Asylum (Disturbed album)
Encyclopedia
Asylum is the fifth studio album
by American heavy metal
band Disturbed. Taking inspiration from aspects of lead singer David Draiman
's life, Asylum is meant to take a fresh direction in the band's music career, while remaining consistent with the band's previous albums. The album was released on August 31, 2010 in the United States through Reprise Records
. A tour in support of the album, titled the Asylum Tour
, started in late August 2010. Asylum is also the fourth consecutive Disturbed album to not feature the Parental Advisory
label.
Asylum debuted at number-one on the Billboard 200
chart with sales of approximately 179,000 according to Nielsen Soundscan
. This is the fourth consecutive number-one album in the U.S. for Disturbed. The other two bands ever to accomplish this feat are metal band Metallica
and rock/jam band
Dave Matthews Band
. On March 31, 2011, Asylum was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA).
briefly talked about the band's fifth studio album, stating that it will be lyrically as dark as their previous album, Indestructible
, if not darker. In an earlier interview with Mike Wengren
and John Moyer
, it was stated that, judging by Draiman's feelings on the last few years of his life, that the new album will be aggressive, angry, and "hard-hitting," but will be similar musically to their album Believe
. Wengren also said that the new album may be released in the summer of 2010.
In a July 2009 interview with FaceCulture, Draiman talked more about the upcoming fifth album: "A couple of [song riffs] that Danny
has come up with are really amazing. But they're just little pieces...it's not even in two-three part progression [yet]." It was later confirmed that the title of the album would be Asylum.
stated that the band had written around 15 to 18 songs, and 17 were recorded. On April 20, 2010, roughly two months after they entered the studio, Disturbed announced that they had finished recording the album, and were ready to begin mixing the album in Los Angeles, California
. As they did with their last album Indestructible, Disturbed stated that they self-produced Asylum.
stated in an earlier interview that he wanted Asylum to be a darker album, lyrically, than Indestructible, and mature themes for the album were inspired by several events that took place during Draiman's life in recent years. Draiman described the album as "still identifiably Disturbed, but showing more maturation. We feel this is one of the strongest bodies of work we've ever put together. It definitely goes in familiar areas, but with new levels of precision and skill." Lyrically, Draiman says, "the themes range from very personal and introspective, to the political and provocative." In an interview with Music Vice, Dan Donegan says, "We're definitely not trying to wave the flag here, all we're doing is trying to build a little bit of awareness. If it makes you think about it for a minute and change some of the small things in your life then that's good too."
The album's first official single, titled "Another Way to Die", is about the acknowledgment of global warming
. The title track has a dual meaning, with the concept of a person losing a loved one as both an asylum driving the person insane, as well as a place of comfort. The first song on the album, titled "Remnants", is an instrumental which originally was meant to be combined with the song "Asylum" to make a 7:30 long track, but instead it was split into two parts for setting the mood of the album, and for possible appearances on the radio. "Serpentine" is a song intended to be "ethereal and frightening", about a succubus demon woman who "utilizes her sexuality to prey on the weaknesses of men." In the same interview, Draiman pointed out the technical aspects of some songs that include vocals from himself, as well as Wengren, Donegan, and Moyer all at the same time, creating an interplay Draiman described as "gang vocals". Draiman concluded the interview by likening the album as a whole to the film Gladiator
for its "moments of loss, the moments of triumph... struggle... mysticism." "The Animal" is reported to be about an individual turning into a werewolf
from the light of the full moon, taking inspiration from the 2010 remake film The Wolfman. "The Infection" is another relationship song Draiman wrote, talking about the depression you feel after a break-up, and treating it as if it were an infection, something that is "eating away inside you." The song was described as having a fast guitar riff with melodic vocals and the solo section was described as having an orchestrated feel to it.
