The band has released six studio albums, five of which have consecutively debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Disturbed went into hiatus in October 2011, during which the band's members focused on various side projects, and returned in June 2015, releasing their first album in four years, Immortalized, on August 21, 2015. They also recorded and released one live album, Disturbed: Live at Red Rocks on November 18, 2016, which was recorded on August 18, 2016 at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado, located about 10 miles west of Denver, Colorado. Their seventh studio album, Evolution, was released on October 19, 2018.
Before David Draiman joined Disturbed, guitarist Dan Donegan, drummer Mike Wengren, and bassist Steve "Fuzz" Kmak were in a band called Brawl with vocalist Erich Awalt. Before changing their name to "Brawl", however, Donegan mentioned in the band's DVD, Decade of Disturbed, that the name was originally going to be "Crawl"; they switched it to "Brawl", due to the name already being used by another band. Awalt left the band shortly after the recording of a demo tape; the other three members advertised for a singer. They posted an advertisement in the local music publication in Chicago, Illinois, called the "Illinois Entertainer". Draiman answered the advertisement after going to twenty other auditions that month. Guitarist Dan Donegan commented on Draiman: "You know, out of all the singers that we had talked to or auditioned, he [Draiman] was the only singer who was ready to go with originals. And that impressed me, just to attempt that".
With regard to Draiman being the singer for the band, Donegan said, "After a minute or two, he just starts banging out these melodies that were huge...I'm playing my guitar and I'm grinning from ear to ear, trying not to give it away that I like this guy, you know, because I don't want to, you know...[say] 'Yeah, we'll give you a call back. We'll, you know, discuss it.' But I was so psyched. Chill up my spine. I'm like, 'There is something here.'" As drummer Mike Wengren commented, "We clicked right off the bat." Draiman then joined the band in 1996 and the band was renamed Disturbed. When asked in an interview why he suggested to name the band "Disturbed," Draiman said, "It had been a name I have been contemplating for a band for years. It just seems to symbolize everything we were feeling at the time. The level of conformity that people are forced into was disturbing to us and we were just trying to push the envelope and the name just sorta made sense.
Disturbed headlined the 2018 Rock Fest, along with Godsmack and Incubus. The band announced via social media in early January of 2018 that they had entered the studio to begin recording their next studio album. In June 2018 lead guitarist Dan Donegan and bassist John Moyer confirmed with sources that the new album is complete, with 100% of the songs finished it is on to just mixing and mastering. Band members also posted a picture via Instagram together at a dinner party in celebration of completion of the recording process. The band's first album in over 3 years and the band’s first album in over 8 years to have bassist John Moyer being involved in.
The album, Evolution was released on October 19, 2018. On August 16, 2018, the lead single, titled "Are You Ready" was released. On September 21, 2018, the album's second single, titled "A Reason to Fight" was released.
Disturbed's mascot, named "The Guy", was originally just a drawing of a face with a large grin, as seen on the back of the album The Sickness. The original drawing of The Guy was then edited using a digital distorting program. After the original image had been distorted three times The Guy became the official mascot for the band. Later, he would be drawn as a full figure by artist David Finch.
Classified as a heavy metal or hard rock band, Disturbed is also regarded by some critics as nu metal and alternative metal. When asked about die-hard heavy metal fans not finding Disturbed heavy enough, Draiman at one time stated:
"We probably have too much melody going on or we're not quite as turbulent or caustic. While I really love that type of music, it's not what we try to do. If we have to place things in context, we're more hard rock than heavy metal these days. The secret is that we were never really part of any particular trend, although we definitely benefited from the popularity of what was called nu metal at the time ... We never had the stereotypical attributes that those bands had. We don’t rap; there’s no turntable involved; no fusion in that respect. We play, in my opinion, classic metal. Sabbath, Maiden, Priest, Metallica, Pantera: these are the bands that made us want to play."
They have often cited their influences as Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Metallica, Pantera, Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin, Queensryche, Nirvana, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden.
Guitarist Dan Donegan uses guitar tunings Drop C, Drop C# and Drop B (also occasionally Eb), which are lower tunings than regular E standard. These lower tunings allow for a heavier sound and quicker chord changes in Donegan's riffs. Donegan also uses subtle electronic effects, which the rest of the band refers to as "The Danny Donegan Orchestra".
Torn
Disturbed Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To settle the debt I thought never would be paid
Found out I was wrong today, too weak to continue
One final defense to fall
Still unbroken
Now I am torn, thought it was over this time
And we know there's still a fire inside
We're gonna let it burn
Let it burn
Till the image fades away
Knew there was a price to pay, didn't think it would thrill you
To witness the fallen one shattered and ashamed
No I'm not the only one yearning to fulfill you
Unwilling to risk it all
Still uncertain
Now I am torn, thought it was over this time
And we know there's still a fire inside
And we know, and we know
We're gonna let it burn
Let it burn
Till the image fades away
Yeah!
Now I am torn, thought it was over this time
And we know there's still a fire inside
And we know, and we know
That I am torn (Torn)
Thought it was over this time
And we know (know)
There's still a fire inside
And we know, and we know
We're gonna let it burn
Let it burn
Till the image fades away
The lyrics to Disturbed's song Torn in two express a feeling of defeat and brokenness while recognizing the presence of a spark of hope. The first verse talks about a realization that falling down has consequences. The singer acknowledges their mistake but didn't think it would lead to a fatality. They then try to settle their debt resulting from their error, but they soon discovered they were too weak to proceed. The singer then decides to set up one final defense before giving in to the fall. Despite being broken, they are still unbroken, expressing a sense of resilience.
