Yeah, and I still prefer A7X to Devin.

The singer takes getting used to, but I love some of the drumming and guitar work on it.
As far as James just discovering Disturbed, you're right, that dude can wail - I love his voice (although he's having issues right now). I also agree with your assessment of the first CD -- still not getting into Down with the Sickness.
What I've been stuck on lately though is the new Evergrey! It f**king crushes! I know some people are going to hear the 7 strings and think "nu-metal", but I'm so sick and tired of every band who does anything crunchy on a 7-string getting that label. Listening to the new one has also put me in the mood for the rest of their catalog - primarily from In Search of Truth on up.
I've also been getting into Pyramaze and am looking very forward to hearing these guys at PP. Then there is the band that Ron recently turned me onto, Nocturnal Rites. That's pretty cool too! The new Queensryche hasn't grabbed me yet, but I'm trying