Past and Present
(Added Nov 17, 2005) Life Is Sweet For Disturbed — Apart From A Little Acid Reflux (posted: 11.16.2005 8:35 PM EST)
Band is currently on Jägermeister Music Tour; looking forward to recording another WWE theme song. If Diddy can get an endorsement deal from acne cream Proactiv Solution, there's no reason Disturbed frontman David Draiman shouldn't land a gig plugging stomach medication. After all, the metal belter has sampled many a tummy tablet over the years and even underwent surgery for his uncooperative stomach, yet he still suffers from severe acid reflux.
In mid-October, after a couple of nights of partying, Draiman's problem got so bad that stomach acid singed his throat, which contributed to the band's decision to cancel the last seven shows of their European tour and fly home.
"I had been taking Prevacid for about four years and my body built up a resistance to it, to the point where it wasn't doing anything anymore," the singer said a few hours before show in St. Louis on the Jägermeister Music Tour. "I had a night of drinking in London followed by a full day and night of drinking on a day off in Dublin, because what else is there to do in Ireland but drink? That, coupled with a show where I had monitor problems, and I pretty much trashed my voice."
A visit to a doctor in Dublin confirmed his fears and Draiman was ordered to rest his voice. When he got back to Los Angeles, he immediately underwent an endoscopy to make sure the surgical work that had been done in the past hadn't come undone.
"Thankfully it was still intact, so I just switched to this drug called Protonix and that got me on the right track," Draiman said. "But I gotta watch what I eat a little bit, and I can't drink anymore. How ironic — we start the Jäger tour and I can no longer drink!"
Gastric ills notwithstanding, life has been pretty sweet for Disturbed recently. In late September, the band's Ten Thousand Fists debuted at #1 on the Billboard albums chart, and the album remains in the top 35 nearly two months after its release (see "Disturbed Songs Will Be 'United In Anger' On Third Album"). They're also headlining the Jägermeister tour, which runs through February 4 and also features Corrosion of Conformity ("It's an honor to have them out with us," Draiman said). Bloodsimple will take over the tour's opening slot starting January 22 in Anaheim, California.
All in all, not bad for a group that hadn't released a studio album in three years and was once lumped in with the now-dead nü-metal movement. No one has been more surprised by Disturbed's comeback than Draiman.
"People continue to proclaim the death of rock and try to figure out where Disturbed fit in the scheme of things, and the truth is, we really don't fit in," he said. "You look at the majority of radio programming and it's about 20 bands that all sound pretty much the same. They're either pop-rock punk bands or a pop-rock emo bands, and I can't tell the difference. But obviously there's still a pretty strong place for us. We're in it for the long haul and we're going to take much delight in proving to everyone that we're still viable and we're still here."
The band is planning to release "Just Stop" as a single and video in the New Year. Disturbed shot part of the clip live in their hometown of Chicago on their last tour and will finish it during another show there at the end of this month. "It will just be us doing what we do," Draiman said. "The whole Disturbed experience is about the live show anyway."
Another area that seems to capture the energy and dynamism of Disturbed is professional wrestling. In 2000, Disturbed recorded the theme song for Stone Cold Steve Austin and now they've been asked to do the same for WWE wrestler Triple H. "He certainly is one of the top guys in the WWE right now, and he's an interesting character, so I think it would be an interesting challenge," Draiman said. "I think our music is a good complement for anything that's action-oriented, be it wrestling or a video game or our brothers and sisters in the military. Countless soldiers have told us they play our stuff before going out to battle in the Middle East. It gets people energized and gives them strength and courage — and that's exactly what it's meant to do."
source: Jon Wiederhorn, MTV.com
----------------------
(Added
Oct 06, 2005) Disturbed Gets Revenge
Chicago
metal dudes crush "suit-wearing mama's boys"
When
the hard-rock band Disturbed's third album debuted at Number One last week, its
shaven-headed frontman, David Draiman, was busy shopping for some light bulbs
at a big-box hardware store in his band's native Chicago. He was also "really,
really high." "I'm somewhat distracted by the amazing world of Home
Depot," Draiman said as he wandered the aisles.
Despite Disturbed's ties
to the past-its-prime new-metal movement, the band's album, Ten Thousand Fists,
beat out Bon Jovi's new Have a Nice Day, and is still in the Top Ten in its second
week on the chart, at Number Eight.
For Disturbed, this performance is a vindication in the face of an alien musical landscape that Draiman decries on the furious album track "Sons of Plunder." "The song is about all these pussy-ass, makeup-wearing, suit-wearing mama's boys who are a disgrace to rock & roll," says Draiman. "That whole movement is the equivalent of what grunge did to pure metal in the early Nineties. It made the modern rock landscape a whole different environment."
But the band -- which formed in 1996 after Draiman answered a newspaper ad placed by the other members -- felt just as out of place in new metal. "We've never had turntables or DJs, and we've never had rap-metal vocals," says guitarist Dan Donegan. "We've always been more influenced by bands like Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, which were aggressive but still had melody." Disturbed embrace those influences more than ever on Ten Thousand Fists, with Donegan busting out old-school guitar solos and Draiman's voice soaring to Rob Halford-like heights.
