https://www.youtube.com/embed/-K1q1pw04Bs

The video looks awesome.

Thought I'd update on where VILIFY is as far as radio airplay is concerned. I get a weekly email from a company called All Access that caters to radio professionals. For the first full week of release, VILIFY has had the most "adds": 22 since the last email on Feb. 19th (date of release); in the week leading up to release, there were NINE adds at rock radio! So the word is out about DEVICE.

Now call, email, and pester the hell out of your local rock station to play it. If they don't have it, ask that they get it. I'm not even working in radio yet, and I know this will be big!

So get on it already!

Until later, I remain--

Device Interview: David Draiman talks new band, star guests

Device is the latest musical monster from the mind of Disturbed frontman David Draiman. Draiman has been busy since Disturbed went on hiatus, among other things producing a Trivium record, but he has also managed to record some of the best material of his career with his new Industrial Metal band Device.

Device started as a one off song Draiman did with studio whiz and former Filter guitarist Geno Lenardo. The project soon transmorphed into a full fledged band with unlimited potential. Others agreed and the self-titled debut from the band now has an all star guest cameo list (including Lzzy Hale, Tom Morello, Serj Tankian and even Geezer Butler).

Click HERE to read our exclusive chat with David about the sound, shape and plans for this Device.


David Draiman: Sorry about earlier. (David is referring to looking at his interview schedule wrong and calling me a few hours early. He had to stick to his schedule and so called me back a few hours later).

It's alright. Yeah, you interrupted puzzle time this morning, dude. I was just doing puzzles with the four year old of the house.

David: (hearty laugh)

So…It's awesome to talk to you today. If we can get right into it…I know you are very busy. I've been a fan of the Disturbed M.O.L. Documentary after I borrowed it from my bass player friend (and Floyd Upgrades supporter) Dave Daw. On that home dvd for THE SICKNESS-era it showed you guys for that debut album coming up and really hungry. You had the fresh energy. You're playing “Stupify” and “Droppin' Plates” in clubs. At the end you are awarded the gold records onstage in your hometown! It was probably a bigger award than that. I mean, how does it feel all these years later to be kinda making a debut album again?

Really, really nice (laughing). It's the rare opportunity to have the chance to be reborn and to start over. To do it smarter (laughing), with more experience and to do it with what, in my opinion, is some of the best work I've ever done. So, I think that I'm relishing the opportunity to be the new guy again.

My favorite Disturbed song was always “Prayer”, where I feel you really nailed, I don't want to say a formula, but…I love the melodic side of what you do.

Thank you.

It's dark and heavy but you still can inspire. The singalong aspect lends a hopeful aspect to it. When I heard you were doing an industrial metal project, a lot of industrial is kind of atonal, traditionally. Industrial 'purists' might disagree,but I loved that you kept the melody anyway. How did you decide on the direction of this record?

Y'know, it really just kind of happened naturally and organically. Geno Lenardo (guitarist/ co-composer) reached out to me to do a song on the UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING Soundtrack. He had done two other tracks, one with Lacey from Flyleaf and one with Pete from Chevelle. He had a piece of music in mind for me. I loved what he had started with and I messed around with it. The next day I called him and said,” We gotta track this 'cuz it's big.” (Laughing). I flew out to Chicago a week later and we tracked it and…it was as big as we thought it was (chuckling) after the fact. We had it mixed. Delivered it to Lakeshore (Records). They loved it. Wanted to use it as a lead track.

There was a conflict because there was already a track being worked to radio from the LOST CHILDREN B-Sides compilation from Disturbed. We didn't want there to be a conflict with two tracks to radio with my voice on it being worked to radio at the same time. We held on to it. The song grew on us. That track was “Hunted”, which is on the record. That song really was the only thing we had guiding us as a template from a stylistic standpoint that we went with. Geno's comfort zone and the world he's so good at navigating is the Industrial/Electronica world. That's where he comes from with his history with Filter and him being a student of the whole Wax Trax era. He's really a great composer when it comes to the electronic song template. It was very natural to keep going in that direction once we set a vibe with “Hunted”. We continued to infuse that level of electronics in each song, though I would say each song took on its' own identity and character.

Yeah, there's a huge dynamic range from “Through It All” to “Haze”, which I loved. A dance groove and nice pocket and electronic vibe. And you still have “Out Of LIne” which still has that thump that you are known for, specifically.

