Ten Thousand Fists

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Ten Thousand Fists
Ten Thousand Fists cover
Studio album by Disturbed
Released September 20, 2005
Recorded January - April 2005 at Groovemaster Studios in Chicago, Illinois
Genre Alternative metal[1]
Length 56:22
Label Reprise/Intoxication
Producer Johnny K, Disturbed
Professional reviews
Disturbed chronology
Believe
(2002)		 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: April 3, 2006
  4. "Land of Confusion"
    Released: October 2, 2006
  5. "Ten Thousand Fists"
    Released: 2006

Ten Thousand Fists is the third studio album by American rock band Disturbed. The album was released on September 20, 2005 and became Disturbed's second consecutive number-one debut on the Billboard 200 in the United States,[2] as well as their second number-one release in New Zealand. It also is the first Disturbed album not to feature Steve Kmak as bass guitar player; instead, Ten Thousand Fists features John Moyer.[3] The album is also the first in which Disturbed's mascot, The Guy, appears on the album cover, as well as later appearing full-bodied in the music video for "Land of Confusion".

Contents

[edit] Promotion

On June 16, 2005 the album title was announced via the Disturbed website.[4] Later that month, the album track listing was also revealed.[5] 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."[6]

The first single, "Stricken", was released on July 25, 2005.[6] On August 19, 2005 the music video "Stricken", directed by Nathan Cox, was posted on the Warner Bros. Records website.[7] 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.[8] 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".[9] 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.[10][11]

[edit] 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."[5] The album includes lyrics about soldiers going to Hell.[8] 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."[6] 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."[9] 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."[9]

[edit] 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.[12] Vocalist David Draiman's lyrics for the title song, "Ten Thousand Fists", were heavily influenced by his feelings towards former American president George W. Bush, and several of the songs included war/anti-war themes, while the video for "Land of Confusion" depicts big business and capitalism as being a corrupting Nazi-like enemy being overthrown by an army of the people led by The Guy, the band's mascot.[13][12]

[edit] Reception

Ten Thousand Fists earned mostly mixed reviews from critics; it received a score of 59% on the review-aggregating website Metacritic, based on seven reviews.[14] 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."[1] Village Voices 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."

[edit] Track listing

All songs written and composed by Disturbed, except "Land of Confusion", which was written by Genesis. 

# Title Length
1. "Ten Thousand Fists"   3:33
2. "Just Stop"   3:46
3. "Guarded"   3:22
4. "Deify"   4:18
5. "Stricken"   4:07
6. "I'm Alive"   4:42
7. "Sons of Plunder"   3:50
8. "Overburdened"   5:59
9. "Decadence"   3:27
10. "Forgiven"   4:15
11. "Land of Confusion"   4:50
12. "Sacred Lie"   3:08
13. "Pain Redefined"   4:09
14. "Avarice"   2:56
56:22

Bonus tracks

# Title Length
1. "Monster"   4:06
2. "Two Worlds"   3:33
7:39

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Chart positions

Album

Year Chart Position
2005 Australian ARIA Albums Chart 11[15]
Austrian Albums Chart 37[16]
Canadian Albums Chart 2[17]
Dutch Album Charts 87[18]
New Zealand Top Albums Chart 1[19]
Swedish Album Charts 24[20]
US Top Internet Albums 1[17]
US Billboard 200 1[21]
2006 1[17]