Those old-metal tendencies -- along with the occasional futuristic electronic noise -- led Ozzy Osbourne to declare the Ozzfest vets "the future of heavy metal." And in the tradition of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs," Ten Thousand Fists is filled with anti-war lyrics. One track, "Deify," kicks off with a mocking sample of President Bush declaring, "We go forward to defend freedom," before Draiman launches into a chorus that blasts the public for worshiping a "demented man."
The same sentiments led the band to choose an unlikely cover song: Genesis' synth-soaked, politically charged 1986 hit "Land of Confusion." "The synth part is so syncopated that it's easily adapted to an aggressive guitar riff," says Draiman.
The band dedicated the album to a friend, former Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell, who was shot by a deranged fan in December. "There are certain tracks on this record that became attached to his memory," Draiman says. "The day [Darrell died] was the 9/11 of rock. A little of us died that day, too."
by:
BRIAN HIATT (RS)
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(Added Nov 17, 2005) Disturbed Pummel Billboard Competition With #1 Fists (posted: 09.28.2005)
After three weeks of hip-hop dominance from shimmering-grilled Paul Wall's The People's Champ and controversial pacesetter Kanye West's Late Registration, rock and roll is back on top, taking Billboard's #1 and #2 spots, according to the latest SoundScan figures.
Close to 239,000 hands grabbed Disturbed's latest LP, Ten Thousand Fists, during the album's first week on record-store shelves, earning the metal band its second consecutive chart-topping disc — 2002's Believe opened at #1 with nearly 284,000 scans. To capture the album-sales crown, Disturbed outsold Garden State rockers Bon Jovi — who sit comfortably at the chart's #2, having shifted close to 202,000 copies of Have a Nice Day.
For the second straight week, seven of the albums cracking the top 10 on Billboard's album-sales chart — including Ten Thousand Fists and Have a Nice Day — are first-timers. Coming in at #4 is So Amazing: An All Star Tribute to Luther Vandross, a soulful homage to the late crooner (see "R&B Singer Luther Vandross Dead At 54"), featuring contributions from Usher, Beyoncé, John Legend, Babyface and Jamie Foxx. That disc sold almost 104,000 copies during its first week of release, followed at #5 by Barbara Streisand's new one, Guilty Pleasures, with close to 101,000 units scanned.
David Banner's latest, Certified, pops up at #6 thanks to opening-week sales of 89,000-plus, followed at #7 by New York rockers Coheed and Cambria's third outing, Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness, which sold more than 84,000 copies to earn the group the highest-charting and best-selling debut of its career. This week's #10 belongs to Hustle & Flow soundtrack veterans Pimp Squad Click (a.k.a. P$C), the Atlanta rap crew featuring T.I., A.K., C-Rod, Big Kuntry, and Mac Boney. Their 25 to Life scored debut-week sales of 62,000.
Kanye West's Late Registration falls one spot to #3, with 126,000 scans, selling over 1.4 million during the four weeks since its release. The Black Eyed Peas' Monkey Business holds to the chart's #8 slot with close to 82,000 scans, followed by last week's #1, The People's Champ, which drops to #9 due to a 60 percent sales slip, finishing the week with 70,000 scans.
Mariah Carey's The Emancipation of Mimi takes #11 with 61,000 copies sold, dropping out of the top 10 for the first time since its April release. Young Jeezy's Let's Get It follows at #12 with sales of 54,000. Kelly Clarkson's Breakaway climbs five spots to #13 with 53,000 units sold, while Green Day's American Idiot takes the chart's #14 spot with more than 53,000 discs moved. The debut offering from the Pussycat Dolls, PCD, drops 10 spots to #15, with sales of just over 52,000.
Ryan Cabrera's newest, You Stand Watching, didn't infiltrate the top 20, debuting at #24 with first-week scans of 37,000 and change. Also new to the chart this week is Earth, Wind and Fire's Illumination, which takes #32 with close to 29,000 copies sold. Ray Charles' Genius and Friends — an album of duets featuring the late music legend alongside vocalists including Mary J. Blige, Diana Ross, George Michael and Alicia Keys — debuts #36 with sales of 26,000. Brandy's brother Ray J's Raydiation bows at #48 with 21,000 copies sold; Maroon 5's Live: Friday the 13th comes in at #61 with 16,000 scans; Rock Star: A Night at the Mayan Theatre — a collection of tracks performed by "Rock Star: INXS" contestants finishes at #68 with 15,000 copies sold; R&B artist LaToya London's Love and Life is in at #82 with 12,500 plus scans; and God Forbid's IV: Constitution of Treason opens at #119 with sales of over 8,000.
source: Chris Harris - MTV.com
--------------------------
(Added
Sep 28, 2005) Disturbed, Bon Jovi Rule
Chicago
metal band snags second consecutive chart-topper
Disturbed top the chart this week, after moving 239,000 copies of their third effort, Ten Thousand Fists, according to Nielsen SoundScan. This is the Chicago metal band's second consecutive Number One album: 2002's Believe moved 284,000 CDs to dominate.
by: ALEX MAR (RS)
(Added
Sep 28, 2005, 4:00 PM PT) Disturbed Rules the
"Day"
by David Jenison
Disturbed has given Bon Jovi the fist.
