Disturbing phenomenon

“I wasn’t surprised, necessarily, at the success of The Sickness (Disturbed’s multi platinum debut LP). I was very pleased. But I don’t think any of us had intended less than that, or expected were anything less than that. We hoped it would be more of a world-wide phenomena – to have sold more than 2.5 million in the States.”

Reclining on a black leather couch in an ultra-posh London hotel, David Draiman seems particularly daunting; not only does he speak Roget’s Thesaurus English, but his intense stare would strike fear into the heart of Freddie Kruger.

That said, Disturbed’s success story now makes a lot more sense. Since their formation in Chicago five years ago, they have become one of the hottest new sounds in US metal, selling copious units of their debut album. Now they are poised on the brink of cracking Europe with the release of their latest LP, Believe. Having toured The Sickness for the best part of two years, the quartet took a mere month off before hot-footing it back into the studio to commence work on their sophomore offering.

“We were bored. We were losing our minds!” says Draiman of the band’s time off. “We have now, thank God, nice places to live and we have homes that we can appreciate but, what do you do? This is what we live for, this is our life. It’s like any other addiction, you can’t be away from it for too long. The road was calling. Our creative demons were calling. We needed to do something to further what we’d started. We didn’t want to be away for too long so as to lose our momentum.”

Believe reflects a more controlled and cohesive songwriting ability, compared to the raw frustration of The Sickness.

“In terms of our basic skill level, we’re just better musicians,” explains Draiman. “22 months of touring will do that to you. We have come to know one another. We know each other’s strengths, we know each other’s limitations. We know how to push one another. And in terms of the vision, in terms of the message, we’re at a different perspective. The higher you climb the more you can see and we have been blessed to have this success.

“The songwriting is more skilled on this record,” he adds. “Each one has an epic moment in it.”

Vocally, Draiman’s razor sharp dexterity lets him get his tongue around all manner of twisters, delivering a style punctuated with rhythm while still laced with melody.

“I didn’t sing this way prior to Disturbed. It was a style that developed in that band. They brought it out of me. I owe everything to them. We are only as strong as that which makes us, and I attribute all my strength to the strength of my brothers.”

That strength is most visible, and audible, in a live setting.

“Intensity. Drama. Power. It’s a symbiotic relationship between us and the audience,” says Draiman. “We draw on their strength and they feed on ours. The audience need to be involved. I feel emotionally drained every time I walk off stage. When you imbue your very soul in your work and you lay it out on a plate for people to look at, it’s a hell of a thing to do. And what makes the performance more intense is the fact that they react to it – reciprocating your energy, transferring it back to you.

“So you let out what you are. You open up the doors and let the monster out to play for a little while.”

Monsters aside, Disturbed are adamant in their quest for world domination.

“We want to become the U2 of metal, be the next Metallica, a world wide phenomena and touch everyone across the globe,” insists Draiman, sounding confident – and anything but disturbed.