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Disturbed Biography
Review The Artist (35)
Source: http://www.ozzfest.com
David Draiman: Vocals
Dan Donegan: Guitar
Fuzz: Bass
Mike Wengren: Drums
"What I'm trying to do from a lyrical perspective is bring back the majesty of metal," says David Draiman, defining Believe, the follow-up to Disturbed's multi-platinum debut, The Sickness. "With this album I wanted to speak about important things in a grand way, and even touch on things that may not seem so important, but come at them from a perspective that makes them inviting, delicious--even foreboding in a way."
Among his many distinguishing characteristics, Draiman has superb enunciation. As a singer, it provides his voice with scalpel-like precision that razors through the great articulated noise his bandmates generate. Combined with leather-lunged projection, his voice can both bludgeon and slash at a level that transcends his lyrics' literal meaning.
Things get really nasty, though, when his voice joins his bandmates' dexterous rhythmic assault in what Draiman describes as "a constant blend of all the elements." The resulting attack during songs such as "Prayer" and "Liberate" telegraphs contusions along a listener's brainpan.
There's a reason Draiman, guitarist Dan Donegan, bassist Fuzz and drummer Mike Wengren named 2001's victory lap around the U.S. the "Music As A Weapon" tour. Sharp enunciation and road-honed chops are merely part of the arsenal.
In conversation, Draiman's voice has the same quality that you hear on disc. But the delivery is... slower... and... more deliberate. The effect lulls rather than cuts. But when he speaks, he doesn't make small talk, he makes pronouncements. The band's second album, Believe, doesn't really require further explanation, in the way that other classic albums don't require explanation. But questions will arise when spinning the disc. Mainly, "How?"
" We have a responsibility," he begins. "Two and a half million people invested in us and believed in us with the last album. We owe it to them and to ourselves and to everything we stand for, to respect the lineage and the tradition and the purity of metal. We have to remain faithful to what metal--true, true metal--was first established to be in the name of Black Sabbath and a hundred other great bands: Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Queensryche, Metallica, Pantera, even Soundgarden.... All of those bands had songs that spoke about grand things."
True metal groups honor the legacy whose thumbnail history David sketches above. It's one of the genre's endearing traits: fierce loyalty expressed loudly. Metal requires that quality from its best bands and fans in order to survive.
As a product of natural selection, the oft-maligned genre has gathered strength from continuously swimming against the current over the course of its Ozzy-and-Iommi-conceived 33-year history.
Snatched by Disturbed from the flow of that tradition, this new brand of metal is like a shark. In their hands, the music is highly evolved, lean and muscular, and has a terrible efficiency and singleness of purpose. None of the twelve songs on Believe, for instance, stretches far beyond the four-minute mark, yet they each possess a strength and epic quality that requires other bands twice as long to convey, if ever.
Part of that boils down to simple math: Four musicians campaigning behind one album for 22 months. When Disturbed finally pulled off the road in late 2001, they took a month to recuperate and then began writing Believe. Two and a half months later they were recording the album in their hometown of Chicago with producer Johnny K. Like The Sickness, the disc was then mixed in New York by Andy Wallace.
A seemingly Herculean effort? Keep in mind that this is a band that doesn't like to sit idle for long. With the precious month the band had off between the road and rehearsal, Fuzz, for instance, built a garage and poured a driveway for his house. If that's what the band calls leisure time, imagine what they consider work.
" We've always had to work hard for what we have," explains Draiman. "Nothing comes easy to Disturbed. Such is life. It certainly hardened us. When you're put in the furnace for long enough, it hones you." "Being on the road for 22 months totally increased our playing ability," agrees Fuzz. "It made us much better musicians." "It's a different band," says Draiman. "We were eager to explore new territory and challenge ourselves." "We wanted to prove that there's not just one formula that works for this band," adds Donegan, who conceives the musical framework for the songs before they're arranged by the group. "I didn't want to duplicate what we did the first time around. There's nothing exciting about that."
Ironically, in order to explore fresh territory, Disturbed duplicated the working environment that produced such winning results with The Sickness. The band's loyalty--again, the true-metal variety--shines through in that decision, as does its pragmatism. As Fuzz says, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." It's a sentiment echoed by his bandmates.
" We write what we write without overthinking it," says Donegan. "That's part of the reason we chose to record again in Chicago with Johnny K., who's been a friend of ours since we were a local band. It put us back in a familiar environment where we could just do what we do." "We're our own worse critics," admits Wengren. "We're always pushing each other to become better musicians and I guess better people, too."
The results are evident on Believe. If The Sickness put Disturbed on the map with signature cuts like "Stupify" and "Down With The Sickness," the new album refines that signature into an even harder alloy on songs such as the title track, the first single "Prayer" and the pit-ready "Rise" and "Bound."
