Ten Thousand Fists
The cover of Ten Thousand Fists by Greg Capullo featuring the mascot of Disturbed, known as The Guy
Studio album by
Disturbed
ReleasedSeptember 20, 2005
RecordedJanuary – June 2005[1]
StudioGroovemaster Studios (Chicago, Illinois)
Genre
Length56:09
Label
Producer
Disturbed chronology
Music as a Weapon II
(2004)		 Ten Thousand Fists
(2005)		 Indestructible
(2008)
Singles from Ten Thousand Fists
  1. "Guarded"
    Released: June 28, 2005
  2. "Stricken"
    Released: July 25, 2005
  3. "Just Stop"
    Released: February 7, 2006
  4. "Land of Confusion"
    Released: October 2, 2006
  5. "Ten Thousand Fists"
    Released: December 28, 2006

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 number 1 debut on the Billboard 200 in the United States, shipping around 239,000 copies in its opening week.[2] It has been certified platinum by the RIAA and was also the band's second number 1 release in New Zealand. It is also the first Disturbed album to not have the Parental Advisory label.

Ten Thousand Fists marks the first album with bassist John Moyer who replaced Steve Kmak following his dismissal in 2003. However, Moyer was considered a session musician during the time of recording, and only became a full-time member during the tour supporting the album.[3] It would be the band's third and final collaboration with mainstay producer Johnny K. In addition, Ten Thousand Fists is also the first album to feature their now-famous mascot The Guy on the cover; he would later appear full-bodied in the music video for the band's "Land of Confusion" cover.

Ten Thousand Fists is, as of 2010, Disturbed's second highest selling album in the United States, with sales of around 2 million copies. The Sickness, the band's debut CD, has shifted sales of almost 4.2 million copies in the United States.[4] The album was dedicated to Dimebag Darrell, who was murdered the year before the album's release.[5]

Promotion

On June 16, 2005, the album title was announced via the Disturbed website.[6] Later that month, the album track listing was also revealed.[7] The song "Guarded" was released to radio stations in late June 2005 as a teaser. Vocalist David Draiman said the motive behind releasing the song was to promote the album. He said, "[The song] was put out there to just whet everybody's appetite. It's one of the more aggressive tracks on the record, just to remind everybody where we came from and who we are."[8]

The first single, "Stricken", was released on July 25, 2005.[8] On August 19, 2005 the music video "Stricken", directed by Nathan Cox, was posted on the Warner Bros. Records website.[9] The music video was filmed in an abandoned hospital, in the same location where some scenes from the 1984 horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street were filmed.[10] In early August 2005, viral marketing was used to promote Ten Thousand Fists. A piece of software was sent via e-mail to certain recipients, who passed it along to other recipients. When the software was passed along to at least 250,000 recipients, it unlocked the song "Ten Thousand Fists".[11] In early July 2006, the third single, "Land of Confusion" (originally written by Genesis), was released, alongside an animated music video directed by Todd McFarlane.[12][13]

Style

The album features several styles, including alternative metal,[14][15] heavy metal,[16] nu metal,[17][18] and hard rock.[19][20]

Themes

Vocalist David Draiman said that Ten Thousand Fists "seems to fuse the brutality and darkness of The Sickness with the added melodic nature and complexity of Believe. It's more aggressive than the last record, and at times, more aggressive than the first one."[7] The song "Overburdened" is about soldiers going to Hell.[10] Draiman said that the song "Guarded" is about Draiman guarding himself from other people. He said the song "reflects what choosing this life forces certain people to do in a certain way — you have to remain guarded on a certain level."[8] Draiman said the song "Ten Thousand Fists" is meant to "[signify] strength, unity, conviction, power, and the exhilaration that you feel when you get to see that at one of our shows."[11] Draiman continued to say, "It's one of my favorite moments, and people know that I have an affinity for asking people to put their fists in the air, and it's just, it's exhilaration to be able to see ten thousand raised fists or more."[11]

Political content

According to band members, while Ten Thousand Fists was not written as a political album, it was their most political record to date.[21] Vocalist David Draiman's lyrics for the title song, "Ten Thousand Fists", were heavily influenced by his feelings towards American president George W. Bush, and several of the songs included war/anti-war themes, including "Deify", for which the intro features audio clips of Bush urging the nation to push forward in war, interlaced with an individual's political commentary, while the video for "Land of Confusion" depicts big business and capitalism as being a corrupting Nazi-style enemy being overthrown by an army of the people led by The Guy, the band's mascot.[21][22]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic59/100[23]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[14]
Blender[24]
IGN[19]
NME[25]
Rolling Stone[20]
The Village VoicePositive[26]