"Crucified" is a song about a relationship of Draiman's that fell apart and the "desperation it brings you to". A B-side titled "Old Friend" is about the main character of the television show Dexter
(based on the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter) and how he has no emotions, calling upon his dark side known as "The Dark Passenger" and how it teaches him "The Code", a way to channel his violent urges towards people who deserve death, stating how death is just an "old friend" of his. The song "Never Again" is about the Nazi Holocaust of World War II
. The song "My Child" is about Draiman impregnating a past girlfriend, and he readied himself mentally for the child, but his girlfriend miscarried and lost the child in the first trimester. A song called "Innocence" talks about "corrupt attorneys and the criminals that they choose to defend." The song "Sacrifice" speaks about how people seem to have two sides to their personality, a light and a dark side, taking inspiration from Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
Two other B-sides for the album were talked about. In the July 2010 issue of Metal Hammer Magazine, Donegan talked about the B-side "Three": "There's also a song about the West Memphis Three
...these kids that came from this Bible Belt town and just because they wore black and listened to heavy metal they were found guilty of murder, even though there was no evidence!" Another B-side was mentioned, titled "Mine", a song about religion as a catalyst for war.
deluxe version of the album which will include a code to download Decade of Disturbed online for free, and five bonus tracks, "Leave It Alone", live performances of "Down with the Sickness
" and Stricken
and two videos of guitarist Dan Donegan showing how to play the main riffs for the band's first two singles, "Down with the Sickness" and "Stupify
" both of which were titled "Dissected" instead of "Disturbed". A hidden track titled "Ishfwilf", which is a cover of U2
's song "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
", is available on all versions of the album. The band also released a limited edition version of Asylum, featuring the Decade of Disturbed DVD and bonus tracks on the CD (live performances of "Down with the Sickness" and "Stricken").
The songs "Asylum", "Another Way to Die" and "The Animal" were released as downloadable content for the video game Rock Band
on August 24, seven days before the album's release date. The song "Asylum" has the album opening track, titled "Remnants", attached to it in the game.
On August 16, 2010, the music video for "Asylum" was released on the band's official website and MySpace
page. On August 24, the track "Never Again" was available for download on the band's official website, after the band announced the song's release on their Twitter
page. The third music video was for "The Animal", and was released on November 16, 2010. A short, forty-second trailer for this video was displayed on the band's official website 4 days before its release.
Disturbed toured in support of Asylum as a headlining act in the Uproar Festival
, along with Stone Sour
, Hellyeah
, and Avenged Sevenfold
. The first show of the tour took place in Minneapolis, Minnesota
at the Target Center
on August 17, with the last show scheduled for Madison
, Wisconsin
at the Alliant Energy Center Memorial Coliseum on October 4, 2010.
As a Hot Topic exclusive, those who purchased the CD there also received an "Asylum" wristband, similar to a real one from a real psychiatric ward. The wristband includes a false bar code, a DOB (which is 8/31/10, the album's release date.), along with the word Disturbed and a website for the album (DisturbedAsylum.com), as well as a specific unique number for each wristband with an amalgamation of two letters and six numbers.
On March 3, 2011, it was announced that the band had filmed a music video for the song "Warrior
"; however, David Draiman
recently stated on his Twitter
page that the video was canceled.
. James Zahn of Kick-Axe gave the album a 4 out of 5, summarizing his review by stating "Admittedly, I've long respected Disturbed as a band, while not considering myself 'a fan.' Asylum has changed that."
Also, giving the album a positive review, Merlin Alderslade of Rock Sound stated "Asylum won’t set the world alight, but it’s certainly not monotonous enough to send anyone to the madhouse." Gary Graff of Billboard gave Asylum a short and positive review ending with "There are enough brains and brawn to make this an'Asylum' any head-banger would be crazy to avoid."
Damon Harrison of Rinse Review Repeat said of the band and Asylum that "Disturbed have hit a nail with their hammering aesthetics, finally, and build an aggressive foundation that’s sure to leave both fans and critics alike standing firm in their territory." Chris Colgan of PopMatters
compared Asylum to Disturbed's previous efforts, remarking how well balanced it is by comparison. He said, "If Ten Thousand Fists
is the large tiger of Disturbed’s discography, oversized with more muscle than necessary, and Indestructible
is the lean jaguar, fine-cut to just the foundation and essentials, then Asylum is the lion, king of the jungle, perfectly balanced in both core strength and added power to create the purest musical engine for emotional expression."