While the latter scored a career-best sales week, it wasn't enough to keep Disturbed from landing its second straight number one. The Chicago rockers' Ten Thousand Fists finished the week ended Sunday by selling nearly 239,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It was a strong week for new albums, with seven debuts among the Top 10.
-source:
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(Added
Sep 21, 2005) 06:29 PM : LiveDaily Interview:
Dan Donegan of Disturbed
by Christina Fuoco
liveDaily Contributor
While penning their latest album, "Ten Thousand Fists"--which landed in stores on Tuesday (9/20)--Chicago-based rockers Disturbed (music) resurrected a time-honored tradition in rock music: the guitar solo.
Axe-slinger Dan
Donegan said re-introducing the technique to Disturbed was a natural process.
"When we started writing, we went back to the basics of just kind of
jamming out riffs," said Donegan. "That brought us back to some of our
influences. It made the songs seem like some of them could use guitar solos. We
just thought we would expand on that. We're trying to contribute in our way bringing
this element back to rock music."
Calling from his home near Chicago, Donegan explained that, while it was a songwriting necessity, using guitar solos was also a nod toward one of Disturbed's favorite players.
"I think part of it is a tribute to Dimebag," Donegan said, referring to late Pantera guitarist Darrell Abbott, who was gunned down while performing with his band Damageplan in 2004.
liveDaily: You haven't been on a major tour for two years. You must be anxious to get back on the road.
Dan Donegan: Oh yeah. We're dying to get back out there. It's been too long since we've been out there--almost two years. We did a few shows here and there, just a little tease. The last real tour we did was Ozzfest 2003. We did a week of shows last summer just to whet our appetite. We were sick of just writing songs and being home. We wanted to get up on stage for a little bit. So we had to book a few shows. We're just anxious, definitely, to get back out.
Did you work on "Ten Thousand Fists" for most of the past two years?
Pretty much. We had a hard few years of touring ever since [2000's] "The Sickness" came out. It was pretty much nonstop touring for almost two years straight on 'The Sickness,' then a year straight on the [2002] "Believe" record. We were a little burnt out at that point. We came home, took a month or two off. Everybody had some personal things to take care of when we got home. I had a daughter born that winter, 2003. David [Draiman, singer] had bought a house in L.A. He was out there for awhile. There was a little bit of personal stuff going on with everybody. Once we all got settled in and things taken care of, we just started throwing ideas back and forth to each other and got the writing process going.
Tell me about the songwriting process with Disturbed.
It's pretty much always been the same way with us. Usually, I'll come up with the music first, just have some riffs and some ideas. I'll have a rough structure idea that I have in mind. I bring it to Mikey [Wengren, drummer]. We'll work on beats with it. Once we get comfortable with it musically and we have a good vibe for it, I'll usually record it and give it to Dave and let Dave live with it for a bit. We see if it strikes any ideas out of him. He'll bounce his ideas off of that for a little bit.... He sticks to the original version, except for a few changes here and there, depending on his melodies. We'll make a few adjustments. It's just the way we know how to do it. Every now and then, David may have a melody idea that he may throw in and that will spark a riff or a riff idea. He may hum to me an idea every now and then. There have been a couple songs that have been triggered that way.
You worked with producer Johnny K. again. He also produced "The Sickness" and "Believe." What is it like to work with him?
We just have a great relationship with him. We've known him for years. I've known him forever. We grew up in the same area and he went to high school with my oldest brother. I knew him from around. Back in the day, he produced all the local bands' demos. He did our demos when we got signed. We just had this comfortable environment. It didn't really feel like we were going to work; we just felt like we were going over our buddy's place to throw down some ideas and record it. I like that feeling. I like that environment. There's no pressure that way. We don't want to have a sterile environment of going into this studio [and] walking past the receptionist every morning and feel like you're punching the clock.
Is it still an educational experience to work with a producer repeatedly?
Yeah, for sure. I think we all continue to develop and Johnny K. [does], as well. He's done many albums since our first album, ours being his first major release. He's done a wide range of stuff, from Machine Head to--3 Doors Down was the last thing he did before he started this album with us. He's had a lot of experience growing over the last few years just on a professional level. I think we all continue to develop as , as players, as writers and him as a producer. There's definitely some growth from all of us.
Why do you think guitar solos aren't as prevalent in music these days?
