This came out in 2002 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
“Liberate your mind / You motherf—r!” And there you have it in a nutshell: The Jekyll-and-Hyde dichotomy at the heart of nu-metal outfit Disturbed’s sophomore CD Believe.
On the one hand, singer David Draiman — who reportedly rebelled against his religious family as a youth — seems to be trying to connect to his spirituality in a major way on songs like Prayer, Awaken, Believe and Rise. On the other hand, the rest of the band is still out to raise holy hell with their stabbing downtuned guitars and pummelling drums. In more capable and experienced hands, these two opposites might attract. But while Disturbed do have their good points — Draiman’s ability and desire to sing actual melodies puts him a step above most of the genre’s shouters, while the band are capable of some reasonably inventive arrangements — the good and evil portions of Believe just cancel each other out, leaving us with a fairly forgettable album. Time to pick a side, boys.
