Jesus Christ, there's really no excusing this one. Yes, I own an album by Disturbed. Yes, it is a hideous picture disc of their debut album. No, I've not played it in a very, very long time. There are some lows in my record collection, but this is truly the bottom.
When I bought it I thought to myself "do I really want to own this album?" and I was on the fence even back then. However, I fell for the usual tricks - numbered release and a picture disc. I've mostly learnt not to be suckered for such things, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't occasionally make bad calls based on similar features. I don't always do the smart thing.
As far as I was concerned, there was the first wave of nu-metal, featuring bands like Deftones and Korn; then, in the very late 1990's the second wave appeared and were very different to the first: Slipknot were a prime example - gimmick first, music second; Disturbed were one of the less enjoyable bands from that second wave. Basically, the record labels realised there was money in this genre, and the bands that came in the second wave were much more twisted in the hope of selling more records to foolish teenagers, and I think it worked. Who am I kidding? It definitely worked - I was a teenager and I bought in to the extent I thought it'd be good to have a copy of The Sickness on vinyl.
Disturbed had seen a lot of success on MTV with the song Down With the Sickness, which was basically the reason why anyone listened to them. Actually, hearing it now, I remember Stupify being on a free cd from either Metal Hammer or Rock Sound; this is taking me right back. I've not thought about that song in a very long time, but I remember enjoying it on that free cd. So maybe I'm mistaken, maybe it was the combination of the two songs that meant I knew who they were. It's hard to recall the exact order of things, partly because it was a long a time ago, but partly because it really isn't that important. Down With the Sickness is hilariously bad now - I forgot so much of this song - that weird noise the singer makes before the chorus and the fucking ridiculous rant he goes on in the break. Surely that was cut from the single edit? I barely remember it, but maybe I've just blanked it out.
Obviously, this record has not aged well. The singer's voice is really quite annoying (he had those stupid lip piercings - it's all coming back) - four songs in and I'm reaching my tolerance levels for it. Musically, they remind more of Spineshank (another second-wave nu-metal band) than they ever did - maybe my ear to discern differences between nu-metals has faded over time. That is not a loss. There is nothing memorable or enjoyable on the second side, which is quite an effort. There's even a Tears For Fears cover, inexplicably.
Luckily, I've never had mp3s of this album, as this picture disc was long before the notion of mp3s download codes. I didn't take it to university with me (imagine if someone saw it!?), so it basically stood no chance after I was 18. I very much doubt I would have played it much in the years between either way - I wasn't impressed by it when I got it home and played it, but did kinda like the fact I had it on a numbered picture disc; like I said, I can be pretty dumb. Being a picture disc, it sounds like shit. That is made worse by the fact the plastic sleeve is incredibly tight, so on the few occasions I played it, my fat fingers made a bit of a mess of the grooves on the b-side. The start of that side is incredibly muffled (that said, that can't all be me - maybe it’s just poorly pressed).
I've been embarrassed to own this record for the vast majority of the time I've owned. At least with other embarrassing albums they mostly had a time when I was a fan to reflect nostalgically on, but that isn't the case here. Luckily, it's a picture disc, so nobody browsing the spines of my record boxes would ever know it was there, which is comforting to know; out of sight, out of mind.
Format: 12", picture disc, numbered
Tracks: 12
Cost: £10 new
Bought: Record Fair, Southampton
When: 26/01/02
Colour: Picture disc
Etching: none
mp3s: no