I don't know. Ever since the grunge days and this alternative thing, there hasn't been a whole lot of soloing going on. Early on, when we first formed, we had a lot of guitar solos in all the songs. As we were developing, our songwriting--for me, personally--was starting to become more influenced by bands like Soundgarden, Alice in Chains. Soundgarden, especially, really didn't have any solos. Every so often, they would do something. It was more about the riffs and the grooves. I like the way that was. That's where our earlier stuff was going, instead of branching off in solos. It was trying to branch into another musical piece, a riff that would take you in another direction.
Maybe there's a lack of talent out there, too. [laughs] There probably [aren't] many kids that can play it, I guess. There's a lot more coming out that are starting to shred a lot more. A lot of these hardcore bands like Shadows Fall, Atreyu, Avenged Sevenfold, they've got some great guitar players. They're all strutters and quick players. I think the school that I come from is mainly trying to do stuff that's tasteful, not trying to show off for 20 or 30 seconds of a song. I'm trying to do something more along the lines of what Jerry Cantrell [of Alice in Chains] did, very tasteful. He did what felt right for the song. There were very melodic and memorable solos. Just growing up as a kid, I liked playing air guitar to my favorite guitar players and [it] needed to be something melodic that made you want to act like you were playing it yourself. It's kind of hard to do it if it's all speed, fast playing. I admire the guys that do it and do it well. I have more respect for the players like Jerry Cantrell that do it tastefully.
"Ten Thousand Fists" is much more aggressive than your previous albums. Would you agree?
Probably. When we got together and started throwing around the ideas, I just started bringing out some old riffs I used to play. "Guarded" and "Decadence" are pretty much straight-up, aggressive tracks on the album. Those were the first two ideas I had come up with. That set the tone right off the bat of it being a little bit more aggressive at times. Out of 19 songs that we tracked--14 going on the album--that's a lot of material. We try to give every song its own identity. We don't want to fall in the rut of being a repetitious-sounding band. We don't want every song to sound like "Down with the Sickness" or "Prayer." It's got to be a creative mood. It's got to be its own thing.
The album also carries a theme of politics and religion.
David, he's got a lot of opinions. He's an intelligent, well-spoken guy, well educated. He's got a lot of strong opinions. It's not necessarily him forcing his opinion; it's him expressing his feelings on certain issues. I don't think he's ever going to write a song that's about teenyboppers falling in love. I know he always likes to refer to those love stories as "riding off on their skateboards into the sunset together." I don't think he's ever going to be writing those kinds of lyrics. He's a very intelligent guy with a lot of issues--world issues, political issues, religious issues, relationship issues. These are adult topics. The kids can relate to it too, but we're all adults. He's got topics that strike a chord with him, ones that he wants to get a release on and speak about.
Are you bringing back the multi-act "Music as a Weapon" tour?
There's nothing confirmed. We're hoping to bring it back around next spring or next summer. We definitely want to do something each album cycle, and bring together a big tour and up the production side of things. The first two have been successful tours.
source: 
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(Added:
September 15, 2005 @ 11:50 AM)
Disturbed
live at the Post Gazette Pavilion in Pittsburgh, PA on 9/9/05
By Tokemaster General, Contributor | Submitted by: Jeff King (AceFrehleydotcom)
One
would expect at a Disturbed concert the obvious. The black concert T-shirts. The
tattoos. The body piercings. And oh yeah, alot of metal maniacs with shaved heads.
Tonight was no different.
We arrived at the Post Gazette Pavilion about
6:30. There was no need to see the many opening bands on this day. We were here
to get seriously DISTURBED.
The parking lot was full of scantily clad
metal babes. In every direction you could see the "personalities" bouncing
with anticipation of a colossal metal show that was about to begin soon. As my
cohort and I primed ourselves with some West Virginia cherry flavored moonshine,
which was surprisingly smooth and tasty, we saw Disturbed frontman David Draiman
cruising through the parking lot on a golf cart flanked by security. Seeing him
three hours prior to the band jamming onstage was a welcome treat, along with
the KGB my buddy had. We were here, afterall, to party our asses off. So after
one or three more chugs of some good old "shine", it was off to the
show. We strategically hid the party favors before hitting the security searchpoint,
and we were in like Flynn.
We made our way to the second stage. Alot
of bands I've never heard of and the stage hands respectfully catching the stagedivers
as they were lifted back to the stage. The security was understanding of the crowd
and it seemed that everyone was having a fantastic time.
We made our
way to the vendors pavilion to grab a sandwich and get another drink when we noticed
a line of people waiting in front of a tent. There we saw a sign stating that
Disturbed would be signing autographs here shortly. Within 10 minutes, the band
walked from behind a security gate towards the tent, and I got to shake David
Draiman's hand as he got ready to sign the shirts, cd's and the boobies. (Moment
to reflect on why I never got serious about the drums when I was a kid, and yes,
I'm kicking myself in the ass for it) There was a member of the entourage with
a rather sophisticated video camera who caught me telling Mike Wengren what a
"bad mother fucker" he is. Again, being a drummer, I'm partial to percussionists.
