Review and Photos by Tara Lakatos
Disturbed came to Musikfest in Bethlehem, PA on August 10, 2022. Openers were The Beautiful Distortion, a local band, and New Medicine, a national touring band back from a long hiatus. They played to a packed house of hard rock and metal fans that were ready to rage.
The Beautiful Distortion played for about 30 minutes. True to their name they had grungy, heavy, distorted guitars, paired beautiful and harmonious voices. New Medicine back from a long hiatus came to party. They have some new members, but vocalist Jake Scherer is still at the helm. I saw this band perform many times with Halestorm on their fall 2014 tour, so all their songs were super familiar to me. The front row was filled with their fans, they sang along to all their favorites including, “Breaking the Model”, “One to Many” and “Race You to the Bottom”. They also performed a new song called, “Take Me Away”. This song was more laid back in nature than their older music, a definite contrast and rebirth. Jake is a great front man, he commanded the stage and revved up the audience for what was to come with Disturbed. It was nice to see New Medicine back doing what they love.
The Beautiful Distortion
New Medicine
Disturbed is a band that I have been a fan of forever, but I had not yet had the chance to see them. They have only played a handful of shows in the past year, mostly at festivals. The band roared to the stage starting with “Ten Thousand Fists”. This was the perfect song to start with, the crowd got right into it pounding their fists to the sky along with David Draiman (vox). David is a great performer both vocally and visually. He appears larger than life walking boldly back and forth across that stage. All eyes were upon him.
Disturbed then performed “Inside the Fire” and “Stupify”. Both songs had Dan Donegan (guitar) ripping up the stage. Both songs have killer riffs. “Stupify” featured David’s signature cadence and growl that sets him apart from other artists. They continued their heavy set with “Prayer”, “The Vengeful One” and “Voices”. John Moyer (bass) and Mike Wengren (drums) really led the heaviness of these songs. Disturbed also unleashed their new single “Hey You”. This song followed in the footsteps of “Stupify” both in its phrasing and heaviness.
Disturbed played two covers. Their heavier version of Genesis’, “Land of Confusion” and their haunting version of Simon and Garfunkel’s, “The Sound of Silence”. David can switch from ripping your throat out to healing your wounds all in one breath. The audience lit up Musikfest with their cell phones and swayed to the music, it was a special moment within the show.
Disturbed closed out the show with their signature hit “Down with the Sickness”. This song put David’s voice on the map and solidified their place in rock and roll history. It was a great way to close out a night of their greatest hits. The crowd was enthusiastic and greatly enjoyed the night of heavy music. Disturbed currently has 6 more shows lined up for the year. I’m sure with new music coming out they will have full blown tour plans for 2023. Get out and see some chaos.
Disturbed