DAVID DRAIMAN Says 'Evolution' Is DISTURBED's 'Black Album'

DISTURBED frontman David Draiman has praised the band's upcoming album, "Evolution", saying that literally every single track on it could be a hit."

Last week, DISTURBED shared the official music video for "Are You Ready", the first single from the LP. The clip was directed by Roboshobo (a.k.a. Robert Schober),who has previously worked with METALLICA, ALICE IN CHAINS, MASTODON and GREEN DAY, among others.

In the new issue of U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine, Draiman said that "Evolution" is more than a worthy follow-up to 2015's "Immortalized", which ended a four-year hiatus for the quartet and was its fifth album to enter the Billboard 200 chart at No. 1.

He said: "If I died after this record came out, and this was the end of our legacy, I'd be okay with that. To me, this is our 'Black Album,'" referring to METALLICA's self-titled fifth album, which saw the band step in a more melodic direction than its previous thrash metal sound and helped garner a mainstream following.

"We've always used that as a goal — the record that literally every single track on it could be a hit," he continued. "A record that breaks doors down, that opens up new opportunities to us, that helps you achieve true immortality as an artist."

"Immortalized" featured the band's massive hit cover of SIMON & GARFUNKEL's "The Sound Of Silence", which was a massive hit on Billboard's rock charts after its release in December 2015. Unlike most DISTURBED tracks, or the majority of songs on mainstream rock radio, "Silence" was driven by piano and strings and featured only minimal acoustic guitar; i.e., no electric guitars, bass or drum sets.

"'The Sound Of Silence' taught us that we shouldn't be afraid of pushing the boundaries," Draiman told Metal Hammer. "We've been hungering for years to do material like what we've done on the new record.

"Some people just like the heavy stuff and they dont want to take a breather. For me — and I've used this analogy before — the slap feels much more satisfying after the caress."

"Evolution" will arrive on October 19.

Like "Immortalized", DISTURBED's new album was recorded at The Hideout Recording Studio in Las Vegas, Nevada with producer Kevin Churko.

DISTURBED only has one show on its schedule so far for the rest of 2018, at the Austin City Limits music festival on October 13 in Austin, Texas.

Photo by Travis Shinn