He thanked me and took his seat at the signing table. I SO hope that bit makes
it to the DVD. I'll consider that my 15 minutes.
9:30 pm. DISTURBED!
The band opened with the new song Guarded, and the rock was on. Draiman thanked
the crowd for coming out and went into Liberate, followed by Violence Fetish.
After this song, David went into a rap about supporting the Red Cross to help
those affected by "THAT SADISTIC FUCKING BITCH KATRINA" and made sure
he got his plug in for the American troops fighting in the desert. When he mentioned
that he wanted the troops back "here", the crowd went nuts. There is
nothing cooler than seeing one of your favorite rockstars getting 15,000 metalheads
chanting USA. USA. USA. (David, if you read this, two fists up from me)
The
complete song list is below. They played all the hits. Unfortunately they didn't
play Mistress, my personal favorite from Believe. I was so happy to see Dan play
a solo on the new song Stricken. I can't wait for the cd to come out September
20. He played the solo exactly as you hear it on the album. This band is solid.
If you have never seen them, they are totally professional on stage and off. You
can't say enough about John's bass playing. Dan is a riff master who has incredible
stage presence and had the crowd dropping plates. Mike Fucking Wengren takes the
double bass pedal to new heights with his style, (again, I'm a drummer and this
dude can play) and David Draiman was virtually flawless, with the exception of
Remember. One of my favorite Disturbed songs ever, and not an easy one to sing,
especially live. He struggled a few times with the high notes, but covered nicely
and I'm sure no one asked for a refund.
Here is the song list in order.
I admit the "shine" got to me a little, and there is one song I just
can't remember before the encore. If anyone was in Pittsburgh on Friday night,
feel free to help me out with that song. And to the girl in the white mini van
who I asked to show me her tits while I was video taping everyone leaving the
parking lot, a HUGE thank you. You made a perfect night a little better.
Guarded
Liberate
Violence Fetish
Bound
The
Game
Believe
Fear
Remember
The Sickness (and the crowd went off!)
Oh, wa ah ah ah
Pray
Voices
*(forgotten song. damn shine. damn buds)
ENCORE:
Stricken
David
Draiman rap: "What song do you want to hear?" (It was unanimous)
Stupify
-source:
On
Believe, the second album by multiplatinum headbangers Disturbed, the
band's drill-press metal reveals more of its Eighties roots -- though not with
the kind of jackboot thunder one might expect. On machine-gun songs such as "Rise,"
the Chicago quartet gives a predictable nod to Eighties thrash and Wax Trax Records
industrial rock. But Disturbed also embrace a brooding, ultramelodic goth grandeur,
a la Tears for Fears' "Shout" and Depeche Mode's "Blasphemous Rumours."
Believe represents a skillful, if calculated, variation on the melodrama-meets-mayhem
formula that has been driving the most commercially successful new metal in recent
years, from Korn to Staind. David Draiman -- known primarily for grunting and
barking like a deeply afflicted Times Square oracle on the band's 2000 debut,
The Sickness -- is determined to show his sensitive side, coming on like a shaved-headed
power balladeer. He still twitches and froths on the verses, particularly on "Intoxication,"
but mutates into a ravaged crooner on the choruses. He tenderly caresses lyrics
that address "my devastation," in "Remember," and sounds positively
dreamy drifting through the belly of the beast in "Mistress."
The staccato grind of Disturbed's debut hasn't been completely abandoned. Draiman squeezes his Old Testament bromides into pretty hate machines -- "Prayer," "Bound" and "Devour" -- as the rhythm section comes on with industrial precision. Andy Wallace's mix gives Mike Wengren's kick drum a John Bonham-like prominence, and Dan Donegan wields his guitar like a percussive hammer. Draiman's newly expressive voice and the moody melodies run neck and neck with the mosh-pit histrionics until the finale, "Darkness" -- the moment when Disturbed morph into a lounge combo. The piano tinkles, the cello swoons and Draiman's mascara starts to run. The singer slips a black leather smoking jacket over his hair shirt and sings a sad little anthem for all the lost goths. At last, new metal has its answer to Depeche Mode's Black Celebration.
source:
GREG KOT (RS 906 - October 3, 2002)
Heavy
metal band Disturbed came together through the matching of a band with a singer.
Long-time friends Dan Donegan (guitar), Mike Wengren (drums), and Fuzz (bass)
played together in Chicago for some time before hooking up with singer David Draiman
around 1997. Draiman had grown up in a religious family from which he rebelled,
being expelled from five boarding schools in his adolescence. His anger found
an outlet in the thrashing sound of Disturbed, and the band built up a following
on Chicago's South Side before a demo tape led to their signing to Giant Records,
which released their debut album, The Sickness, in March 2000. The band gained
more fans and exposure playing the main stage of the 2001 Ozz Fest, then breaking
away to do their own self-described "victory lap" around the U.S. that
fall. Also during this period, they managed to record a vicious new version of
wrestler Steve Austin's theme song that was so good it managed to receive radio
play, and was one of the many bands announced to work on a high profile Faith
No More tribute album. The band stepped into the studio after stepping off of
the road and began work on a new disc that would reflect their growth as a band.