Well, Geezer helped with that quite a bit on that track (laughing). That song has the biggest bottom of any song on the record and that's because of him.

How'd it feel to get all these friends you've made over the years involved on this? That must've felt pretty great.

It's very, very surreal, man. Just to look back at the finished product and see the list of names.The fact that I can even say and use the word friends and utter these people's names in the same sentence is staggering to me. I have such respect and reverence for all of them. I'm just very, very humbled and very grateful to have them on the record. The Lzzy thing was something we'd been talking about for years and years and years ever since she first opened up for Disturbed with Halestorm back in the day. Tom and Serj and I have been friends for years. We've known each other for quite awhile. They're amazing guys. Both of them. We often get together for dinner when I am in town. We make it a habit to see each other socially, regardless. We'd been talking about something together for years. Potentially something for charity, maybe together. So, this is an opportunity where it wasn't a System record. It wasn't a Rage record or an Audioslave record. It wasn't a Disturbed record. In all those bands, none of them ever featured guests. It was never a thing. With Device, there were no rules. So I said,” You know what? Why don't we do that. I already have Lzzy on one of these tracks. Let me reach out to those guys.” We actually ended up finalizing the arrangement of what Tom was going to be doing musically in “Opinion” and what Serj was going to be doing vocally in “Out Of Line” over dinner at Serj's house. We decided to donate a portion of the proceeds from both tracks to their charity Axis Of Justice. Kill a bunch of bird's with one stone and get to have two amazing musicians on the record who I've wanted to work with for years anyway. This is all during the week I was mixing in L.A.

Was it daunting to do the Ozzy cover at all? It is one of the most distinctive metal ballads ever. You modernized it. It is amazing how Lzzy sounds like Lita at times. You did it justice.

Yes, it was. Thanks. man. I played it for Lita. She loved it. I wish I and the opportunity to play it for Ozzy and Sharon. I'd be very curious to see (laughing) what their opinion of it is. I hope they'd understand it is a tribute to someone who in my opinion is the most distinctive voice in metal in existence and the most seminal character in metal alive and that ever was, probably. Ozzy Osbourne. I have complete reverence and utter admiration.

Do you see this being your, kind of, A Perfect Circle thing where it is ongoing in relation to your main band? It seems like you guys have a great chemistry.

Yeah, I do. I do. I don't see any reason why this wouldn't continue. I have every intention of continuing it. Again, it gives me the opportunity to do things I could never do with Disturbed. A track like “Haze” would never be on a Disturbed record. A cover in the STYLE that we did “Close My Eyes Forever” would never be on a Disturbed record. Even the classical vocal approach in the chorus of the song “Think You Know” wouldn't be done on a Disturbed record. There's elements that go in different directions.

I haven't heard you with this many keyboards before and it really brings out your lows and makes them very distinctive.

Thank you, sir. I appreciate that. It gave me a lot more room to navigate. the tones were so much clearer and distinct. Keyboard tones in general give you a different textural bed more than layer after layer of guitar. It gave me a lot more possibilities to consider.

I wanted to compliment you on something Disturbed did that I thought was really revolutionary in some ways. I was at Music As A Weapon IV and thought it was so awesome you had the second stage area free admittance with the main show inside the arena. Free to the community to walk on up. I wish more festivals would do that. That way if people didn't have enough cash for the main event they could at least still participate. I saw Suicide Silence play that day and who knows how many people that summer got to see Mitch play that might not have otherwise. Now he is dead.Let's say there is a kid who just has $40 for the day he can still see some bands and buy some merch and be involved.That was very cool of you to invite the community in like that.

Totally. Look, man…in certain situations you try to give back. Where you can, you try to give back. Mitch, especially…that boy. What a shame. He was so amazing and such a sweet guy. I think it's important for everybody to think out of the box when it comes to that kind of stuff and make accommodations for people. Get more inclusive as opposed to exclusive.

They will release new song tomorrow on revolvermag.com(10 AM EST)
https://twitter.com/Revolvermag/status/315179226334625794

I am so excited for this album to get released, im counting the days @_@!!
And i would also like to say, hey everybody, it's nice to be back. I've missed you all :-*

Recover will be a Best Buy exclusive. Both the other two bonus tracks are also on that edition.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PENANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\m/\m/

Wow that is one hell of a surprise! Didnt expect anything else till the 9th.

