When discussing modern metal’s most influential bands, Disturbed stands as an undeniable force that transformed nu-metal into something darker, heavier, and deeply personal. Since their breakthrough in 2000, David Draiman’s distinctive vocal delivery and the band’s crushing instrumental arrangements have created some of the most memorable tracks in heavy music history. This collection celebrates the songs that defined a generation of metalheads and continue to resonate with listeners discovering their catalog today.
Down With The Sickness: The Anthem That Started Everything
Released on their debut album The Sickness in 2000, this track became Disturbed’s signature song and remains their most recognizable work. The infamous “ooh-wah-ah-ah-ah” intro has become iconic in metal culture, instantly identifiable even to casual listeners. What makes this song exceptional is its raw aggression combined with Draiman’s ability to channel genuine pain through his vocal performance, particularly during the disturbing bridge section that explores childhood trauma. The production by Johnny K captures the band at their hungriest, with Dan Donegan’s guitar work providing a relentless foundation that perfectly complements the song’s themes of abuse and psychological damage.
Stricken: Emotional Devastation in Sonic Form
From their 2005 album Ten Thousand Fists, “Stricken” showcases Disturbed’s evolution toward more melodic territory without sacrificing heaviness. The song’s opening guitar riff ranks among Donegan’s finest compositions, instantly creating tension that builds throughout the track. Draiman’s vocal delivery moves seamlessly between vulnerable verses and explosive choruses, telling a story of heartbreak and betrayal with genuine emotion that transcends typical metal posturing. The production on this track demonstrates remarkable dynamic range, with the quiet moments making the heavy sections hit even harder—a technique that influenced countless bands in the genre.
Indestructible: An Anthem of Resilience
The title track from their 2008 album became an instant classic, combining military-inspired drum patterns from Mike Wengren with an uplifting message about perseverance. This song found unexpected audiences beyond metal fans, becoming popular in sports arenas and motivational contexts. The marching rhythm creates an undeniable sense of forward momentum, while Draiman’s lyrics speak to overcoming adversity with defiant strength. If you’re looking for quality headphones to appreciate the layered production, this track serves as an excellent test of bass response and clarity across frequencies.
The Sound of Silence: Reimagining a Classic
Their 2015 cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s folk classic became a cultural phenomenon, introducing Disturbed to mainstream audiences who’d never explored metal. This haunting reinterpretation strips away the original’s gentle acoustic arrangement and replaces it with orchestral strings and Draiman’s emotionally raw vocal performance. The restraint shown throughout most of the track makes the climactic final chorus absolutely devastating, proving the band could deliver power through dynamics rather than constant aggression. This version climbed to #42 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has accumulated over 800 million streams on Spotify, validating the band’s artistic risk-taking.
Stupify: Pure Chaotic Energy
Another highlight from The Sickness, “Stupify” captures the band’s early sound at its most unhinged. The song’s bouncing groove creates an almost hypnotic effect before exploding into pure chaos during the choruses. Draiman’s vocal manipulation—ranging from whispered threats to full-throated screams—demonstrates the versatility that would define his career. The breakdown section featuring the repeated “Stupify” chant became a live performance staple, with audiences eagerly participating in the call-and-response dynamic that makes Disturbed’s concerts so engaging.
Inside The Fire: Confronting Darkness
This lead single from Indestructible tackles the heaviest subject matter in Disturbed’s catalog, dealing with suicide and demonic temptation. The song was inspired by Draiman’s personal experience losing his girlfriend to suicide when he was sixteen. The music video’s narrative depicts a literal demon attempting to convince someone to take their own life, creating controversy but also opening important conversations about mental health. Musically, the track features some of Donegan’s most technically impressive guitar work, with the solo section providing a brief moment of beauty amid the surrounding darkness.
Voices: The Struggle With Internal Demons
From The Sickness, “Voices” explores paranoia and psychological torment through relentless instrumentation and Draiman’s increasingly frantic vocal delivery. The song’s structure mirrors the experience of intrusive thoughts, with brief moments of calm quickly overwhelmed by crushing heaviness. John Moyer’s bass work (on later live versions) adds incredible depth to the low end, creating a suffocating sonic atmosphere that perfectly matches the lyrical content. This track demonstrates why Disturbed resonated so strongly with listeners dealing with mental health challenges—they articulated feelings that many struggled to express.