Feeling experimental, the group worked with producer Johnny K. and mixer Andy
Wallace in order to create an album that could compare to other classic metal
records they admired. Amplifying their fondness for groups like Judas Priest,
Iron Maiden, Pantera, and Soundgarden, Believe was released in the fall of 2002
and was immediately recognized as a heavier, more varied, and ultimately superior
record to their debut.
source: 
~ William Ruhlmann and Bradley Torreano, All Music Guide
(Added
Nov 9, 2005 - older news)
Success Hasn’t
Gone To Their Heads
Disturbed Chart The Road Ahead
When the year 2000 edition of Ozzfest made it's way across the planet, the guys from Disturbed were veritable unknowns. Their first big hit, "Stupify," was just beginning to impact at rock radio, and the crowds weren't sure what to expect from the Chicago-based foursome. By the time Ozzfest 2000 had ended, Disturbed had changed the meaning of being on the second stage. It no longer meant you were a struggling band trying to make your way. It seemed that when Disturbed hit the second stage every night, as many fans were there to check them out as were at the first stage watching the "bigger" bands.
When the 2001 Ozzfest line-up was announced, it was assumed that Disturbed, by then riding the wave of a platinum record, The Sickness, and three huge radio hits, "Stupify," "Down With The Sickness" and "Voices," would be first stage stars. What the guys did though was to commit to the fans that had brought them to stardom and instead became the headliner on the second stage. Almost single-handedly, they changed what it meant to be on the "other" stage and created almost a competition to be one of the bands on the second stage.
Even after all the success, the guys, singer David Draiman, guitarist Dan Donegan, bassist Fuzz and drummer Mike Wengren, haven't become spoiled rock stars. They tour relentlessly and are constantly looking for ways to push the envelope at the opening to their set. So far Draiman has been zapped in an electric chair, he's brought out in a straight jacket and the band even put together an intro film that charts humanity's various atrocities against itself. They aren't afraid to push the limit.
When we met with they guys as they made their way through LA on a headlining tour, what was most surprising was the desire they have to get back to the studio and face the daunting task of creating a follow-up to The Sickness. Though they could easily release at least two more singles from the record, they just don't seem interested in flooding the airwaves with their music or resting on what they've already done. Soon, it'll be time to head back to the drawing board and try to give the fans the next installment.
In the meantime, check out our exclusive interview with David and Dan…..
THE INTERVIEW:
VOX: Is there pressure to have the second
album be as much of a success? That "sophomore slump"…
David
Draiman: Yeah, there is, but we don’t like to think about it too much. We’re
just going about things as usual.
Dan Donegan: That’s all we can do is
have a good frame of mind and getting together and improvising on each other’s
ideas without trying to think about it too much, what "Stupify," "Voices,"
"Down with the sickness," what all three singles have done for us. We
can’t over-think it.
VOX: Who inspired you to play?
Dan:
So many, I can’t even think which one got me to play guitar. It was from
everything I guess, from MTV when they would play rock videos, a lot more back
then, just going to concerts. There have been so many shows that we’ve been
to.
Dave: There was not any one - it’s something that culminated over time.
VOX: Did you think you’d get here
and be this successful?
Dave: We hoped. It was definitely in our wildest dreams.
Dan: It’s a surreal feeling to know that in the past two years how quick and far it has gone. It took us many years to get to this point – all of the opportunities that we now have. It’s very surreal. It’s cool to look out into the crowd in each city we visit and watch the crowds grow in size. Our following, fan base continuing to grow, singing the songs and being familiar with the material
VOX: What’s with the guy on the cover?
Dave: What
you see is the birth of the monster. So what you see is the head peeking out of
vaginal lips. I think that Paul brown who designed it told me he took my eyes
and superimposed it. What he really did is he had this rubber synthetic device
and put a baby doll’s head through it and then took the photograph and put
it on the computer and distorted it. It came out to look like something menacing.
Everyone always assumes it’s me – it’s not me! One of my biggest
objections was that everyone’s going to assume that’s me and that’s
pompous. I don’t want everyone to assume ‘that’s the singer’s
head and face’ on the cover. Not me! It’s just the birth of the monster.
VOX:
Do you think there will be a fourth single?
Dave: Anything is possible. We’d
like to put the record to bed with ‘down with’ but I personally believe
and I’ve said it before this record could have gone four or five singles.
But that is such a rarity in today’s market and to be perfectly honest I
just don’t think we have the time.
Dan: I don’t think we could go that deep with it because "Stupify" did last for so long, we couldn’t get in the second single because they still wanted it ["Stupify"]. Radio was still pushing "Stupify." I mean it’s a good problem to have. That’s where we’re at now with "Down With The Sickness." We can’t go with the fourth single right away when "Down With The Sickness" single is…
Dave: …as strong as it is…
Dan: …a top ten single and it has no signs of going away.