Ten Thousand Fists earned mixed reviews from critics; it received a score of 59% on the review-aggregating website Metacritic, based on seven reviews.[23] Allmusic reviewer Johnny Loftus gave the album a positive review; however, regarding the album's sound, he stated "Ten Thousand Fists does start to sound the same after a while."[14] The Village Voice's reviewer Phil Freeman also gave the album a positive review, "The guitarist and drummer are an airtight team, and the session bassist capably underpins the guitar solos that are a welcome new addition to the band's sound. Program out the cover of 'Land of Confusion' and you've got the best mainstream metal release since Judas Priest's Angel of Retribution."[26] NME gave it a 1/10 review describing it as "unfocused rage" and "you'll find nothing more despicable this year".[25]

Accolades

Region Year Publication Accolade Rank
United States 2015 Loudwire 10 Best Rock Albums of 2005[27] 1

Appearances in media

The song "Decadence" was featured in the 2005 racing video game Need for Speed: Most Wanted.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Disturbed, except "Land of Confusion", which was originally written by Genesis

No.TitleLength
1."Ten Thousand Fists"3:32
2."Just Stop"3:45
3."Guarded"3:21
4."Deify"4:17
5."Stricken"4:06
6."I'm Alive"4:41
7."Sons of Plunder"3:49
8."Overburdened"5:58
9."Decadence"3:26
10."Forgiven"4:14
11."Land of Confusion" (Genesis cover)4:49
12."Sacred Lie"3:07
13."Pain Redefined"4:09
14."Avarice"2:55
Total length:56:09
iTunes Deluxe bonus track
No.TitleLength
15."Monster"4:03
Total length:60:12
Tour Edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
15."Monster"4:03
16."Two Worlds"3:30
Total length:63:42
Tour Edition (bonus DVD)
No.TitleLength
1."Just Stop (Live From Riviera)"3:57
2."Just Stop (Form Yahoo Music Artist Mods)"3:44
3."Stricken"4:10
4."The Making of Stricken"20:07
5."Land of Confusion"4:47
6."Network Live Show
  • 1: Liberate – 3:52
  • 2: Decadence – 3:47
  • 3: Fear – 3:53
  • 4: Prayer – 3:42
  • 5: Remember – 4:11
  • 6: Stupify – 4:09
  • 7: Deify – 4:16
  • 8: Just Stop – 3:35
  • 9: Voices – 3:29
  • 10: Land of Confusion – 4:47
  • 11: The Game – 4:00
  • 12: Stricken – 6:49
  • 13: Down with the Sickness – 6:02"
57:22
Total length:94:07
Disc 2 (instrumental version)
No.TitleLength
1."Ten Thousand Fists" (Instrumental)3:35
2."Just Stop" (Instrumental)3:48
3."Guarded" (Instrumental)3:25
4."Deify" (Instrumental)4:20
5."Stricken" (Instrumental)4:09
6."I'm Alive" (Instrumental)4:44
7."Sons of Plunder" (Instrumental)3:53
8."Overburdened" (Instrumental)6:01
9."Decadence" (Instrumental)3:29
10."Forgiven" (Instrumental)4:17
11."Land of Confusion" (Instrumental)4:52
12."Sacred Lie" (Instrumental)3:10
13."Pain Redefined" (Instrumental)4:12
14."Avarice" (Instrumental)2:57
Total length:56:52

The UK and Tour editions of the album both feature four bonus tracks ("Monster", "Two Worlds", "Hell", and "Sickened"), the first of which was also included as an iTunes bonus track. All four songs are also included in the band's B-side compilation, The Lost Children.

Personnel

Disturbed

Session member

Production

  • Johnny K – production
  • Disturbed – production, art direction
  • Ben Grosse – mixing
  • Paul Pavao – assistant mixing
  • Ted Jensen – mastering
  • Aiden Mullen – guitar technician
  • Jeff Aldrich – A&R
  • Ellen Wakayama – art direction
  • Matt Taylor – art direction, design
  • Todd McFarlane – artwork
  • Greg Capullo – artwork
  • Clay Patrick McBride – photography

Charts

Singles

Year Song Chart Peak position
2005 "Guarded" Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks[44] 7
Alternative Songs[45] 28
2006 "Just Stop" Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks[44] 4
Alternative Songs[45] 24
"Land of Confusion" Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks[44] 1
Alternative Songs[45] 18
UK Singles Chart[46] 79
"Stricken" US Billboard Hot 100[47] 95
Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks[44] 2
Alternative Songs[45] 13
Pop 100[44] 89
UK Singles Chart[46] 88
2007 "Ten Thousand Fists" Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks[44] 7
Alternative Songs[45] 37

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[48] Platinum 70,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[49] 2× Platinum 200,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[50] Gold 7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI)[51] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[52] 2× Platinum 2,000,000‡