Ben Czajkowski of 411mania stated about the album, "After five albums, Disturbed has perfected their sound; they might have even become a bit more hard rock than before. Sadly, though, all of the humor that made me fall in love with the band is gone. Replacing it is the darkness of the world, sounds about death, corruption, and depression that come across as a bit uninspired, even though it has perplexed [David] Draiman for the last few years." Brendan Crabb from Loud Online said "Asylum is highly safe, continuing to utilize the foundations laid down by previous releases. So if you despise David Draiman’s distinctive vocals, the simplified, groove-laden riffage and the at times teenage diary, almost cartoonish lyrics, you’re wasting your time even casually downloading this."
Vinnie Paul
, former drummer of Pantera
and current drummer of Hellyeah
reviewed Asylum in four words, stating, "That thing kicks ass."
On the day of its release, Asylum (Deluxe Edition) topped the iTunes Top Albums and Top Rock Albums chart, and the regular edition of the album ranked #2 on the same charts.
Production
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band Disturbed. Taking inspiration from aspects of lead singer David Draiman
David Draiman
David Michael Draiman is an American songwriter and the lead singer for the metal band Disturbed. Draiman is known for his distorted voice and rhythmic singing style...
's life, Asylum is meant to take a fresh direction in the band's music career, while remaining consistent with the band's previous albums. The album was released on August 31, 2010 in the United States through Reprise Records
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:...
. A tour in support of the album, titled the Asylum Tour
Asylum Tour (Disturbed)
Asylum Tour was a concert tour by American heavy metal band Disturbed in support of the group's fifth studio album, Asylum, which was released in August 2010....
, started in late August 2010. Asylum is also the fourth consecutive Disturbed album to not feature the Parental Advisory
Parental Advisory
Parental Advisory is a message affixed by the Recording Industry Association of America to audio and recordings in the United States containing excessive use of profane language and/or sexual references. Albums began to be labeled for "explicit lyrics" in 1985, after pressure from the Parents...
label.
Asylum debuted at number-one on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart with sales of approximately 179,000 according to Nielsen Soundscan
Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada...
. This is the fourth consecutive number-one album in the U.S. for Disturbed. The other two bands ever to accomplish this feat are metal band Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
and rock/jam band
Jam band
-Ambiguity:By the late 1990s use of the term jam band also became ambiguous. An editorial at jamband.com suggested that any band of which a primary band such as Phish has done a cover of be included as jam band. The example was including New York post-punk band Talking Heads after Phish performed...
Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band, sometimes shortened to DMB, is a U.S. rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991. The founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer/backing vocalist Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Boyd Tinsley was...
. On March 31, 2011, Asylum was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
(RIAA).
Early stages
In a November 2008 interview, David DraimanDavid Draiman
David Michael Draiman is an American songwriter and the lead singer for the metal band Disturbed. Draiman is known for his distorted voice and rhythmic singing style...
briefly talked about the band's fifth studio album, stating that it will be lyrically as dark as their previous album, Indestructible
Indestructible (Disturbed album)
Indestructible is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Disturbed. A self-produced effort, Indestructible is the first Disturbed album that did not feature Johnny K, the producer of Disturbed's previous three albums, The Sickness, Believe, and Ten Thousand Fists. Indestructible was...
, if not darker. In an earlier interview with Mike Wengren
Mike Wengren
Mike Wengren is a drummer from Chicago, Illinois, best known for his work with the heavy metal band Disturbed, he is one of the founding members of the band, which was formed in 1996.-History:...
and John Moyer
John Moyer
John Moyer is the bassist and back up vocalist for the heavy metal band Disturbed, replacing their former bassist Steve "Fuzz" Kmak...
, it was stated that, judging by Draiman's feelings on the last few years of his life, that the new album will be aggressive, angry, and "hard-hitting," but will be similar musically to their album Believe
Believe (Disturbed album)
Believe is the second studio album by the American heavy metal band Disturbed. It was released on September 17, 2002. Believe debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart, making it Disturbed's first #1 debut, shipping over 284,000 copies in its first week...
. Wengren also said that the new album may be released in the summer of 2010.
In a July 2009 interview with FaceCulture, Draiman talked more about the upcoming fifth album: "A couple of [song riffs] that Danny
Dan Donegan
Dan Donegan is an American musician and guitarist for heavy metal band Disturbed. Donegan began playing guitar as a teenager and eventually formed a band called Vandal, which was an '80s-style hair band...
has come up with are really amazing. But they're just little pieces...it's not even in two-three part progression [yet]." It was later confirmed that the title of the album would be Asylum.