Surely someone else must agree that the tracks we've heard so far have awesome choruses but pretty weak verses? I'm hoping for a bit more substance from the other tracks

You think you know is my favorite so far

Album was been leaked.
click

i can verify this is an actual leak holy damn its good

dhempskov you are a king among men... cheers

I'll give my own album review after the first time hearing any of these songs.

You Think You Know - Great album opener. Awesome groove with perfect aggressiveness.

Penance - Definitely the creepiest song on the album. Edgy dark feel to it.

Vilify - Quick pace with a strong chorus. Great song for the haters

Close My Eyes Forever - a beautiful modernization of the original

Out of line - Never been a fan of System of a down but serj performs epically. The riff has a great fist pumping melody to it. Politically influenced.

Hunted - Very "in your face." Basically, "The Animal Part II".

Opinion - Very "pop-ish" in my opinion (no pun intended). Heavy groove with a slower pace.

War of lies - too much going on at once. melody is lacking, David's voice is the only thing holding it together. Has a weird "solo" in it. least fav. track on the album.

Haze - Has a "Korn meets Marilyn Manson" feeling to it. Great chorus. Very catchy. M. Shadows nails it. I'd almost like for him to be the frontman on this project because his voice is so perfect with the industrial effects.

Through it all - Since this is written as a "love letter to my wife" from David's point of view it still very heavy.

Overall i give a 7/10. It's definitely a unique sound, but the animalistic, all killer no filler, masterpiece trophy still belongs to Disturbed. Can't wait for the reunion.

ShockAndAwe... couldn't agree with you more... war of lies is all over the shop and also don't know why they chose vilify as the single over so many better songs, namely you think you know... its got plenty of moments but its no indestructible or asylum, too disjointed as an album.

Now we can tell that Disturbed is a total team effort. David is a magnificent frontman, but without the Dan Donegan orchestra, Mike's tribal drum beats & John's thunderous bass, it just feels flat.

The album is alright, but I don't think I'll be able to truly get into it. I'll go into detail since I have a few spare minutes here.

"You Think You Know" is a good example of why I dislike the path David Draiman is heading down as a frontman. This album is actually filled with examples of that. The verses of "You Think You Know" are pretty decent, but really predictable. So, that said, it's all in the delivery...and Draiman just isn't that dynamic or interesting. He goes for extremely rhythmic and pretty much succeeds, but doesn't transcend what he's written, if that makes any sense. There were no "Oh wow" moments in throughout this song. The chorus is by far the worst part, as Draiman just kind of floats along on it....over and over and over.

Instrumentally, this is exactly what you'd expect it to be. It's pretty good, but it's not Disturbed...

I just think David is deteriorating in his abilities with time. I get something of a The Sickness vibe from the verses of "You Think You Know", but that's instantly shattered as it becomes apparent that the bite really isn't there anymore, and in addendum, some bits sound either studio treated or done in different takes to add to the effect. For example: "Get! The! Fuck! Up!" sounds disconnected from its context, in addition to lacking the enunciation to truly bring it out. It's weak. As is Draiman on most of this song, unfortunately.

The album has its triumphs, I have to admit. "Penance" is overwhelmingly the best track, in my opinion. David absolutely utilizes a creepy tone in addition to words like "botticellian" and phrases like "shrouded in evil" to add greatly to it, and it really works here. The bounce of the guitar syncopates spot on with Dave's vocals. The chorus absolutely soars, and I can't help but singing with the melody when it comes along. It feels unexpected and engaging and just amazing, rather than "easy" and predictable like most of the choruses on this album. Then the bridge comes out, and it knows exactly what to do. It doesn't overstay its welcome, but it adds a pleasant bit of spontaneity to the mix by making the song a bit more vocally rhythmic. This track just fires on all cylinders all the way through, and thoroughly impresses me. It's disappointing that it's really the only track that does...

"Vilify" is kind of despised for me at this point. For one thing, now that I have a measuring stick, the verses remind me way too much of "You Think You Know". Way too similar. And they definitely have the same weaknesses. David fails to enunciate, making him hard to understand. His lacks the punctuated power he used to be so good at. And then the chorus... Disappointing. "When you vilify"/"As you vilify"/"When you vilify"/"If you vilify" - why does he need to use this same line so many times in the chorus? In addition, these lines were obviously recorded on separate takes from everything else in the chorus, making it feel choppy and disconnected. The chorus is altogether just too repetitive and unwieldy, almost ungainly. As a small note, the bridge in this song is also pathetic... He rhymes "Inside" with "inside" and "right" with "right". It's....unusual? In a bad way.