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ DISTURBED Begin Mixing New Album June 3, 2005 Blabbermouth.net
  2. ↑ "Disturbed Pummel Billboard Competition With #1 Fists". MTV. September 28, 2005. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
  3. ↑ "Disturbed Finds New Bassist". May 4, 2004. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
  4. ↑ "Metal band Disturbed takes nothing for granted". Yahoo!. August 20, 2010. Archived from the original on August 23, 2010. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
  5. ↑ Decade of Disturbed
  6. ↑ "Disturbed announce new album title". Blabbermouth.net. June 16, 2005. Archived from the original on February 2, 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
  7. 1 2 "Disturbed album track listing". June 22, 2005. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
  8. 1 2 3 "Disturbed: New single "Stricken" to go for radio adds this month". Blabbermouth.net. July 8, 2005. Archived from the original on March 31, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2009.
  9. ↑ "Disturbed: "Stricken" video posted online". Blabbermouth.net. August 19, 2005. Archived from the original on September 9, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
  10. 1 2 "Disturbed frontman: "We have the utmost love and respect for US soldiers"". Blabbermouth.net. August 18, 2005. Archived from the original on November 5, 2005. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
  11. 1 2 3 "Disturbed: 250,000 fists to unlock new tune". Blabbermouth.net. August 3, 2005. Archived from the original on April 6, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
  12. ↑ "Disturbed: "Land of Confusion" video available online". Blabbermouth.net. July 7, 2006. Archived from the original on March 31, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
  13. ↑ "Disturbed's version of "Land of Confusion" is timely". June 27, 2006. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
  14. 1 2 3 Loftus, Johnny. "Ten Thousand Fists Allmusic review". Allmusic. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
  15. ↑ "Disturbed: Ten Thousand Fists | Reviews". Ultimate Guitar. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Review | DISTURBED - Ten Thousand Fists". powermetal.de. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  17. ↑ Lemeshow-Barooshian, Rae (January 8, 2019). "Top 50 Best Nu-Metal Albums of All-Time". Loudwire. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  18. ↑ "The 50 best nu metal albums of all time". April 2022.
  19. 1 2 D., Spence. "Disturbed – Ten Thousand Fists". IGN. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
  20. 1 2 "Disturbed: Ten Thousand Fists : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. September 22, 2005. Archived from the original on April 11, 2008. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  21. 1 2 "Disturbed drummer: All the bands on the radio "sound the same to me"". Blabbermouth.net. July 19, 2006. Archived from the original on March 31, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
  22. ↑ Harris, Chris (March 15, 2006). "Todd McFarlane to make Genesis' 'Confusion' clip even more disturbed". MTV. Retrieved December 18, 2008.
  23. 1 2 "Metacritic score". Metacritic. Retrieved December 9, 2008.
  24. ↑ Catucci, Nick. "Disturbed Ten Thousand Fists". Blender. Archived from the original on December 1, 2009. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
  25. 1 2 NME, September 17, 2005, p.58
  26. 1 2 Freeman, Phil (November 8, 2005). "Yet Another Solid Album, From Nu-Metal Stars Only the Kids Care About". The Village Voice.
  27. ↑ "10 Best Rock Albums of 2005". Loudwire.
  28. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Disturbed – Ten Thousand Fists". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  29. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Disturbed – Ten Thousand Fists" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  30. ↑ "Disturbed Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  31. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Disturbed – Ten Thousand Fists" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  32. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Disturbed – Ten Thousand Fists" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  33. ↑ "Charts.nz – Disturbed – Ten Thousand Fists". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  34. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  35. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Disturbed – Ten Thousand Fists". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  36. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Disturbed – Ten Thousand Fists". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  37. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  38. ↑ "Disturbed Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  39. ↑ "Disturbed Chart History (Top Catalog Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  40. ↑ "Disturbed Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  41. ↑ "Disturbed Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  42. ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2005". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  43. ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  44. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Disturbed > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Retrieved July 9, 2009.
  45. 1 2 3 4 5 "Disturbed Album & Song Chart History: Alternative Songs". Billboard.
  46. 1 2 Zywietz, Tobias. "Chart Log UK 1994–2008". Zobbel. Archived from the original on October 19, 2015.
  47. ↑ "'Stricken' single chart". Allmusic. Retrieved July 9, 2009.
  48. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2008 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
  49. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Disturbed – Ten Thousand Fists". Music Canada.
  50. ↑ "New Zealand album certifications – Disturbed – Ten Thousand Fists". Recorded Music NZ.
  51. ↑ "British album certifications – Disturbed – Ten Thousand Fists". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Ten Thousand Fists in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  52. ↑ "American album certifications – Disturbed – Ten Thousand Fists". Recording Industry Association of America.
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