"The Night" is a song by American
heavy metal band
Disturbed
Disturbed may refer to:
Books
* ''Disturbed'', a 2011 novel by Kevin O'Brien (author)
Film and TV
* ''Disturbed'' (film), a 1990 film starring Malcolm McDowell
* "Disturbed" (''Numb3rs''), a 2009 episode of ''Numb3rs''
* "The Disturbed", a 20 ...
. It was released on 31 March 2009, as the fourth single from their studio album, ''
Indestructible''. The song was the first from ''Indestructible'' to be completed musically. It is lyrically meant to portray the night as a living entity.
Musically, "The Night" is dark and textural.
Disturbed guitarist
Dan Donegan
Daniel Joseph Donegan (born August 1, 1968) is an American musician who serves as the guitarist and keyboardist for heavy metal band Disturbed.
Donegan began playing guitar as a teenager and eventually formed a band called Vandal, which was a ...
was almost universally praised for his work on this song, specifically during the guitar solo.
A music video to correspond with the song was filmed in January 2009
and later released in late March 2009.
Recording and production
"The Night" was the first song from ''Indestructible'' to be completed musically. Disturbed vocalist
David Draiman
David Michael Draiman ( he, דוד מיכאל דריימן; born March 13, 1973) is an American singer and songwriter. Noted for his distorted, operatic, baritone voice and percussive singing style, he is best known as the lead vocalist of the h ...
composed the vocal melody line for the song in just three days. Draiman later explained, "The instrumentation was so cool and so dark and textural that I right away kind of jumped into it."
This caused Draiman to tentatively call the record ''The Night''.
Musical style and lyrical themes
Vocalist David Draiman said that, lyrically, "The Night" is meant to, "portray the night almost as like a living entity that sets you free. You're enveloped by it, and masked by it."
411mania writer Dan Marsicano claims that, musically, "The Night" is an "epic-sounding track that has one of the best solos that Donegan has ever done and a catchy chorus."
Artistdirect writer Paul Gargano compares "The Night" to American thrash metal band
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
's fourth album, ''
...And Justice for All'', claiming that Disturbed guitarist Dan Donegan, "
mergesloud and clearly as a guitar hero for the modern day as the bottom end crushes through the darkness with a conviction that is not only catchy, but comforting."
PopMatters writer Andrew Blackie claims that the song is "one rare moment of spontaneity on ''Indestructible''," because "drums and guitars pummel through conflicting times." Blackie then dismisses this idea, explaining "This ... suggests a climate of turmoil, one that ... fails to materialize here."
The guitar solo in "The Night" was almost universally noted, as well.
Music video
The music video corresponding with "The Night" was filmed in January 2009, directed by Nobles Jones,
and then released in late March 2009.
Jones was inspired by science fiction/horror films such as ''
Alien
Alien primarily refers to:
* Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country
** Enemy alien, the above in times of war
* Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth
** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...
'' and ''
The Thing'', and the result was "fitting for the track's dark guitar tones and brooding vocal melodies."
The music video takes place in a car garage where Disturbed is performing and vocalist David Draiman is sitting in front of a car, singing. Several times throughout the music video, a dark entity is shown moving behind Draiman, or materializing around other objects. Eventually, a security officer notices via a security camera that the dark entity is materializing around the car, with Draiman no longer there. The officer heads to the car, and investigates it. The band is then shown taking a lift out of the garage, while the officer is still investigating. The dark entity attacks the officer as the band leaves the garage.
Chart positions
Personnel
* Dan Donegan –
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
,
producer
Producer or producers may refer to:
Occupations
*Producer (agriculture), a farm operator
*A stakeholder of economic production
*Film producer, supervises the making of films
**Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...
, electronics
* David Draiman –
lead vocals
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...
,
backing vocals
A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...
, co-producer
*
Mike Wengren
Michael Wengren (born September 3, 1971) is an American drummer, best known for his work with Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Disturbed (band), Disturbed. He is one of the founding members of the band, which was formed in 1994. Wengren is k ...
–
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
, co-producer
*
John Moyer
John Moyer (born November 30, 1973) is an American musician, best known as the bassist and backing vocalist for the heavy metal band Disturbed. Taking over in 2004 after Steve "Fuzz" Kmak was fired, Moyer has played bass guitar with the group s ...
–
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
, backing vocals
* Neal Avron – mixing
*
David Finch – artwork
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Night
Songs about nights
2009 singles
Disturbed (band) songs
2008 songs
Reprise Records singles
Songs written by David Draiman
Songs written by Dan Donegan
Songs written by Mike Wengren