Recording and production
Song-writing for the album began in late 2009. On February 8, 2010, it was announced that the band had entered the studio in Chicago, Illinois to begin recording their fifth album. Guitarist Dan DoneganDan Donegan
Dan Donegan is an American musician and guitarist for heavy metal band Disturbed. Donegan began playing guitar as a teenager and eventually formed a band called Vandal, which was an '80s-style hair band...
stated that the band had written around 15 to 18 songs, and 17 were recorded. On April 20, 2010, roughly two months after they entered the studio, Disturbed announced that they had finished recording the album, and were ready to begin mixing the album in Los Angeles, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. As they did with their last album Indestructible, Disturbed stated that they self-produced Asylum.
Style and lyrical themes
The band's vocalist David DraimanDavid Draiman
David Michael Draiman is an American songwriter and the lead singer for the metal band Disturbed. Draiman is known for his distorted voice and rhythmic singing style...
stated in an earlier interview that he wanted Asylum to be a darker album, lyrically, than Indestructible, and mature themes for the album were inspired by several events that took place during Draiman's life in recent years. Draiman described the album as "still identifiably Disturbed, but showing more maturation. We feel this is one of the strongest bodies of work we've ever put together. It definitely goes in familiar areas, but with new levels of precision and skill." Lyrically, Draiman says, "the themes range from very personal and introspective, to the political and provocative." In an interview with Music Vice, Dan Donegan says, "We're definitely not trying to wave the flag here, all we're doing is trying to build a little bit of awareness. If it makes you think about it for a minute and change some of the small things in your life then that's good too."
The album's first official single, titled "Another Way to Die", is about the acknowledgment of global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
. The title track has a dual meaning, with the concept of a person losing a loved one as both an asylum driving the person insane, as well as a place of comfort. The first song on the album, titled "Remnants", is an instrumental which originally was meant to be combined with the song "Asylum" to make a 7:30 long track, but instead it was split into two parts for setting the mood of the album, and for possible appearances on the radio. "Serpentine" is a song intended to be "ethereal and frightening", about a succubus demon woman who "utilizes her sexuality to prey on the weaknesses of men." In the same interview, Draiman pointed out the technical aspects of some songs that include vocals from himself, as well as Wengren, Donegan, and Moyer all at the same time, creating an interplay Draiman described as "gang vocals". Draiman concluded the interview by likening the album as a whole to the film Gladiator
Gladiator (2000 film)
Gladiator is a 2000 historical epic film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel and Richard Harris. Crowe portrays the loyal Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed...
for its "moments of loss, the moments of triumph... struggle... mysticism." "The Animal" is reported to be about an individual turning into a werewolf
Werewolf
A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
from the light of the full moon, taking inspiration from the 2010 remake film The Wolfman. "The Infection" is another relationship song Draiman wrote, talking about the depression you feel after a break-up, and treating it as if it were an infection, something that is "eating away inside you." The song was described as having a fast guitar riff with melodic vocals and the solo section was described as having an orchestrated feel to it.
"Crucified" is a song about a relationship of Draiman's that fell apart and the "desperation it brings you to". A B-side titled "Old Friend" is about the main character of the television show Dexter
Dexter (TV series)
Dexter is an American television drama series, which debuted on Showtime on October 1, 2006. The sixth season premiered on October 2, 2011. The series centers on Dexter Morgan , a bloodstain pattern analyst for the Miami Metro Police Department who moonlights as a serial killer...
(based on the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter) and how he has no emotions, calling upon his dark side known as "The Dark Passenger" and how it teaches him "The Code", a way to channel his violent urges towards people who deserve death, stating how death is just an "old friend" of his. The song "Never Again" is about the Nazi Holocaust of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The song "My Child" is about Draiman impregnating a past girlfriend, and he readied himself mentally for the child, but his girlfriend miscarried and lost the child in the first trimester. A song called "Innocence" talks about "corrupt attorneys and the criminals that they choose to defend." The song "Sacrifice" speaks about how people seem to have two sides to their personality, a light and a dark side, taking inspiration from Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
Two other B-sides for the album were talked about. In the July 2010 issue of Metal Hammer Magazine, Donegan talked about the B-side "Three": "There's also a song about the West Memphis Three
West Memphis Three
The West Memphis Three are three men who were tried and convicted as teenagers in 1994 of the 1993 murders of three boys in West Memphis, Arkansas. Damien Echols was sentenced to death, Jessie Misskelley, Jr. was sentenced to life imprisonment plus two 20-year sentences, and Jason Baldwin was...
