Disturbed has set Asylum as the title of the band's fifth studio effort, announcing a late summer release for the project as well. The Chicago-based quartet is putting the final touches on the record, with a single likely to arrive at radio stations in late May or early June. Asylum will follow up the group's 2008 release, Indestructible, which was their fourth million-seller in a row and third Number One album.

Writing for Asylum began last September, and with the band members living in different parts of the country these days, guitarist Dan Donegan told us the process changed a bit: "It's been a little bit different this time just because we've been so spread out. You know, David (Draiman, singer) moved out of Chicago and he's in Texas now, which that's where John (Moyer, bassist) is as well. You know, Mike (Wengren, drummer), him and his wife are up in Wisconsin. So we've been a little spread out but, you know, Mike, he was coming down here working on some of the music with me and then I'd send stuff off to David and get, you know, a vibe out of him."


Recording for Asylum began in February, with the band producing the album themselves for the second time in a row.


Draiman said in a statement that the new disc was "still identifiably Disturbed, but showing more maturation. We feel this is one of the strongest bodies of work we've ever put together. It definitely goes in familiar areas, but with new levels of precision and skill."

Lyrically, Draiman says, the themes "range from very personal and introspective, to the political and provocative. What would you expect? No songs about puppy dogs or rainbows here."

"We want this record to be a shining example of how the years have made us stronger," Draiman says. "We want it to be an album that helps people get through their own trials and tribulations, as always."

Disturbed will hit the road in advance of the album's release, and is rumored to be anchoring this summer's new Uproar Tour with Avenged Sevenfold and Stone Sour.


The group recently reissued its 2000 debut album, The Sickness, in a deluxe edition featuring bonus tracks, and also plans to release a retrospective DVD called Decade Of Disturbed later this year. -wmmr.com