VOX:
How do you guys put songs together? Does it start with an acoustic part and work
from there?
Dan: No, it’s always electric. Usually I’ll come in with
a few riffs then we bring in the guys and improvise and vibe off that once we
have a rough structure musically then Dave will start improvising melodies then
syncopation with his vocals. That’s pretty much the formula.
VOX:
Is that syncopation natural?
Dave: It’s something that developed in conjunction
with our music. I have always been rhythmic as a vocalist and the music we were
writing together just seemed to call for a very rhythmic vocalist style. It’s
utilized as an instrument, not a separate entity, so that it blends in with everything
else.
VOX: Are you guys in to the Internet and do you see it
as important to the band?
Dave: Tremendously. We have always been very active
from that perspective. We had a web site prior to being signed and we always thought
it was a priority. It’s just a means of reaching so many people. It’s
an invaluable tool. We always put free downloads, mp3s. We pretty much have always
been supporters of ideas and concepts behind sites like Napster. We want to be
able to spread our music to as many people as we possibly can and the Internet
is a way to do that.
VOX: Though your music is really powerful,
the trend now is make acoustic versions of songs - can any Disturbed songs be
done acoustically?
Dave: We don’t have any plans, we’re capable of
it. We just don’t think that our music is meant to be without power. The
intensity of our music the way that we write it derives very strongly electric
guitar –large sounds. We want it to be impactful. Maybe on the next record
it might be something that is adaptable to that but the current material we just
don’t think it would be appropriate for an acoustic version.
VOX:
Where are you guys at in terms of a second record? Have you written new songs?
Dave:
We are in the process of…
Dan: We have a couple songs in the works. We’re going to be writing a lot more on this tour just preparing for it. When we go home for the Christmas, new year holidays we’ll stay off the road then and we’ll finish up writing and get back in there. It's going well as the ideas are starting to come out and really feel good about it again.
Dave: Strong stuff. It’s still definitely Disturbed, still our signature sound but we’re trying different things, different guitar progressions, different melodic arrangements. Different chorus structures. Trying to mature a little bit, develop a little bit. Break new ground.
VOX: The record has
been on the charts for quite a while…
Dan: It’s kind of shocking
for us, we are coming to the end of the album’s cycle and it’s still
in the top 50 in Billboard.
Dave: It’s the only album that I can remember in recent history that has reentered the top 50 albums three times in it’s album cycle. Normally an album debuts, it stays hot for awhile then it drops the top 50 or 100 then it goes away. This album keeps coming down then back up. Each of the singles has propelled album sales. We have been very fortunate.
VOX: Can you do the intro part to "Down With
The Sickness" on demand or does it take something special?
Dave: [shaking
head] I could, I won’t! When that part of the set comes along, I really need
to be in that special place. I can’t just break into the call. The whole
idea behind it is that it’s primal. It’s animalistic. You have to be
in that frame of mind.
VOX: It’s not something you do
driving on the freeway?
Dave: No and if I had a dollar for every time someone
asked me to do it on the spot…
Dan: You’d actually have some money.
Dave: Yea…
VOX: I'm sure you have enough that you could buy
designer overalls now.
Dave: I suppose we could. We’ve certainly been
able to attain a certain level of respect in the musical community which I think
is something personally I was yearning for. I wanted to be respected by our peers.
Even though you don’t hear about Disturbed as much as other bands there is
a certain level of rapport with musicians in the genre and across a few different
genres of music which is something we have to hold sacred.
VOX:
Tell me about the video for "Down With The Sickness."
Dave: The video
was shot in a show in Chicago at a venue where we had seen [growing up] all the
big shows. It was really, really vindicating, 25,000 people, hometown, tremendous
vibe…
Dan: It was the venue that we had seen so many shows. That was somewhat of an emotional day for all of us. It was like ‘my god look it at where it’s gone in the past two years.’ Like he said, 25,000 people, hometown fans, it was great. We wanted to capture all that live footage for people who haven’t been to a Disturbed live show to see what it’s like.
Dave: I kept thinking people were going to leave that day. We headlined the show, on a bill of bands, some of who were more successful than us and had more notoriety than us. But it was our hometown and the station saw it fit to allow us to headline and I thought we’re going out there and half the people would be gone. And we went out there and not a single soul had left! It was tremendous energy, focus, it was wonderful.
VOX:
How about the song ["Down With The Sickness"] itself?
Dave: The song
is a basic anthem of the album. It is a very clear illustration – or maybe
not so clear, it’s a little cryptic the way I wrote it – but it’s
an illustration of our philosophy and embracing of individuality and self development
and seeking those things in life
VOX: "Stupify"
has been one of the most-played songs of the year. How do you feel when you turn
on the radio and hear your own song?
Dan: I don’t like it when we walk
into a bar and all of a sudden the DJ feels he has to throw on our songs…
Dave: Yeah.
Dan: You know, play it cause it’s in your – playlist, you know, not because we walked in the door!
