My wife is a loyal fan of Heavy Metal. (Thank goodness). Well, I knew this over 20 years ago before we ever married. This turned out to be quite the Metal bonus, having my wife being a fellow Metalhead. I get cool Metal gifts for my birthday and Christmas from her and she encourages and nurtures the love I have for Metal music. I am a very fortunate Metalhead to have a wife like her. Her favorite Heavy Metal band of all-time has always been Def Leppard… until I introduced her to Disturbed. (I still believe both these bands are tied for my wife’s favorite). So, as I write away with Metal Odyssey, she keeps looking over my shoulder… waiting to see when Disturbed makes it to this blog. I without further Metal ado… will give my Metal opinion on Disturbed. I feel Disturbed is an excellent Metal band. Sure, Disturbed came around during the Nu-Metal phenomenon, yet I still never would classify them as such. No matter how much I try to dissect it… Disturbed holds up as being Metal.
The debut album from Disturbed, “The Sickness”, (released in 2000), has it’s Nu-Metal appeal… regardless, I am not buying into this label. “The Sickness” for me, is a fabulous album that brought about a Metal sound that I never heard before. This sound I am talking about is truly derived from the vocals of David Draiman, I honestly have never heard anyone else sing like him. The sound effects that David Draiman belts out vocally are to me, unique. This guy can sing, I am not going to ever dispute this. The deep rooted emotion and anger has always been a believable staple with David’s vocals, in my Metal opinion. Usually a band has to do a knock out, killer job of covering a tune from years past to impress me… Disturbed blows away the original version of “Shout” from Tears for Fears. There is no comparison. Man, this song gets me Metal pumped, that is how it affects me, so shall it be. The “Ten Thousand Fists” album (released in 2005), cuts the Metal mustard for me as well. Hey, I always thought Genesis was a cool Progressive Rock band… I would give this band a listen from time to time. Then, when I first heard the cover version of “Land of Confusion” done by Disturbed – again, blown away. The Genesis original version of this song I always found to be intriguing, it is Disturbed that made it a Metal treat for my ears.
Last Summer of 2008, when Disturbed released “Indestructible”, I fell Metal victim again… the entire album was exactly what I was hoping for – the heaviest Disturbed yet. I will will say this much, without any hesitation, that “Indestructible” was one of the finest Metal albums released in 2008. Every song on this album is heavy duty and powerful, I could not endorse this album any louder than that. Dan Donegan on lead guitar is tremendously good… I cannot ignore this fact. John Moyer on bass and Mike Wengren on drums smack it down with the rhythm section, they are tremendous players as well. David Draiman sings to maximum Metal capacity too, always has. As a Metal side note, I feel it is extremely cool, that Disturbed has played for our U.S. troops overseas. To wrap this Disturbed post up, yup, I am a fan. I am not trying to sound like a fart head when I say – what is there not to like? Disturbed has released four very cool Metal albums in a row, that is quite the Metal task. Yes, music is always a personal preference, my personal belief is that Disturbed is as their newest album suggests… indestructible.
First of all, I am a fan of Ronny Munroe, the current lead vocalist for Metal Church. I just happen to gravitate towards the Old School Metal sound, both vocally and musically. Ronny Munroe in my Metal opinion, has the unmistakable Old School Heavy Metal vocals… and in no way do I subscribe to the opinion that this sound is dated. This brand of Old School Heavy Metal has been proven successful for decades now. For me, it is another Metal genre that lives on. With that said, I have obtained a copy of the new Ronny Munroe debut CD… “The Fire Within“, (released 2009), I am impressed by the total package of music here. This is Heavy Metal made the old school way, no frills, bells or whistles get in the way of the straight ahead approach that Ronny Munroe has taken on with “The Fire Within”. Honestly, Ronny Munroe comes with his Metal Church – front man credentials… he delivers a mightily solid twelve tunes alongside some talented friends. Rick Van Zandt of Metal Church, plays lead and rhythm guitars superbly throughout, with Michael Wilton of Queensryche delivering a solo on two tracks I will mention.
Saxon – the words durable, old school, enduring and still excellent at their Metal craft, come to my mind. Let’s be honest, this is not the same Saxon from their “Denim and Leather” days, yet they are Saxon 2009 – that is Metal-good enough for me. Saxon was an essential part of “the new wave of British Heavy Metal”, going back to the late 1970’s into the early 1980’s. When I first heard Saxon back then, I felt like I found a band no one else knew about… I had a cool Metal secret. Well, the secret was already out, as I later found. Saxon was justifiable a favorite of legions of Metalheads, therefore I was not alone with my new found Heavy Metal band after all. 
“into the Labyrinth” is the newest album from Saxon, released on January 13, 2009. “Battalions Of Steel” and “Valley Of The Kings” have an almost majestic Power Metal sound, complete with keyboards and what sounds to me like an enlightened choir. For me, Saxon pulls it off extremely well when they go the Power Metal route. “Live To Rock” is the single being pushed off of this album, it is bona fide Old School Heavy Metal with a cool, vintage, anthemic delivery to it. This is the fist raising – head banging tune that will stir up plenty of 80’s Heavy Metal memories for many. “Slow Lane Blues” is another fine example of how Saxon holds onto the Classic Metal approach, a fun tune that tells the complete story of a dude being pulled over by a cop for speeding. “Crime Of Passion” is heavy, heavy, Metal. Nigel Glockler punishes the drum kit on this song, again, head banging can and may occur when listening to this song too. If there is to be a song on this album that is considered a ballad, well, “Voice” is it. However, this is a heavy ballad – staunch Metalheads need not worry – Saxon does not get sappy here at all. “Hellcat” is my favorite track on this album, it is fast, furious and heavy. The three key Metal music ingredients I always embrace! “Come Rock Of Ages (The Circle Is Complete)” is a Heavy Metal exclamation point for Saxon on this album, man this song is good. “Coming Home (Bottleneck Version)” is a back woods – lets stomp in the swamp – foot stomping tune. It is a cool way to come down after the previous 12 tracks of fired up Heavy Metal.
Alas, I finally received via U.S. mail, on April 29, 2009, directly from Best Buy online, the brand new Heaven & Hell release – “The Devil You Know” – (I pre-ordered the CD/DVD version) and I am simply ecstatic over this Metal! I feel I am exonerated from all the praise and hype I have been giving Heaven & Hell for their embarking on making this new album. Greatness is not enough of a positive adjective to describe the Metal tunes on “The Devil You Know” – and I mean all ten songs are enormously great. My favorite tune on this album is “The Turn Of The Screw” – it sounds incredible with Tony Iommi on guitar, for Iommi seems as if he let his melodic side take over with the leads and solo. Ronnie James Dio sounds like he is thirty years old again on not just this tune, all ten of these tunes!
Metal Odyssey > Heavy Metal Music Blog 
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