...these kids that came from this Bible Belt town and just because they wore black and listened to heavy metal they were found guilty of murder, even though there was no evidence!" Another B-side was mentioned, titled "Mine", a song about religion as a catalyst for war.
Promotion and release
On July 15, Disturbed released a free download of the song "Asylum" on their official website. On July 19, the song "Asylum" was released in the United States via the iTunes Store. They have also announced an iTunesITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
deluxe version of the album which will include a code to download Decade of Disturbed online for free, and five bonus tracks, "Leave It Alone", live performances of "Down with the Sickness
Down with the Sickness
"Down with the Sickness" is a song by American heavy metal band Disturbed. The song was recorded in 1999 and was released as the second single from their debut studio album, The Sickness. The song is one of Disturbed's best-known songs and is a concert staple, usually played as the last song...
" and Stricken
Stricken (song)
"Stricken" is a song by American rock band Disturbed. The song was released on July 25, 2005 as the second single from their third studio album Ten Thousand Fists. "Stricken" was certified gold in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America on August 18, 2008 for selling...
and two videos of guitarist Dan Donegan showing how to play the main riffs for the band's first two singles, "Down with the Sickness" and "Stupify
Stupify
"Stupify" is a song by the metal band Disturbed. The song was released on April 12, 2000 as a single from their debut album, The Sickness. It peaked at number-twelve on the United States Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number-ten on the United States Modern Rock Tracks chart...
" both of which were titled "Dissected" instead of "Disturbed". A hidden track titled "Ishfwilf", which is a cover of U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
's song "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" is a song by rock band U2. It is the second track from their 1987 album The Joshua Tree and was released as the album's second single in May 1987...
", is available on all versions of the album. The band also released a limited edition version of Asylum, featuring the Decade of Disturbed DVD and bonus tracks on the CD (live performances of "Down with the Sickness" and "Stricken").
The songs "Asylum", "Another Way to Die" and "The Animal" were released as downloadable content for the video game Rock Band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
on August 24, seven days before the album's release date. The song "Asylum" has the album opening track, titled "Remnants", attached to it in the game.
On August 16, 2010, the music video for "Asylum" was released on the band's official website and MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page. On August 24, the track "Never Again" was available for download on the band's official website, after the band announced the song's release on their Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
page. The third music video was for "The Animal", and was released on November 16, 2010. A short, forty-second trailer for this video was displayed on the band's official website 4 days before its release.
Disturbed toured in support of Asylum as a headlining act in the Uproar Festival
Uproar Festival
The Uproar Festival, also called the Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival, is an annual hard rock/heavy metal tour inaugurated in 2010 by John Reese and sponsored by Rockstar Energy Drink. The tour was also created by John Oakes, Darryl Eaton and Ryan Harlacher from the Creative Artists Agency,...
, along with Stone Sour
Stone Sour
Stone Sour is an American rock band from Des Moines, Iowa. Since 2006, the group has been composed of Corey Taylor , Jim Root , Josh Rand, , Shawn Economaki and Roy Mayorga . Original drummer Joel Ekman left the group in 2006...
, Hellyeah
Hellyeah
Hellyeah is an American heavy metal supergroup, consisting of Mudvayne vocalist Chad Gray and guitarist Greg Tribbett, Nothingface guitarist Tom Maxwell, Damageplan bassist Bob Zilla, and former Pantera and Damageplan drummer Vinnie Paul. The idea to form a supergroup originated in 2001 on the...
, and Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California. Formed in 1999, the group consists of vocalist M. Shadows, lead guitarist Synyster Gates, rhythm guitarist Zacky Vengeance, bassist Johnny Christ....