In the second verse, the singer brings out the idea that life comes with a price, but they never realized it would give someone else any gratification. They feel ashamed and shattered by their failure, describing themselves as the fallen one. However, they acknowledge that they're not the only one who yearns to fulfill the person who takes pleasure in their downfall. They're unwilling to risk it all, but are still uncertain.
The chorus "Now I am torn, thought it was over this time, and we know there's still a fire inside. And we know, and we know, we're gonna let it burn, let it burn till the image fades away." Repeats three times to emphasize how the singer feels shattered and broken. However, they also recognize the presence of a fire that is still burning inside them; a symbol of hope. They decide to let that fire burn, even if it will take time to heal.
Line by Line Meaning
I learned how to fall today, didn't think it would kill you
I realized that in life, we must learn to fall and make mistakes, but I never thought it would affect you negatively.
To settle the debt I thought never would be paid
I had a debt to pay that I never thought I would have to pay, but now it has caught up to me and I must deal with the consequences.
Found out I was wrong today, too weak to continue
I realized I was wrong about something and now I am too weak to continue trying to make it right.
One final defense to fall
I only have one last defense left to protect myself, but even that is slowly crumbling.
Still unbroken
Despite everything, I am still holding on and not completely broken yet.
Now I am torn, thought it was over this time
I thought I had moved past my struggles, but now I am torn and back to square one.
And we know there's still a fire inside
Deep down, I still have passion and energy left to keep going.
We're gonna let it burn
We are not going to just let this fire die out, we are going to let it burn and keep pushing forward.
Till the image fades away
We will keep fighting until the negative image or perception of us fades away and we can rise above it.
Knew there was a price to pay, didn't think it would thrill you
I knew there would be a price to pay for my actions, but I never thought it would bring you pleasure to see me suffer.
To witness the fallen one shattered and ashamed
It brings you joy to see me, someone who has failed or fallen, broken and ashamed of my mistakes.
No I'm not the only one yearning to fulfill you
I am not the only one wanting to impress you or make you happy, but I am unwilling to take big risks to do so.
Unwilling to risk it all
I am not ready or willing to take huge risks or chances to try to make things right or gain your favor.
Still uncertain
Despite everything, I am still unsure of what to do next and how to move forward.
That I am torn (Torn)
I am completely torn and conflicted about what to do and which path to take.
And we know (know)
We are fully aware of the challenges that lie ahead and the obstacles we must overcome.
Lyrics © Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DAN DONEGAN, DAVID DRAIMAN, MICHAEL WENGREN, MIKE WENGREN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@mowbrizzle922
I learned how to fall today, didn't think it would kill you
To settle the debt I thought never would be paid
Found out I was wrong today, too weak to continue
One final defense to fall
Still unbroken
Now I am torn, thought it was over this time
And we know there's still a fire inside
And we know, and we know
We're gonna let it burn
Let it burn
Till the image fades away
Knew there was a price to pay, didn't think it would thrill you
To witness the fallen one shattered and ashamed
No I'm not the only one yearning to fulfill you
Unwilling to risk it all
Still uncertain
Now I am torn, thought it was over this time
And we know there's still a fire inside
And we know, and we know
We're gonna let it burn
Let it burn
Till the image fades away
Yeah!!
Now I am torn, thought it was over this time
And we know there's still a fire inside
And we know, and we know
That I am torn (torn)
Thought it was over this time
And we know (know)
There's still a fire inside
And we know, and we know
We're gonna let it burn
Let it burn
Till the image fades away
@nightdoom9328
I learned how to fall today, didn't think it would kill you
To settle the debt I thought never would be paid
Found out I was wrong today, too weak to continue
One final defense to fall
Still unbroken
Now I am torn, thought it was over this time
And we know there's still a fire inside
And we know, and we know
We're gonna let it burn
Let it burn
Till the image fades away
Knew there was a price to pay, didn't think it would thrill you
To witness the fallen one shattered and ashamed
No I'm not the only one yearning to fulfill you
Unwilling to risk it all
Still uncertain
Now I am torn, thought it was over this time
And we know there's still a fire inside
And we know, and we know
We're gonna let it burn
Let it burn
Till the image fades away
Yeah!!
Now I am torn, thought it was over this time
And we know there's still a fire inside
And we know, and we know
That I am torn (torn)
Thought it was over this time
And we know (know)
There's still a fire inside
And we know, and we know
We're gonna let it burn
Let it burn
Till the image fades away
@Kurenai_TV
I feel like there's no toxicity in the Disturbed community which is awesome
@catastrophucked
Have to agree with you on that one. I've always seen as Disturbed fans, myself among them, as being those who really cling to it because offers something a lot deeper than just being a "a really good band". It offers an emotional depth and honesty very few bands have the balls to fully express.
@Kurenai_TV
@@catastrophucked yeah im more into melodeath now but I started with Down with the sickness \m/
@MortemAmarth
I believe you are correct. There is however Toxicity in the System of a Down community. Hehe!
@DylanIhtiyar
<3
@AJY-ee7yk
I went to a disturbed concert and everyone was fist bumping me and hugging each other telling me too get home safe
@TheDarklion22
Disturbed is the only band in my opinion that makes you forget about the skip button on any album.
@josephdennis-h8c
I love when David says "let it buuuuurn till the image fades away🎵🎵🎵❤"
@HangingOuttya
I'm pretty sure coz he's got one big bunga on the go
@conk_kos
When I was sixteen my dad and had to escape our burning apartment and watch as everything burned down. Im almost 23 now and the chorus of this song always makes me emotional, but in a very empowering way and i will always appreciate disturbed for this song especially