Songfacts®:

• Speaking in an interview with Patrick Tish and Brandon "4orty" Kessel of the radio station 96.7 KCAL-FM, guitarist Dan Donegan said that he originally wrote the music for "Are You Ready" back in 2004. However, he didn't get round to completing it and filed his demo away. When Disturbed were looking for new ideas for their Evolution record Donegan looked back at his archives of uncompleted material, and brought it back into the mix.
  
  Donegan added that vocalist David Draiman "gravitated towards it right away" and said he'd "got something great for this." Draiman then "started just kind of scatting a melody on top of it."
• The song reached #1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart in just its sixth week on the tally. Disturbed's eighth single to reach the summit, "Are You Ready" was the fastest climber of their eight chart-toppers.
• Lyrically, the song is a call to arms, encouraging people not to give in to the powers that be who thrive on division and weakness. David Draiman explained to Louder Sound:
  
  "It's encouraging people to not allow themselves to be prey. That when you're strong – even just projecting strong feelings, conveying strength – it discourages the predator. You wanna scare a bear away, you stand your ground."
  
  Draiman added that he is encouraging "a revolution in thought" rather than taking up arms. "A revolution in how you perceive yourself," he explained. "People are glued to the next headline because they're scared to death, and to have the world live in fear makes life easier for those who are looking to control you. It's anything. It's family, it's government; it doesn't have to be any one entity in particular. You yourself as the individual have been subjugated for too long and you do not need to feel that way."
• Debuting (and peaking) at #4, Evolution broke Disturbed's five-album streak of chart-topping debuts in the US. The last time they missed the apex was with their debut album, The Sickness, which went to #29 in 2000.
• In the music video, directed by Robert Schober ("Asylum"), the band is rocking out in a basement club for an enthusiastic crowd. Meanwhile, the protagonist tries to dodge futuristic spy drones in the streets. David Draiman explained in a behind-the-scenes clip: "The concept of the video is set in a futuristic world where the government has become quite oppressive and you have a little bit of a rebellion happening and our main character is trying to avoid the powers that be and get to where we are having a performance."