I got this CD 8 years ago, and it's still an album that I listen to frequently. Although their later CDs were ok, none of them can compare to this one. It's raw, aggressive, and in your face...which is what metal should be about.

...now I looked back through the negative reviews before finally reviewing this to see if they agreed with my way of thought...well...in all fairness most of them were very harsh reviews that seemed rather mallevolent towards the band...while the polar opposite (most of the positve reviews) were stating that this was quite possibly the best Nu-Metal out there and how it should have been...ok...I'm going to try and explain why I disliked this in an attempt not to be ridiculously critical...

...as far as Nu-Metal goes I'm not an expert....but I must say in contrast to this I prefered Korn's Debut and most of Deftones earlier work...so I would stick to that because I felt more power and creativity went into it (THIS IS AN OPINION)...now being English this band aren't as well known over here...but I thought I'd give it a go anyway because I like keeping my genre barriers open...I have to say I was disappointed...and here's why...

...it is ridiculously generic...maybe it's the plan for them to follow a basic formula when they make their music...but the only difference I can tell between the tracks is the volume and the key signature...maybe at times the time signature if they feel like it...I've even seen Disturbed fans say in some comments on people's pages "If you've heard one Disturbed song you've heard them all" so I know for a fact that it's not just me that thinks this...

...ok...instrumentals...I'll go for the simpler instruments first off:

Drumming: At times there may be something impressive that happens...but most of the time just simple cross rhythms and nothing overly hyper to make me think "What on earth is that drummer doing?" But of course you could argue in mainstream media they would need a simple rhythm...I'd just like more surprises...after hearing The Berzerker's drummer I really can't get to grips with this...

Bass: From what I can hear it will do two of the following things:
1. Follow the guitar melody/riff note by note.
2. Play the root note of each chord in a repetitive usually quavered formation...again in most mainstream bands bass are very simple (unless you want to count Muse as mainstream then maybe I shall think differently) and I respect that he is a bassist in his own right and he plays what he plays...but a flair of originality never goes a miss in this world...

Guitar: You hear one song from them and you will able to enjoy the fluent overly distorted yet accurate power chords with palm muting in the verses...but after hearing the formula ten times...you will want something else to happen...now as far as the solos go...this guitarist is very formulaic with them...he will start by following the melody and once he has done that for a while he will weave around the melody with triplets and pentatonic scales until finally ending with a chromatic or even regular major scale...I'm somewhat disappointed with the guitar...since so many people had blindly glorified the guitar (along with the vocals which I shall get on to very soon) I was expecting somthing that would make them stand out from the Nu-Metal bunch...and yes if you played a guitar sample of a Disturbed song I'd probably be able to tell that it was a Disturbed song...but knowing a band for having a generic sound...I apologise but I can't appreciate it unless I feel energy from it...which normally lies within the vocals...

Vocals: In most mainstream bands the vocals are the signature of the band...and most other instruments are merely considered as background noise...so even though I felt the instrumentals were simplistic it made me even more hopeful that the vocalist (who was highly praised by random people) would have enough energy and lyrics to carry this band out of the hole of mediocrity...I feel sadly mistakened...in my opinion he has probably one of the worst voices (THIS IS AN OPINION) I've heard in Nu-Metal...he uses random growling sounds which just sound like a cat coughing up furballs...his singing which although he can sing in key...it's nothing new...his voice seems to be like he's trying to sound posh and proper like a prophet of the people...and yes...maybe he is for some...and if he is...I respect you and I'm glad you can find satisfaction out of this...but no...his lyrics don't interest me and his voice is shallow and Nu-Metally bland...

...what advice would I give to you? If you are aware of the underground metal scene in the slightest...there is a slight chance that after hearing this you will be so annoyed with it that you start ranting about how mainstream and pointlessly idiotic it is (like so many of the negative reviews before me)...that would be wrong but I have no right to stop you...if your experiences with music are mainly rooted in Nu-Metal and the other mainstream trends...then yes...you should enjoy this and I'm glad you're able to listen to music like this with such an open mind as I've almost become so arrogant that I can no longer enjoy anything with a basic verse chorus structure...and sometimes it bothers me...


...buy if you like your nu-metal simple and to the generic point...I'm afraid though I'm going to have to leave this band be now...

I am like alot of music lovers out there who saw the Nu-Metal scene come and kill off the greatness the early to mid-90's brought to mainstream music. I have always kind of had a fondness for Disturbed. Simply put, in a sea of crap on mainstream rock radio, they have always stood out as above the pack. The thing is, I never actually listened to a whole album, just radio singles. I really wish it hadn't taken me this long to check out the Sickness. If the onslaught of Nu-Metal was more like this, then I don't think the genre would have gotten such a bad rap.

This album is full of tracks that are catchy and rock hard. Regardless how you feel about Disturbed, they are a talented group of musicians and it shines bright on The Sickness. This is not simply power chords repeated every verse. These guys take control of their instruments. Also, the vocal abilities of lead singer David Draiman are amazing. He can scream, sing and scat on the fly with a fierceness that puts Korns' Jon Davis to shame.

I think anybody who likes hard rock or metal should at least give this CD a once-through. It took me by surprise because I never expected it to be so good.

I can't believe it took me so long to find this band. Each track is a masterpiece, although I don't think I'd have included Tears for Fears' "Shout". They are probably the tightest HM group around.

Amazing combination of drums, vocals and guitars like one big machine......think Pantera but more precision. If you enjoy these guys check out Skinlab from Oakland...new live CD SkinnedAlive is incredible. The band has advance tracks up on their site.