed have never been masters of mirth when it comes to the music they make. And the group's new CD, "Asylum," may be one of the darkest, most agitated albums the band has made.
Yet, the purpose of the music has never been to bring listeners down, according to drummer Mike Wengren. "Some of the records are dark and some of them are darker, but I think ultimately the point of the darkness is to let everyone know you can experience the darkness, but you can use the music to heal yourself up and get out of that hole," Wengren said in a mid-August phone interview.
The drummer knows Disturbed's music can have a healing effect, not only from stories he hears from fans that have found strength in the band's music, but by looking within his group itself. Perhaps moreso on "Asylum" than on any of the previous four Disturbed albums, singer/lyricist David Draiman used the writing and recording of the new CD to help recover from what had been a particularly difficult stretch in his life.
David had a pretty rough touring experience during 'Indestructible,'" Wengren said, referring to the group's 2008 CD. "He had a lot of bad personal issues that happened to him.
"His fiancee left him," Wengren said. "His dog that he had had for many, many years, she was sort of our tour mascot. She traveled with us on the bus. Unfortunately she got sick and we had to put her down at the beginning of the cycle, and it was a pretty devastating thing for all of us because she was such a good, close part of the family. I think he loved that dog more than he loved any person out there, so that was tough. And one of his best friends sort of betrayed him on a personal situation. It seemed like every time he turned around, something horrible was happening to him and he was just in a really bad place."
So when it came time to write the music for "Asylum," Wengren, and guitarist Dan Donegan, knew Draiman needed some darkly hued music to match the kind of lyrics the singer was sure to want to write. (Donegan and Wengren are the main music writers in Disturbed, with Draiman waiting until songs are at least roughly written to compose his lyrics. Bassist John Moyer rounds out the lineup.)
"We knew already where his head space was at," Wengren said. "He needed to be able to vent and heal through the music. We knew what to give him, and I think it definitely has worked well. He's back, stronger than ever. He sounds great on stage, and he's happy to be around, and he's doing great. At the same time, of course we're going to say this, we feel it's our best, most complete body of work to date."
There are several reasons the band is happy with "Asylum," including a greater maturity in the playing and the songwriting. Wengren also feels the group has grown in its ability to add complexity and fresh dimensions into its sound, which continues to employ churning guitars, syncopated rhythms (sometimes complemented by Draiman's clipped vocal cadences) and a good deal of melody.
If the members of Disturbed have had rocky moments personally, they don't have much to complain about when it comes to their career.
The Chicago-based band made a big immediate impact with its 2000 debut CD, "The Sickness." The CD sold 4.2 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. And while the band hasn't been able to match that total since -- no surprise since downloading has increased in the subsequent years -- each of the three CDs that followed (2002's "Believe," 2005's "Ten Thousand Fists" and "Indestructible") have topped 1 million copies sold and debuted at No. 1 on "Billboard" magazine's album chart.
"Asylum" looks to have a good chance to become the fourth straight Disturbed CD to start out at No. 1. The group will also get some prime exposure to start the album cycle as co-headliner of the Uproar Festival, a new multi-stage tour that also includes co-headliner Avenged Sevenfold, Stone Sour and Halestorm on the main stage. Wengren promises that Disturbed will be ready to throw down each night on Uproar.
"You're always going to get a great performance from the band, and we always try to bring out great production," he said. "But this time around we're actually going to step this up and bring out something that no one has ever seen from Disturbed before. I can't necessarily leak it just yet, but I promise everybody out there that no one's going to be disappointed with this."
The guys in Disturbed have never been masters of mirth when it comes to the music they make. And the group's new CD, "Asylum," may be one of the darkest, most agitated albums the band has made.
Yet, the purpose of the music has never been to bring listeners down, according to drummer Mike Wengren. "Some of the records are dark and some of them are darker, but I think ultimately the point of the darkness is to let everyone know you can experience the darkness, but you can use the music to heal yourself up and get out of that hole," Wengren said in a mid-August phone interview.
The drummer knows Disturbed's music can have a healing effect, not only from stories he hears from fans that have found strength in the band's music, but by looking within his group itself. Perhaps moreso on "Asylum" than on any of the previous four Disturbed albums, singer/lyricist David Draiman used the writing and recording of the new CD to help recover from what had been a particularly difficult stretch in his life.
David had a pretty rough touring experience during 'Indestructible,'" Wengren said, referring to the group's 2008 CD. "He had a lot of bad personal issues that happened to him.
"His fiancee left him," Wengren said. "His dog that he had had for many, many years, she was sort of our tour mascot. She traveled with us on the bus. Unfortunately she got sick and we had to put her down at the beginning of the cycle, and it was a pretty devastating thing for all of us because she was such a good, close part of the family. I think he loved that dog more than he loved any person out there, so that was tough. And one of his best friends sort of betrayed him on a personal situation. It seemed like every time he turned around, something horrible was happening to him and he was just in a really bad place."
So when it came time to write the music for "Asylum," Wengren, and guitarist Dan Donegan, knew Draiman needed some darkly hued music to match the kind of lyrics the singer was sure to want to write. (Donegan and Wengren are the main music writers in Disturbed, with Draiman waiting until songs are at least roughly written to compose his lyrics. Bassist John Moyer rounds out the lineup.)
"We knew already where his head space was at," Wengren said. "He needed to be able to vent and heal through the music. We knew what to give him, and I think it definitely has worked well. He's back, stronger than ever. He sounds great on stage, and he's happy to be around, and he's doing great. At the same time, of course we're going to say this, we feel it's our best, most complete body of work to date."
There are several reasons the band is happy with "Asylum," including a greater maturity in the playing and the songwriting. Wengren also feels the group has grown in its ability to add complexity and fresh dimensions into its sound, which continues to employ churning guitars, syncopated rhythms (sometimes complemented by Draiman's clipped vocal cadences) and a good deal of melody.
If the members of Disturbed have had rocky moments personally, they don't have much to complain about when it comes to their career.
The Chicago-based band made a big immediate impact with its 2000 debut CD, "The Sickness." The CD sold 4.2 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. And while the band hasn't been able to match that total since -- no surprise since downloading has increased in the subsequent years -- each of the three CDs that followed (2002's "Believe," 2005's "Ten Thousand Fists" and "Indestructible") have topped 1 million copies sold and debuted at No. 1 on "Billboard" magazine's album chart.
"Asylum" looks to have a good chance to become the fourth straight Disturbed CD to start out at No. 1. The group will also get some prime exposure to start the album cycle as co-headliner of the Uproar Festival, a new multi-stage tour that also includes co-headliner Avenged Sevenfold, Stone Sour and Halestorm on the main stage. Wengren promises that Disturbed will be ready to throw down each night on Uproar.
"You're always going to get a great performance from the band, and we always try to bring out great production," he said. "But this time around we're actually going to step this up and bring out something that no one has ever seen from Disturbed before. I can't necessarily leak it just yet, but I promise everybody out there that no one's going to be disappointed with this."