. The first show of the tour took place in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
at the Target Center
Target Center
The Target Center is an arena in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is sponsored by Target Corporation. The arena has a capacity of 20,500 people. It contains 702 club seats and 68 suites....
on August 17, with the last show scheduled for Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
at the Alliant Energy Center Memorial Coliseum on October 4, 2010.
As a Hot Topic exclusive, those who purchased the CD there also received an "Asylum" wristband, similar to a real one from a real psychiatric ward. The wristband includes a false bar code, a DOB (which is 8/31/10, the album's release date.), along with the word Disturbed and a website for the album (DisturbedAsylum.com), as well as a specific unique number for each wristband with an amalgamation of two letters and six numbers.
On March 3, 2011, it was announced that the band had filmed a music video for the song "Warrior
Warrior (Disturbed song)
Warrior is a single by American rock band Disturbed from their fifth studio album, titled Asylum. It is the fourth single from the album.-Background:The song was featured on Disturbed's Asylum Interactive Game, used to promote the album...
"; however, David Draiman
David Draiman
David Michael Draiman is an American songwriter and the lead singer for the metal band Disturbed. Draiman is known for his distorted voice and rhythmic singing style...
recently stated on his Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
page that the video was canceled.
Track listing
Reception
Asylum has received positive reviews from music critics, averaging a score of 70 on the review aggregate website MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
. James Zahn of Kick-Axe gave the album a 4 out of 5, summarizing his review by stating "Admittedly, I've long respected Disturbed as a band, while not considering myself 'a fan.' Asylum has changed that."
Also, giving the album a positive review, Merlin Alderslade of Rock Sound stated "Asylum won’t set the world alight, but it’s certainly not monotonous enough to send anyone to the madhouse." Gary Graff of Billboard gave Asylum a short and positive review ending with "There are enough brains and brawn to make this an
Damon Harrison of Rinse Review Repeat said of the band and Asylum that "Disturbed have hit a nail with their hammering aesthetics, finally, and build an aggressive foundation that’s sure to leave both fans and critics alike standing firm in their territory." Chris Colgan of PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
compared Asylum to Disturbed's previous efforts, remarking how well balanced it is by comparison. He said, "If Ten Thousand Fists
Ten Thousand Fists
Ten Thousand Fists is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Disturbed. It was released on September 20, 2005 and became Disturbed's second consecutive #1 debut on the Billboard 200 in the United States, shipping around 239,000 copies in its opening week. It has been certified Platinum...
is the large tiger of Disturbed’s discography, oversized with more muscle than necessary, and Indestructible
Indestructible (Disturbed album)
Indestructible is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Disturbed. A self-produced effort, Indestructible is the first Disturbed album that did not feature Johnny K, the producer of Disturbed's previous three albums, The Sickness, Believe, and Ten Thousand Fists. Indestructible was...
is the lean jaguar, fine-cut to just the foundation and essentials, then Asylum is the lion, king of the jungle, perfectly balanced in both core strength and added power to create the purest musical engine for emotional expression."
Ben Czajkowski of 411mania stated about the album, "After five albums, Disturbed has perfected their sound; they might have even become a bit more hard rock than before. Sadly, though, all of the humor that made me fall in love with the band is gone. Replacing it is the darkness of the world, sounds about death, corruption, and depression that come across as a bit uninspired, even though it has perplexed [David] Draiman for the last few years." Brendan Crabb from Loud Online said "Asylum is highly safe, continuing to utilize the foundations laid down by previous releases. So if you despise David Draiman’s distinctive vocals, the simplified, groove-laden riffage and the at times teenage diary, almost cartoonish lyrics, you’re wasting your time even casually downloading this."
Vinnie Paul
Vinnie Paul
Vincent Paul Abbott, also known as "Vinnie Paul" is a heavy metal drummer and producer who is currently a member of supergroup Hellyeah, but is best known for being a member, and co-founder, of the heavy metal band Pantera...
