Anyone curious about the state of nu-metal in 2004 need look no further than MUSIC AS A WEAPON II, named after the second successful tour led by headliners Disturbed. Along for the ride on this compilation of live performances are Chevelle, Taproot, and Unloco. On stage, as in the studio, Chevelle's Loeffler brothers proudly wear the odd-tuning and off-kilter tempo influence of Tool on their sleeves by way of "Forfeit" and "The Red", brandishing an intriguing maelstrom of riffs. Taproot equally stakes its ground by punctuating loud-soft dynamics with Stephen Richards's sporadic death metal yowl on "Myself" and "Poem". But, of all the bands on this bill, Disturbed is the most adept at breaking away from the screaming aesthetic that defines so much of nu-metal. Frontman David Draiman is a quietly intense vocalist whose glowering presence on an acoustic version of "Darkness" and the previously unreleased "Dehumanized" make for a far more powerful effect than any amount of amped-up distortion or howling can achieve. The piece de resistance is Disturbed's take on Metallica's "Fade to Black", a reading that perfectly captures the power and nuance of the original.