Disturbed is far from the heaviest of heavy metal bands—many purists probably don’t even accept them as part of the genre—but there is a certain quality to their music that gets the adrenaline pumping like few others. Their patented syncopated rhythms and the powerful, rhythmic tones of dynamic frontman David Draiman make for an intense concoction.

The title track of Indestructible, their fourth album, is a virtual battle cry: “Indestructible/Determination that is incorruptible/From the other side/A terror to behold/Annihilation will be unavoidable/Every broken enemy will know/That their opponent had to be invincible/Take a last look around while you're alive/I'm an indestructible master of war.” It continues Disturbed’s tradition of dynamite album openers (following “Voices” on The Sickness, “Prayer” on Believe and the title track of Ten Thousand Fists).

The rest of the album holds up well after the strong start. Those who dismissed Disturbed as a gimmick band early in their career might want to take a another listen. The guttural shouts and barks that are Draiman’s trademark are mostly missing-in-action, though the aggression remains. This is Disturbed’s darkest, heaviest album to date. The emerging star is guitarist Dan Donegan, who is also at the reins as producer. He is one of the more underrated lead players in metal today—a perception he should be well on his way to changing with his fine work here.

Indestructible is a step down from Ten Thousand Fists, which is a testament to the previous album’s greatness and not a knock on the new one. Highlights include the title track, “Inside the Fire,” “The Night,” “Perfect Insanity,” “Enough,” “The Curse”—I’ve named half of the album and I could easily throw in a few more. In other words, it’s pretty good. It does what ideally every album should do for a successful band—advancing and refining their sound while remaining true to what got them where they are.