, former drummer of Pantera
Pantera
Pantera was an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas. Formed by the Abbott brothers, Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell in 1981, bassist Rex Brown would join in late 1981 with vocalist Terry Glaze. Looking for a new and heavier sound, Pantera had Terry replaced in 1987 with Phil Anselmo as...
and current drummer of Hellyeah
Hellyeah
Hellyeah is an American heavy metal supergroup, consisting of Mudvayne vocalist Chad Gray and guitarist Greg Tribbett, Nothingface guitarist Tom Maxwell, Damageplan bassist Bob Zilla, and former Pantera and Damageplan drummer Vinnie Paul. The idea to form a supergroup originated in 2001 on the...
reviewed Asylum in four words, stating, "That thing kicks ass."
On the day of its release, Asylum (Deluxe Edition) topped the iTunes Top Albums and Top Rock Albums chart, and the regular edition of the album ranked #2 on the same charts.
Personnel
Disturbed- David DraimanDavid DraimanDavid Michael Draiman is an American songwriter and the lead singer for the metal band Disturbed. Draiman is known for his distorted voice and rhythmic singing style...
– lead vocals, producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Dan DoneganDan DoneganDan Donegan is an American musician and guitarist for heavy metal band Disturbed. Donegan began playing guitar as a teenager and eventually formed a band called Vandal, which was an '80s-style hair band...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, electronicsElectronicsElectronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
, producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - John MoyerJohn MoyerJohn Moyer is the bassist and back up vocalist for the heavy metal band Disturbed, replacing their former bassist Steve "Fuzz" Kmak...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals - Mike WengrenMike WengrenMike Wengren is a drummer from Chicago, Illinois, best known for his work with the heavy metal band Disturbed, he is one of the founding members of the band, which was formed in 1996.-History:...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionsPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Production
- Ted JensenTed JensenTed Jensen is an American recording engineer. Jensen is the chief mastering engineer at Sterling Sound. He started his career as a mastering engineer in 1976 and is currently the most active Mastering Engineer in the industry...
- masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced... - Neal Avron – mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
- Jeremy Parker – engineer
- Nicolas Fournier - mixing assistant
- Rob Gordon - A&RA&RArtists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
- Nick Haussling - A&R
- Raymond Swanland – Illustrations
- Donny Phillips - art direction, design
- Travis Shinn - photography
- Ellen Wakayama - art direction
Charts
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
2 |
| Austrian Albums Chart Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
3 |
| Belgian Albums Chart Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... (Flanders) |
21 |
| Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia) | 31 |
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
2 |
| Danish Albums Chart Tracklisten Tracklisten is a Danish top 40 record chart that is presented every Thursday midnight at .The weekly Danish Singles Chart also known as Track Top-40 combines the 40 best selling tracks from legal music downloads and the sales of music singles on either CD or vinyl... |
8 |
| Dutch Albums Chart MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
22 |
| European Top 100 Albums European Top 100 Albums The European Top 100 Albums chart is the European adaptation of the Billboard 200 albums chart. It was created in March 1984.The European Top 100 Albums, commonly referred to as Eurochart Top 100 Albums shows the sales of an act in 19 European countries based on IFPI data.The European Top 100... |
7 |
| Finnish Albums Chart | 2 |
| German Albums Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
4 |
| Greece Albums Chart IFPI Greece International Federation of the Phonographic Industry Greece or IFPI Greece is the Greek branch of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and is the official charts provider and recording sales certification body for Greece. Currently two charts are compiled, one for sales of... |
10 |
| Irish Albums Chart Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically... |
16 |
| Italian Albums Chart | 57 |
| New Zealand Albums Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
1 |
| Norwegian Albums Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
17 |
| Spanish Albums Chart | 56 |
| Swedish Albums Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
7 |
| Swiss Albums Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
14 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
7 |
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
1 |
| US Alternative Albums Chart | 1 |
| US Digital Albums Charts | 1 |
| US Hard Rock Albums Chart | 1 |
| US Rock Albums Chart | 1 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2010) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 | 81 |
| Australian ARIA Charts | 58 |
Certifications
| Country | Certification |
|---|---|
| Australia Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956... |
Gold |
| New Zealand Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
Gold |
| United States Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... |
Gold |
Chart procession and succession
Release history
| Region | Date | Distributing label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | August 27, 2010 | Warner Music Australia | CD Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... and Music download services Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
|
| Germany | August 27, 2010 | Warner | ||
| United Kingdom | August 30, 2010 | Reprise Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:... |
||
| Europe | August 31, 2010 | |||
| United States | August 31, 2010 |