Disturbed

On the band's third outing, imperious yet adept vocalist David Draiman is alternately the disquieting voice of doom and the sound voice of reason, thundering out songs of prophecy, self-empowerment and disgust with more melodicism than in their earlier albums (but without sacrificing any of the weight or bombast). Don't miss the cover of Genesis hit "Land of Confusion."

The meticulously dark fourth album from this Chicago quartet is about as retrograde as hard
rock gets these days: Uptempo cuts like "Just Stop" too often bank on unexceptional
speed-metal grooves, and punchier songs such as "Guarded" work up Motörhead-like
propulsion only to slam you in the face with the kind of blandly brooding chorus that's
finally dying out on rock radio.