Article and Photos by: Courtney Thomassen

Disturbed kicked off the final week of their Take Back Your Life tour with a stop at Orlando, Florida’s Kia Center, where they brought the heat with a spectacle of pyrotechnics and heavy metal.

All female rock band Plush provided support in the first opening slot, taking the stage at 6:45PM to the cheers of an already packed arena. Throughout their set, frontwoman Moriah Formica took turns moving from the mic to bandmates Bella Perron, Ashley Suppa and Faith Powell. The four played off each other, smiling and radiating a positive energy that spread throughout the crowd. In addition to their popular single “Hate,” Plush performed multiple tracks from their most recent EP Find The Beautiful, including “Hope it Hurts” and a cover of Heart’s “Barracuda.” The set ended on a high note with “Left Behind,” during which Formica’s powerful vocals were a standout.

A long row of risers were set at the front of the stage and Plush’s cobra banner was replaced with a large “FIR” as the set changed over in preparation for Falling In Reverse. Red and blue spot lights circled the stage to the sounds of an emergency broadcast as the silhouettes of Max Georgiev, Christian Thompson, Tyler Burgess, and Luke Holland walked out. Frontman Ronnie Radke soon followed suit as the audience cheered wildly and the first notes of “ZOMBIFIED” began to play. Songs old and new were met with excitement from fans as the band pulled from their full discography. “I’m Not A Vampire” and the title track from debut album The Drug In Me Is You were clearly beloved to long time listeners, but equally loud were the cheers for “Just Like You” and “Popular Monster.” After the latter Radke teased the crowd. “Time to go,” he told them, “That’s the song you were waiting for, we play the biggest song last” before correcting himself – that’s not their biggest song. Following the release of “Popular Monster” in 2019 the band came out with a string of singles, each topping the last in acclaim. “Voices In My Head” and “Watch the World Burn” closed the set with a bang. The first pyrotechnics of the night punctuated the final breakdown, but it was only a taste of what the rest of the evening had in store.

It wasn’t long before the house lights dimmed and spotlights backlit the silhouettes of Disturbed against the curtain that hung in front of the stage. An eruption of screams rang out from the crowd as the curtain dropped to “Hey You,” the opening track from the band’s 2022 album Divisive. Three levels of hanging trusses, each fully lit with steady flames, spanned the stage and raised and lowered to create different shapes and angles throughout the entire set, creating a truly awesome backdrop. High energy tracks including “Stupify” and “Ten Thousand Fists” continued to ramp the energy up before the set paused. Frontman David Draiman’s voice cut through the silence with a powerful, pre-recorded speech about depression and addiction that preceded the first acoustic track, “A Reason To Fight.” At many points throughout the night it was clear how much the band strives to promote a supportive and inclusive community amongst their fanbase. During “The Light” Draiman introduced Kyle, a fan and veteran the band had met at their earlier meet and greet. The entire venue joined in a chant for Kyle as he was invited onstage to share his story. While these heavier moments were impactful, they were well balanced, spread out in a show that was overwhelmingly fun. Fan favorites “The Game” and “Indestructible” were peaks in the regular set. Other highlights included the band’s famous cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence,” complete with a piano that was, of course, on fire, an appearance from Plush’s Moriah Formica during “Don’t Tell Me,” and solos from drummer Mike Wengren, bassist John Moyer, and guitarist Dan Donegan. After closing with “Stricken,” cries for an encore quickly brought the band back out. “Unstoppable” from Divisive was followed by two of Disturbed’s most well known and beloved tracks. “Down With the Sickness” and “Inside the Fire” had fans screaming along as fervently as ever, ending the night on an upswing and leaving the crowd chanting “We are Disturbed” until the house lights turned on.