" We're not reinventing the wheel," says Donegan. "But when all of our different playing styles and influences come together, it's a fresh sound. There are old-school elements to what we do, but it's done in a modern way. Even though we're characterized as a metal band, I don't think there are any metal bands out there that sound like us."
Draiman's singular voice burns the final brand on all things Disturbed. This time out, however, he waits until "Intoxication"—a full six songs into the album--before unleashing his signature sound. Robert Plant has his "baby, baby, baby." Rob Halford has his vibrato wail. Draiman has his feral roar, the guttural noise that opened "Down With The Sickness" and subsequently launched a million extreme sporting events.
" The noises... oh, how they love the noises," he says with a chuckle. "When 'Down With The Sickness' broke as a single, some people forgot about the rest of the song. They would say, 'Come on, make the noise!' What the fuck am I? They wouldn't ask me, 'Can you sing that one line?' Or 'What are the words to that part? Or 'How does that melody go?" With this album, I was determined to let people know that I can do much more than just make animal noises."
If that point was already clear to those who listened to The Sickness as an album, the way that work was intended to be heard, it's undeniable now. The scalpel-sharp enunciation, the leather-lunged projection, the rhythmic assault, and, yes, even "the noises," combine to deliver Draiman's grand messages. The arching theme? Belief.
" I encourage self-exploration and internal truth--defining one's own belief. People need to seek out that which they are able to believe in. Do you believe in yourself? Do you believe in the future of humanity? In God? In the death of god? In the things that you cannot see in the spiritual realm? Are you afraid of the dark? The light?"
Tellingly, perhaps, the album closes with a track called "Darkness," whose intense mood is conveyed with a spidery acoustic guitar arpeggio, a pecked piano melody and a haunting cello line. As a final address to his audience, Draiman offers his most tender vocal performance, singing, "Dare to believe for one last time. Then I'll let the darkness cover me, deny everything, slowly walk away to breathe again on my own."
" 'Darkness' is a nice closure to the album," says Donegan. "It ends the album in a way that leaves us room to go in any direction we want with the third album. I don't like to concern myself with anyone's expectations but our own."
" For inspiration, we look to any band that has stood the test of time," adds Wengren. "We don't want to be a band that's known for just one song. We had a successful debut album. Now we're building on that and seeing where it takes us."
Draiman, being Draiman, puts it more succinctly: "There's so much more to prove." |
Would you please submit the latest Disturbed biography to me? Thank You.
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Review about Disturbed
disturbed... | Reviewer: Anonymous | 6/30/2008all i can say is that disturbed is one of the best bands ever in the world..their music and lyrics are awesome..everything combines on their song..the voice and the blasting music are the perfect symphony of rock metal..disturbed is the symbol of rock metal..I listen to any type of music but my favorite for rock metal would be disturbed..
rock on | Reviewer: michelle | 4/15/2008
disturbed is an awsome band.. when their songs come on the rock station i can't stay still their music just has tat beat that makes you want to move ur feet and it really does i love tat band!!! so to all yall people who dnt like disturbed... yall just dnt no wat muisc is
Nanda | Reviewer: Anonymous | 4/5/2008
Disturbed is my fave band. I love their lyrics, their beat, guitars, bass, drums...everything. I love how different their sound is from other metal bands. But i especially love the lead singer's voice.
Definitely a very talented bunch of guys. KEEP ROCKIN!!! LOVE U GUYS.
disturbed is fucking amazing | Reviewer: Anonymous | 3/22/2008
disturbed is amazing! disturbed isnt numetal cuz nu metal is dead and disturbed never fuckin says die! i had an argument with a friend over whos better between disturbed and slipknot. im not dissin slipknot or anything i like em and all but there is no doubt in my mind that disturbed is a much better band. indestructable is going to be amazing theres no way these guys are gonna dissapoint us after getting our hopes up with ten thousand fists if im wrong i will be pissed. and about dimebag how can you say he wasnt revolutionary listen to the music. how many other people can make their guitar stutter like a machine gun? dimebag rip is definitely in the conversation for best guitarist ever.
pure freaking intensity | Reviewer: Anonymous | 3/15/2008
Personally i don't believe Disturbed can fall into any existing genre, since they pretty much stand on the border-line between hard rock and metal. I have seen them live on every tour they did in North America (including the 3 MAAW tours) and each time i never regret it. The band need 2 words to describe them well: PURE INTENSITY. It's just raw power unleashed and it's fucking awesome. Indestructible has been announced for june 3rd, and David Drainman himself affirmed that it will be Disturbed's most agressive album ever done. More agressive than The Sickness... if you don't call that INTENSE then there's no way to name it.
