 
|
|
|
Page 1
|
|
|
Enjoying the lustful perks of stardom ...
|
|
|
Page 2
|
|
|
A team of surgeons are most responsible for David Draiman's vocal growth ...
|
|
|
Page 3
|
|
|
"I'm letting you see me naked. Do you like it?" ...
|
|
|
Photo Galleries
|
|
Disturbed In The Studio
|
|
|
Disturbed Live
|
|
|
|
Browse Bands by Name
|
|
Or enter a band name below to search:
|
 Bands Main
|
|
|
|
|
|
After talking to David Draiman for a few minutes, it's easy to forget Disturbed are a band. As the group's captivating mouthpiece, Draiman speaks with authority, confidence and zeal, while his bandmates generally sit quietly. Only when guitarist Dan Donegan is asked a direct question does he talk about Believe or the group. But Draiman's not the sole creative force of Disturbed — while the vocal melodies are his, most of the caustic riffs and jackhammer beats were written by Donegan, bassist Fuzz and drummer Mike Wengren.
"It doesn't really matter who writes what or who talks about it," Donegan said when asked whether the rest of the band resents Draiman getting all the attention. "We'll do whatever works best for the song and the band. The bottom line is if we're writing something and the hairs on the back of your neck ain't standin' up then we're not gonna keep it. But if we're connecting and the music and the lyrics all come together, then it's magic to us. And that's why we got into this in the first place — to experience that magic."
A few minutes after ordering a sushi lunch, Draiman and Donegan retrieved the CD master of seven finalized tracks from Believe and popped it into one of the studio's CD players. As the staccato guitar blasts and insistent beats of the first single, "Prayer," burst forth from the studio speakers, it was clear that Disturbed are still in fine form. But along with the infectious chorus came signs of transformation.
On tracks such as "Awaken," "Believe" and "Rise," the band retains its percussive assault and guitar-blazing impact, but the music is far more melodic than anything from The Sickness. Bludgeoning riffs yield to atmospheric textures and often climax with tuneful, triumphant refrains. There are also new touches: "Liberate" features a Middle Eastern hook under the half-spoken chorus, "Rise" is imbued with sensitive Tool-esque vocals and clanging percussion, the verse of "Breathe" features a prog-rock rhythm, and the bleak, delicate ballad "Darkness" is driven by spare, feather-light piano and pained, softly sung vocals.
"I think we were looking to grow as a band and touch on some new elements in our songs," Donegan said. "On this record we've written the softest stuff we've ever done and the heaviest stuff. One thing that really helped was we took a different approach towards writing. We played at a lower volume in the rehearsal room this time. When we used to play at full volume I was missing a lot of the dynamics because the sound was too loud."
Playing at lower volumes might have worked wonders for the rhythmic variation of Believe, but it was a team of surgeons that was mostly responsible for Draiman's tremendous vocal growth. When Disturbed recorded The Sickness, their singer was suffering from his own sickness. Years of partying too heavily combined with stress and bad genes caused a valve at the top of the singer's stomach to herniate.
|
|
|
|
Photo: Warner Bros.
|
|
|
|
|