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
2005 "Guarded" Mainstream Rock Tracks 7[22]
Modern Rock Tracks 28[22]
2006 "Just Stop" Mainstream Rock 4[22]
Modern Rock 24[22]
"Land of Confusion" Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks 1[22]
Hot Modern Rock Tracks 18[22]
"Stricken" US Billboard Hot 100 95[23]
Mainstream Rock Tracks 2[22]
Modern Rock Tracks 13[22]
Pop 100 89[22]
2007 "Ten Thousand Fists" Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks 7[22]
Hot Modern Rock Tracks 37[22]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Loftus, Johnny. "Ten Thousand Fists allmusic review". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:gnfuxq8sld6e~T1. Retrieved on 2009-07-10. 
  2. ^ "Disturbed Pummel Billboard Competition With #1 Fists". 2005-09-28. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1510513/20050928/disturbed.jhtml. Retrieved on 2008-08-23. 
  3. ^ "Disturbed Finds New Bassist". 2004-05-04. http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/disturbed_finds_new_bassist.html. Retrieved on 2008-08-23. 
  4. ^ "Disturbed announce new album title". Blabbermouth.net. 2005-06-16. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.Net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=38165. Retrieved on 2009-07-10. 
  5. ^ a b "Disturbed album track listing". 2005-06-22. http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/upcoming_releases/disturbed_album_track_listing.html. Retrieved on 2008-08-23. 
  6. ^ a b c "Disturbed: New single "Stricken" to go for radio adds this month". Blabbermouth.net. 2005-07-08. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.Net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=39017. Retrieved on 2009-07-09. 
  7. ^ "Disturbed: "Stricken" video posted online". Blabbermouth.net. 2005-08-19. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.Net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=40635. Retrieved on 2009-07-10. 
  8. ^ a b "Disturbed frontman: "We have the utmost love and respect for US soldiers"". Blabbermouth.net. 2005-08-18. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.Net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=40600. Retrieved on 2009-07-10. 
  9. ^ a b c "Disturbed: 250,000 fists to unlock new tune". Blabbermouth.net. 2005-08-03. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.Net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=40051. Retrieved on 2009-07-10. 
  10. ^ "Disturbed: "Land of Confusion" video available online". Blabbermouth.net. 2006-07-07. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=54760. Retrieved on 2009-07-10. 
  11. ^ "Disturbed's version of "Land of Confusion" is timely". 2006-06-27. http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/disturbeds_version_of_land_of_confusion_is_timely.html. Retrieved on 2009-07-10. 
  12. ^ a b "Disturbed drummer: All the bands on the radio "sound the same to me"". Blabbermouth.net. 2006-07-19. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=55284. Retrieved on 2009-07-10. 
  13. ^ Harris, Chris (2006-03-15). "Todd McFarlane to make Genesis' 'Confusion' clip even more disturbed". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1525848/20060310/disturbed.jhtml. Retrieved on 2008-12-18. 
  14. ^ "Metacritic score". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/disturbed/tenthousandfists?q=Ten%20Thousand%20Fists. Retrieved on 2008-12-09. 
  15. ^ "Ten Thousand Fists Australian charts". http://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Disturbed&titel=Ten+Thousand+Fists&cat=a. Retrieved on 2009-07-09. 
  16. ^ "Ten Thousand Fists Austrian charts". http://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=Disturbed&titel=Ten+Thousand+Fists&cat=a. Retrieved on 2009-07-09. 
  17. ^ a b c "Ten Thousand Fists US charts (alt)". http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:gnfuxq8sld6e~T3. Retrieved on 2009-07-09. 
  18. ^ "Ten Thousand Fists Dutch charts". http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Disturbed&titel=Ten+Thousand+Fists&cat=a. Retrieved on 2009-07-09. 
  19. ^ "Ten Thousand Fists New Zealand charts". 2009-07-09. http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Disturbed&titel=Ten+Thousand+Fists&cat=a. 
  20. ^ "Ten Thousand Fists Swedish charts". http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Disturbed&titel=Ten+Thousand+Fists&cat=a. Retrieved on 2009-07-09. 
  21. ^ "Ten Thousand Fists US charts". http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Albums&model.vnuArtistId=382997&model.vnuAlbumId=1138597. Retrieved on 2009-07-09. 
  22. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Ten Thousand Fists US single charts". http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Singles&model.vnuArtistId=382997&model.vnuAlbumId=1138597. Retrieved on 2009-07-09. 
  23. ^ ""Stricken" single chart". http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:gnfuxq8sld6e~T31. Retrieved on 2009-07-09. 
Preceded by
The People's Champ by Paul Wall		 Billboard 200 number-one album
October 2, 2005 - October 8, 2005		 Succeeded by
All Jacked Up by Gretchen Wilson
v • d • e
Disturbed
David Draiman · Dan Donegan · Mike Wengren · John Moyer
Steve "Fuzz" Kmak
Studio albums
The Sickness  · Believe  · Ten Thousand Fists  · Indestructible
DVDs, compilation and EP
Singles
Related articles
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