Song Impression: Disturbed – Are You Ready

If you know me, then you know Disturbed has always been my favorite band. After three years of waiting after their last album Immortalized, we are getting the new album. This will be the seventh full-length record the group has put out, and they have said we will be getting something ambitious. The record is titled Evolution, fitting since every song is supposed to have its own unique sound. Now we have been delivered the first single, Are You Ready, let’s see if it is a worthy single of showcasing their new album.

The song starts with an electric opening right before Mike Wengren’s pounding drums come in, quick bursts from guitarists Dan Donegan, and David Draiman saying, “Are you ready?” to lead the listener into an explosive introduction. A bouncy beginning as David shouts, “Get up,” multiple times as the rest of the band are smashing out heavy riffs and heavy drumming to follow with the powerful singing.

The first verse barely slows down to maintain that energy, a speed in which we have not heard from Disturbed in a very long time. With the absence of David’s animalistic noises, this could possibly be a song we would find off of The Sickness with its aggressive energy. The same riffs are steadily going from bassist John Moyer and Dan’s guitar work with Mike laying down a steady beat to keep up with the melody. For added layers, the initial electric sounds can be heard in short bursts throughout the verse. Adding those electronic elements is another thing that the band has dismissed from their music for a long time, but now they are bringing back those combined layers.

The chorus slows down enough to have an added melodic focus. As the instrumentation stands strong, David mixes his iconic aggressive sound while slowing down at moments to add some dynamic sounds to the chorus. Out of the band’s usual sound for their harmonic choruses, this is something that stands out as trying to keep a certain level of power and energy throughout the song. After a short chorus, the song goes back to the vigorous sound from before.

After the second verse, Dan goes into guitar solo mode which is much better than anything we heard off of their last album. While I love Immortalized, none of the solos were as captivating as something off of Indestructible or Ten Thousand Fists. Here we get something closer to what we are used to when it comes to a Dan Donegan solo with a mix of heavy use of the whammy bar and speed to make for an excellent break from the heaviness that we endured throughout the song this far before going back to a fast and heavy ending.

Are You Ready is easily one of Disturbed’s most energetic and heavy songs they have ever released. When the band put up a poll for fans to decide if the first single would be heavy or a ballad, they were not joking on the heavy option. While the band is not the heaviest group in the rock world, they have an iconic sound that has drawn fans to them for years. If what they say is true, we will be getting an album full of unique tracks and things we have never heard before, or have not heard in a long time by the quartet rockers. If this is how they are starting then this could be one of the best albums in their career.

You can view the music video for Are You Ready below along with a link to pre-order the album Evolution which comes out October 19.