VOX:
You've been electrocuted. You've been brought out in a straight jacket. Now you've
taken the intro to the live show to a whole new level - tell me about it.
Dave:
The central theme that was running with all of these introductions basically they
are depictions of the way society views or deals with people that are different
from the norm. Straight jacket, they try to restrain you; cage, they’ll imprison
you; electric chair they try to wipe you out entirely. And this next stage of
productive development is reflective of that as well.
We have an audiovisual presentation that is a part of the set and as usual a theatrical enactment that is part and parcel to that. Basically they audio-visual part looks at persecution and holocaust over the course of human history. People who have used the differences in other people as an excuse or authorization to eradicate or eliminate that entirely – or put them through tremendous pain and suffering.
VOX: Does any of that come from your Jewish background?
Dave:
It comes a little bit from that. It’s really not a Jewish thing, it’s
a people thing. There are all sorts of episodes directed in the film, the Crusades,
the Salem witch trials to Saddam Hussein gassing his own people to the Armenian
genocide, the American Indians at Wounded Knee. There are so many examples of
this type of behavior. It’s certainly not specific to my heritage in any
way.
VOX: What made you decide to shave your head?
Dave:
I’ve been wanting to do it for years, as long as I can remember. Like when
I was finally able to quit my job, like immediately, the day after – up the
middle – whooh, no turning back!
Dan: I remember that day very clearly!
Dave: I poked my head into his room, we lived in the same house at the time and I’m like ‘aghhh’ and he’s like ‘Oh my God!’
Dan: Scared the hell out of me!
VOX:
Was it long?
Dave: Nah, I had it – it was short – short hair. Kinda
of like a George Clooney, kind of a Roman thing going on. Blah!
VOX:
You've been on tour for what seems like the better part of a year a half or so;
any desire to go home?
Dave: Little bit more than a year and a half. In March
[2002] it would be two years and we’ll be off the road well before then.
We’re dying to focus on writing new material.
Dan: We took a short break after Ozzfest. We took a five-week break just to chill out, take care of some stuff back home. But after being at home for awhile we were anxious to get back out again. We love what we do we don’t want to be away from it too long.
VOX: Any comments on the September 11 tragedy?
Dave:
What can you say that hasn’t already? It’s horrific, shocking, tragic…I
think that I have very little respect for the individuals who participate in the
capitalization of such an event. No one should be making money off of this. People
shouldn’t be producing American flag shirts to sell en mass to make a quick
buck. Or doctoring up songs so that they fit in with the actual tragedy or that
they’ll actually get spun more often. I think that’s reprehensible.
How dare you try to make a business off of people’s suffering and pain? It
sounds like organized religion to me…
source: 
Band
Concert Review
Disturbed: Chicago Appearance making it Personal
Disturbed
Live @ the Vic Theater Chicago 9/19/02
By Adam Bielawski
Photos by
Adam Bielawski
This was nothing to miss!. Promoted by the popular
alternative station of Chicago Q101, the station dispersed tickets through out
the week with only a week from the show's public announcement on Thursday - September
12, 2002. One week announcement made everyone scramble to be able to see Disturbed
on the September 19, 2002 no other place then the classic venue The Vic, where
Metal Icons such as Danzig, Iron Maiden, and the one and only Lemmy with Motorhead
had performed years before.
Promoting their new CD "Believe", Disturbed
signed autographs at a local music store showing to all their fans that they are
there for them. Disturbed is scheduled to hit the road with heavy hitters "KORN"
for the remainder of their North American tour starting in October 2002. Disturbed
is scheduled to play a few shows in small clubs through out the mid-west giving
fans old and new, proving loyalty to a band that started playing in Chicago. Making
this rare appearance, not waiting till after Korn showed they have not forgotten
how everyone loves their music in this city of Rock and Roll and a pre-tour performance
was a must.
Promptly starting at 8:30 PM, rolling out their new single "Prayer" for the long awaited act to get back on tour. This time around Disturbed is world known and we are lucky to see them at a venue of such size making it very personal of all that have attended. Even before Disturbed set their feet on stage, David Draiman greeted the fans from the balcony as everyone screamed and waited in anticipation. Disturbed has made their mark in rock and metal and I am sure that by the next time around they will be playing venues and passing up most metal acts on the scene. We are sure to see Disturbed in the near future head lining stadiums in the coming future as they take the throne of Metal Glory.
Proving to all in attendance that Metal is not dead, Disturbed put out a full set that must have been more then 90 minutes from their newest and past release. Disturbed has got to be one of the few bands recently that put out a power house CD where most of the songs made radio play. This is no one hit wonder, holding with Metal tradition, putting out metal that will be valid in the years to come and not just something that passes by this week. Rocking hard, proving they are the new kings of metal with a tour to start.
The guys from Disturbed put out a full tilt performance and most likely we have just tasted of what is to come, the year of Disturbed.
source: Unrated Magazine.com [click here for the photo gallery]
