Heavy metal band Disturbed treated Hartford to a hardcore set last Wednesday at the Webster Theater, as the Chicago natives debuted material from their new album “Ten Thousand Fists,” released this week.

The band Ten Years opened for Disturbed, allowing the half-empty theater to get a little warmed-up before the main event. Although the venue was sold out, the crowd was clearly not there to see Ten Years. Next was Ill Nino, who played a great half-hour set, backed by two drum sets, three guitarists, and the dreadlocked lead singer.

Between each band’s set, Disc Jockey Steve from Hartford radio station WCCC 106.9 FM came on stage to announce each band, distribute free t-shirts, earplugs and bottles of water to the eager crowd.

After waiting nearly two hours for Disturbed to come on stage, the Webster Theater slowly filled to capacity, leaving hardly any room to jump around.

A high energy 90-minut set, the show opened with guitarist Dan Donegan and bassist Fuzz playing with drummer Mike Wengren banging on the drums. Lead singer David Draiman popped up from behind the stage and started things off with their song “Voices.” With Donegan blazing away on his guitar and Fuzz pounding on his bass, the lights were dancing in harmony with each note the band played, making the crowd go wild.

The show exploded with excitement with each song the band played. Between songs, lead singer Draiman paused to ask the crowd to support our troops in Iraq and those who are suffering in New Orleans. Draiman reciprocated the crowd’s love when letting them know that “no matter where you come from, or how much money you may make, you are all accepted in this house.”

The band performed a few choice cuts from their latest album before exiting the stage. The crowd went crazy and started chanting “U.S.A.” and “Steve” in the hopes that the band or Steve the DJ would come back onstage.

The band returned to the stage for an encore to close the show, performing the well-known “Stupify,” which is featured on their first album “The Sickness.”

While many heavy metal bands sound horrible live, Disturbed played one unforgettable live performance, proving that they are a band at the top of their game. They know what works and they work it good, with every song making an effective transfer from album to stage.