They're back to their fully aggressive sound. I actually liked Evolution but it was pretty polarizing with so many slower tunes. Divisive is aggressive all the way through with only one semi-ballad which is just as kller a track as the rest. The opener Hey You is already getting lots of airplay, and it's a typically great Distrubed album opener. Bad Man follows, and what it lacks in melody it gains in catchiness (you'll be singing "Bad Man, a ****ing Mad Man" in your head for hours after you hear it. Divisive is a killer track dealing with the current division and polarization in our society. Love to Hate is pretty self-explanatory, great tune. Feeding the Fire keeps the heaviness up with a slightly slower tempo about building the energy to defeat your demons. Next is Don't Tell Me which is the one semi-ballad on the album (don't get the wrong idea -- it's still quite heavy) and features arguably the best female hard rock singer ever, Ann Wilson. I'm predicting this will be a big single, similar to Sound of Silence albeit much heavier. Wilson only gets one verse and some harmonizing, but what we get is great, especially when the last note of her verse explodes into the heaviest part of the song. She's somewhat underused, but what we get leaves you wanting more. Take Back Your Life has more great riffing and is a song of personal empowerment. Part of Me is one of my favorites on the album, fast tempo that is a musical alternative to taking a double dose of adderall. Won't Back Down is a great closer, great riffing and it's just melodic enough to make you want to keep starting it over when you arrive at it's very (very!) sudden finish.
I'm not a Distrubed shill by any stretch; there are Distrubed albums I can take or leave, (post Asylum mainly), but I can say without hesitation this is their best collection since that 2010 album. No band this far along in their career will ever repeat the highs of their debut, and a lot of Disturbed material can be somewhat derivative. But this album manages to sound fresh, keeps the preachiness to a minimum, and has great continuity from start to finish. There isn't a Down With the Sickness on it nor does it need one. It's got enough hooks of it's own, and the Ann Wilson collaboration is a crown jewel among an album full of them.