"Close My Eyes Forever" just shouldn't have happened, period. I'm not opposed to David and Lzzy doing a piece together (though I do think they are lacking in chemistry a bit...), but this song is legendary. Covering it was a risk that didn't really pay off. It doesn't sound bad necessarily, but I can't help but thinking "Man, Ozzy and Lita did this better before.." at quite a few parts. Instrumentally, the programmed drums take away from the song and nothing really even stands out anyways. Vocally, Draiman sounds clearly a lot weaker than Lzzy (who sounds decent). It kind of unbalances the song. Basically, I don't see why everyone was raving about this one. It's alright, but it's got nothing that really makes me want it rather than the original.

"Out of Line" is actually a pretty cool track. It's plodding, and the vocal melodies are clearly calculated. The rhyme scheme is impressive, very Serj-like. Which is because Serj is in this song. And I like the harmonizations Serj and Dave pull off. It's pretty cool. I'm a bit disappointed that Serj's voice doesn't meld well with Device instrumentally. But I love the message and the vocal lines, otherwise. It's not a "Wow!!" song, but it's pretty damn good anyways.

"Hunted" is pretty cool at first. David's voice has a gravelly feel to it here that melds perfectly with the Device vibe. Instrumentally, the song is brutal. Lyrically, it's nothing impressive. The little bit of brilliance they capture in this song once again lies purely in the chemistry between Draiman and the rest of the band in the verses. And they once again fail to expand well on that idea, which is disappointing. The chorus is disappointing and throwaway. Overall, the song has a shred of brilliance buried in a mass of Meh.

I don't want to comment too much on "Opinion" because I feel it would be ironic to give my opinion on a song titled "Opinion" and because I feel that at this point in the album, they're just kind of repeating themselves. They keep sticking to the same song structure - rhythmic and syncopated verses, and choruses with bigger melodies that usually end up falling flat for some reason. It's quite like Disturbed in that way, except Disturbed is much better at it and even managed to break it up a bit with songs like "Remnants"/"Asylum", "Another Way to Die".

"War of Lies" is very strange and not too memorable at all. Again, same pitfalls they keep falling in.

"Haze" is....different. It's got that low bass buzz to it. I like how Draiman's lower register compliments that. It's a pretty good thing. I also like the guitar tone before and during the chorus. "Inhibitions are left behind" is vividly descriptive to me, for some reason. I do not like M. Shadows. I find him extremely bland and predictable in Avenged Sevenfold, and it's the same thing here. He's got a frail and bland voice. Overall, though, this song is pretty decent. The main thing that carries it, especially in consideration of the rest of the album, is the guitar tone, in my opinion.

"Through it All", thankfully, finally slows down the album's pace. It's been needed. That rhythmic, syncopated verse structure is absent. That's refreshing. Glenn Hughes also brings a modicum and awesome to the closer on this album. His voice compliments the sound well. Naturally. It creates a contrast that's pleasant. And then the track blasts off and picks it up again... finally, some ebb and flow to this album! Pacing... Pretty good song, overall.

There are a few things I want to bring up. I noted that Draiman seems to be falling into patterns that are predictable or "easy" for him. I want to elaborate on that. I have some examples... If I had a nickel for every time Draiman has used "InsaniTAAAAY" of late, I'd be pretty wealthy indeed. On this album alone, he uses it that exact same way twice... First on "Vilify" and then on "Out of Line". I want to note that we know that Draiman is Disturbed and belongs in an Asylum, Believing in The Sickness. And even though that belief is Indestructible, I really wish he would use different descriptors at some point when referring to the state of the world or the state of someone's mind. The fact that he uses it twice the same way here is silly and uninventive. And this isn't the first time he's used it. His overuse of "vilify" in the same-titled song is another example of that.