ignorant people | Reviewer: Anonymous | 2/13/2008
i hate when ppl bash a band and have no idea wat theyre saying. mainly sara my personal opinion youre a douche cuz you say disturbed sucks and has done nothing basically. you say they have one good song but yet you probably never took the time to listen to any of their other songs. other than appetite and illusions wtf has gnr done. yes i like gnr and disturbed but gnr was here and now theyre gone and as for their new album(which has only been taking wat 10years(if not more now cuz i've lost count)?!) seems like it's still never going to happen. personally my fav band and who i think is all time greatest is Metallica. kill em all, ride the lightining, master of puppets, ....and justice for all, are 4 of the best heavy metal albums ever in my opinion. yes i say opinion and i understand you have yours but when youre ignorant towards someone else i dont think your opinion should really count
Okay, Sara... | Reviewer: Sophia | 2/9/2008
Let's get something strait. There is no such thing as the greatest band ever and there never will be. This is simply because 'the greatest' is all a matter of opinion. In your opinion Guns N' Roses is the greatest, in my opinion Disturbed is. Don't bash my opinion and I won't bash yours, it's that simple.
Also, I have to point out that Disturbed is all about being yourself and redemption. Yes, Disturbed has a number of religious songs, but they are not strickly Christian (Draiman came from a JEWISH family which he REBELLED against, when asked if he was religious, Draiman said, "No, not at all.") If you had bothered to look at the album cover for Believe that would be clear to you (And no, this cover is not Satanic, for the record. It's a mix of religious symbols; the Muslim cresent, the Star of David, and the point-up pentagram which is synonymous with the Hebrew word for "Jesus," and was used as the Christian symbol prior to the cross.) And if you had actually LISTENED to Prayer you might figure out that it's Draiman saying, "If there is a God out there, give me everything you've got," after the death of his grandfather which hurt him deeply.
Also, Disturbed has written MANY good songs besides Down With the Sickness (which again, you might know if you had bothered to LISTEN to them). Ex. Voices, Stupify, Shout 2000 (cover, but better than the original), Prayer (it IS a good song regardless of what you think) Liberate, Awaken, Remember, Intoxication, Rise, Breathe, Darkness, Ten Thousand Fists, Just Stop, Deify, Stricken, I'm Alive, Sons of Plunder, Decadence, Land of Confusion (same as Shout 2000), Pain Redefined, Hell. In fact I don't think Disturbed has ever released a bad song, and as long as they stay true to themselves they never will.
Finally, it's just plain stupid to bother leaving a comment just to bash a band. But if you insist on doing this again, next time at least try to KNOW something about the band you're bashing.
Having said that, I can't wait for Indestructible. Long live Disturbed!
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Mhmm | Reviewer: Anonymous | 2/4/2008
First off, Disturbed are an amazing band. Incredible musical ability, amazing lyrics, etc. Now, as far as GNR. Fuck them. The only member of that band worth mentioning is Slash. Axl Rose was one of the shittiest vocalists and lyricists I'd ever heard. If you want to go on about amazing 80s metal, then you should mention bands such as Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, and Metallica. The pioneers of Thrash/Speed metal. Axl Rose is shit compared to Mustaine, Ian, etc. And yes, Dimebag was good. He was talented...but he wasn't revolutionary. He didn't do anything new or insanely amazing. Did HE play a Randy Rhoades solo with his teeth? No. Honestly, I have to say Rhoades was the best Metal Guitarist to date. Second would be Zakk Wylde (for being able to play a Rhoades Solo with his teeth.)
The Truth | Reviewer: Brandon | 1/29/2008
no question about it, disturbed is one of the best. if they keep making great albums like they have been, they will go down in history with the greatest metal band of all time; metallica. their lyrics are like no other band and they dont sound like the other faggy bands out there trying to be metal.soon enough, they will be the greatest. and cant wait for the new album "Indestructible". comes out may
get off of saras back | Reviewer: Anonymous | 1/24/2008
ok im actually gonna stick up for sara who everyone is callin out disagree with her if you wanna but dont question her intelligence. i agree that its unrealistic to say disturbed is the best band ever but they are pretty fuckin awesome. i wouldnt say gnr is the best band ever cuz normally you need to release more than one good album to be considered for that prize if i had to pick id say black sabbath is the best ever. as for saras pick of dimebag for best guitarist of all time what did he do that no one else did nothing he was good rip but not really innovative my pick would have to be tony iommi of course from sabbath. but about disturbed i love that they have this classic metal feel in their music dave actually sounds like phil collins on steroids which is a wierd statement but thats what i think. i love all of their songs tehy are an awesome band.:p
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Review the Artist Disturbed
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