Sputnik Singles #18: Disturbed – “I Will Not Break”

Lo, it’s back! Embrace the warm bosom of Sputnik Singles and be a valued participant in deciding what sucks and what doesn’t. Today’s track, fresh out of the oven, comes from NU-metal titans, Disturbed, who have dropped their first new song in nearly three years. So wrap those headphones around your ears and lets decide if it’s shite or not.

For me, I’ll be honest; I’ve not listened to a Disturbed record since subjecting myself to their disastrous seventh album in 2018, ironically titled Evolution. To be clear – I’ve never been a huge fan of the band, but I’ll concede I enjoy a lot of their songs in a throwaway fashion. Draiman is a solid singer who brings this Iron Maiden-esque bravado to their music, crafting these claustrophobic verses and detonating them into an apodictic tension-releasing chorus of soaring earworm melodies and chubby guitar riffs. Of course, they’ve not been able to do this to the same effect since 2008’s Indestructible, with albums getting progressively more lifeless and rudimentary. By the time Evolution came into being, they’d managed to strip all of their gusto away for piss-weak rock songs with none of the distinction behind them. After skimming through their 2022 album, Divisive, for this review, the issues carry over from Evolution but the problems are nowhere near as prevalent, and as a result make the record feel more forgettable than bad.

So where does that leave “I Will Not Break”? Well, it has that modern day overproduced metal sound to it, which, I’ll be honest, I can’t stand. My biggest issue with this style of production is that it makes every mainstream rock and metal act sound the bloody same; in this case, it echoes last year’s very solid Shock to the System EP by Daughtry, which just felt odd considering how different these two bands sound. Presentation out of the way though, it seems the band have taken the criticisms onboard and searched internally to create a track that’s very much back to basics. Drainman opens up the song with his signature primal-sounding theatrics, before letting loose with a quintessential framework that’s entirely Disturbed. Overall, the song apes the classic “Voices” verse before letting loose with a chorus reminiscent of the Ten Thousand Fists era, topped off with a juicy guitar solo at the end. It’s not earth-shattering stuff, but it does revive the fun factor sorely missing from recent releases. Here’s to hoping the rest of the new album, if there’s going to be one, follows suit.

Sputnik Singles #18

3/5

Sputnik Singles Chart:

1. Blut Aus Nord – “That Cannot Be Dreamed” (3.9)
2. Regina Spektor – “Becoming All Alone” (3.9)
3. The Wonder Years – “Oldest Daughter” (3.7)
4. Yeule – “Too Dead Inside” (3.5)
5. Arcade Fire – “The Lightning I, II” (3.2)
6. Phoebe Bridgers – “Sidelines” (3.1)
7. Bad Omens – “Like A Villain” (2.8)
8. Muse – “Won’t Stand Down” (2.5)
9. Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Black Summer” (2.3)
10. Avril Lavigne – “Bite Me” (2.3)
11. Weezer – “A Little Bit of Love” (2.3)
12. Shinedown – “Planet Zero” (2.2)
13. Grimes – “Shinigami Eyes” (1.9)
14. Daine – “Boythots” (2.7)
15. Orgy – “Empty” (1.6)
16. Grimes – “I Wanna Be Software” (1.5)
17. Guns N’ Roses – The General” (1.4)