Most of the lyrical content was inspired by aspects of frontman David Draiman's life prior to making the album.

[9] On February 8, 2010, it was announced that the band had entered the studio in Chicago, Illinois to begin recording their fifth album.

"Serpentine" is a song intended to be "ethereal and frightening", about a demonic woman who "utilizes her sexuality to prey on the weaknesses of men.

"The Animal" is reported to be about an individual turning into a werewolf from the light of the full moon, taking inspiration from the 2010 remake film The Wolfman.

They have also announced an iTunes deluxe version of the album which included a code to download Decade of Disturbed online for free, and five bonus tracks, "Leave It Alone", live performances of "Down with the Sickness" and "Stricken" and two videos of guitarist Dan Donegan showing how to play the main riffs for the band's first two singles, "Down with the Sickness" and "Stupify" both of which were titled "Dissected" instead of "Disturbed".

The band also released a limited edition version of Asylum, featuring the Decade of Disturbed DVD and bonus tracks on the CD (live performances of "Down with the Sickness" and "Stricken").

Disturbed toured in support of Asylum as a headlining act in the Uproar Festival, along with Stone Sour, Hellyeah, and Avenged Sevenfold.

James Zahn of Kick-Axe gave the album a 4 out of 5, summarizing his review by stating "Admittedly, I've long respected Disturbed as a band, while not considering myself 'a fan.'

"[25] Also, giving the album a positive review, Merlin Alderslade of Rock Sound stated "Asylum won't set the world alight, but it's certainly not monotonous enough to send anyone to the madhouse.

"[26] Gary Graff of Billboard gave Asylum a short and positive review ending with "There are enough brains and brawn to make this an 'Asylum' any head-banger would be crazy to avoid.

"[23] Damon Harrison of Rinse Review Repeat said of the band and Asylum that "Disturbed have hit a nail with their hammering aesthetics, finally, and build an aggressive foundation that's sure to leave both fans and critics alike standing firm in their territory.

"[30] Chris Colgan of PopMatters compared Asylum to Disturbed's previous efforts, remarking how well-balanced it is by comparison.

He said, "If Ten Thousand Fists is the large tiger of Disturbed's discography, oversized with more muscle than necessary, and Indestructible is the lean jaguar, fine-cut to just the foundation and essentials, then Asylum is the lion, king of the jungle, perfectly balanced in both core strength and added power to create the purest musical engine for emotional expression.

Replacing it is the darkness of the world, sounds about death, corruption, and depression that come across as a bit uninspired, even though it has perplexed [David] Draiman for the last few years.

"[29] Vinnie Paul, former drummer of Pantera and Hellyeah reviewed Asylum in four words, stating, "That thing kicks ass.