There's a bigger point here. There's a vibe just dripping everywhere on this album - in the lyrics and the vocal melodies and the vocal rhythm. It all seems so typically David Draiman, doesn't it? I mentioned earlier that the pattern of fast-paced, staccato verses followed by a slower and more melodic chorus repeats itself again and again on this album, to sickening effect. That pattern lies mainly in the vocal line. He uses the same descriptors he's fallen back on for years (words like "InsanitAY") to talk about the same ideas he's discussed for years (fucked up relationships and the state of the world) arranged in a structure he's used for years (fast-paced verse, melodic chorus, etc), except he seems WORSE at it than he was before - less inventive and less engaging. Again, it's a problem that permeates the whole album for me. We've been hearing David talk about messed up relationships and the political state of the world in not so subtle terms since Ten Thousand Fists. It was getting stale on Asylum. By now it's just completely not exciting. I would love it if David applied his voice differently - tried to deliberately be more powerful on his own, rather than layering his vocals so much. Take a risk and don't use the first words that come to his mind (InsaniTAYYY) - try to come up with something more inventive instead. Break the monotony of that badly-executed staccato verse thing he's grown into. It's just disappointing that in many ways, it doesn't seem like he's trying to break ground anymore.

Another thing is that this entire project comes off as kind of pretentious. The "song meaning" videos kind of encompass this idea...does anybody else find those pretentious? They think that David's interpretation of what he wrote will matter to us enough to post those meanings before the album is even out? They're cool to see, sure...but it would also be cool to just get the album and form my own opinion on these songs. The bigger point I'm trying to make here is that this project just kind of seems to take itself too seriously. Those three guys in the video seem stiff and serious while Draiman takes a minute or more to explain in overwhelming detail the rather simple meaning of a rather straightforward song. I just can't see them joking or having too much fun. And that comes through in the music. Nothing about it has much levity. It's all way too superserious in a way. It's kind of sad.

Those are just a few of my initial thoughts on the album. Overall, I'm kind of disappointed. While none of it is by any means bad, it's just not that great. The instrumental aspect takes something of a backseat to The Almighty David, who himself basically flaunts his Achilles Heel all throughout the album, falling into the same patterns and vernacular and even subject matter he usually uses, making this seem like nothing new or exciting - somewhere we've been before. I got no chills throughout this experience. I got a lot of memories of Disturbed. I got a lot of "Oh, that was a pretty cool collaboration" moments. I had no "Oh wow!" moments. As far as flow...the album just kind of rushes through, and doesn't take time to slow down and take stock of itself until the very last song, where that song structure is finally shattered.

I'm not even underwhelmed by it because hearing the initially released songs, I just knew it wasn't going to be as good as I hoped. Some people seem to just take anything that David comes out with and consider it a masterpiece (and I'm one of the biggest fans of his you'll ever come across). Some moments were great and it's not a bad album but it's just not as groundbreaking as it was made out to be. It's Disturbed with less memorable melodies and drum patterns with a few electronic moments thrown in and guest appearances.

All in all I just think the worst thing about it is that this is roughly about the time we'd be expecting a Disturbed album to drop if they weren't on hiatus. Like ShockAndAwe said, it just proves that Disturbed is without a doubt a team effort. Hopefully this makes people appreciate the rest of the band more (namely Dan and Mike).

Having said that, I have to point out that Lzzy Hale has outdone herself yet again. That woman has unreal rock vocal abilities!

disturbedsikkness: Very good review there. I would have to agree with a lot of what you said, mainly your criticisms of Draiman, who has always been the main reason I listen to Disturbed. I was hoping for more experimentation from him, for him to do different things with his voice, instead he mostly stuck to what's been his comfort zone. I do enjoy the album quite a bit and there was a little experimentation, but this album could've been so much more. I would give this album a 7.5-8/10 at this point. Still this is a debut album, so there's plenty of room for improvement and for them to discover where they want to go with this project.

First of all, the review Disturbedsikkness wrote is basically a goldmine. I find it hard to criticize Draiman for his vocal performance simply because he's been the front man of my favorite band for over a decade. I have so much respect for him but he does not shine on this album. He has some cool moments on "Penance" and "Haze" in my opinion, but everything else we have heard before. Especially the emphasis on the tail end of a word (InsanIITTYY) is an example. I dont even know if I'd be excited to see this live. Hoping for a Disturbed reunion after this Device tour.

talking of a device tour, I found the album so short that what are they really going to play if you take out the duets? Or will they just resort to doing their own take on disturbed songs as "filler"?

helm wrote:talking of a device tour, I found the album so short that what are they really going to play if you take out the duets? Or will they just resort to doing their own take on disturbed songs as "filler"?

Counting the bonus tracks, they have 8 songs. It isn't unheard of to perform songs originally written as a duet solo.

David wrote the lyrics, so I wouldnt be surprised if they played the entire album from to back.

By the way, does the electronica opening to "War of lies" remind anyone of Transformers?