Prayer: Spiritual Questioning in Metal Form
“Prayer” showcases Disturbed’s ability to address religious themes without resorting to typical metal blasphemy or blind faith. Instead, the song questions the nature of belief and explores the frustration of unanswered prayers. The opening builds gradually, allowing tension to accumulate before releasing into a powerful chorus that poses difficult questions about divine intervention and human suffering. Draiman’s background growing up in a religious household adds authenticity to the spiritual wrestling match presented in the lyrics.
The Vengeful One: Judgment Day Arrives
Opening their 2015 album Immortalized, “The Vengeful One” introduces a vigilante character bringing justice to corruption and evil. The song’s music video features impressive CGI depicting this avenging figure laying waste to villains, complementing the track’s themes of accountability and retribution. Musically, the song benefits from modern production techniques that create massive sonic weight while maintaining clarity—every instrument occupies its own space in the mix. The breakdown section features some of the heaviest riffing in the band’s catalog, proving they hadn’t lost their aggressive edge.
The Light: Finding Hope in Darkness
This powerful ballad from Immortalized strips away the aggression to reveal Disturbed’s melodic core. Draiman’s clean singing dominates the track, showcasing his legitimate vocal talent beyond growls and screams. The song builds beautifully from acoustic beginnings to a full-band arrangement that never becomes unnecessarily heavy, trusting the emotional weight of the performance to carry the message. “The Light” became a surprise rock radio hit, reaching #5 on the Mainstream Rock chart and demonstrating the band’s versatility.
Another Way To Die: Thrash-Influenced Intensity
From Asylum (2010), this track finds Disturbed embracing faster tempos and thrash metal influences. The political lyrics criticize manipulation and corruption, delivered with appropriate venom by Draiman. Wengren’s drumming shines particularly bright here, with double-bass patterns driving the song forward relentlessly. The guitar work references classic thrash while maintaining Disturbed’s signature groove-oriented approach, creating a hybrid sound that appeals to both old-school and modern metal fans.
Land of Confusion: Genesis Meets Metal
Another successful cover from Ten Thousand Fists, Disturbed transforms Genesis’s 1980s pop-rock hit into a heavy political statement. The band maintains the original’s message about social chaos and confusion while updating it for the post-9/11 world. The music video’s powerful imagery of world leaders as puppets resonated strongly during the mid-2000s political climate. This cover demonstrated Disturbed’s talent for identifying songs with strong melodic foundations and reimagining them through a metal lens.
Liberate: Aggressive Freedom Anthem
“Liberate” from Believe (2002) combines industrial-influenced production with Disturbed’s core sound. The song’s mechanized feel in the verses contrasts beautifully with the organic heaviness of the choruses. Draiman’s rapid-fire vocal delivery in certain sections showcases his technical precision, while the lyrics advocate for breaking free from psychological and societal constraints. For fans exploring different songs across genres, this track demonstrates how metal can incorporate electronic elements without losing its essential heaviness.
Remember: Military Tribute with Emotional Weight
This Ten Thousand Fists track honors fallen soldiers with genuine respect rather than empty patriotic posturing. The marching rhythms and orchestral elements create a ceremonial atmosphere, while Draiman’s vocals convey both strength and sorrow. The song became particularly meaningful to military families and veterans, with many citing it as a source of comfort and solidarity. The production balances bombast with intimacy, allowing listeners to connect personally with the tribute being paid.
Asylum: Title Track Madness
The title song from their 2010 album explores themes of psychological breakdown and institutionalization. The verses create an unsettling atmosphere through dissonant guitar work and Draiman’s manipulated vocals, while the choruses explode with frustrated energy. This track features particularly impressive bass work from Moyer, whose lines add melodic complexity beneath the aggressive surface. The song’s structure mirrors the experience of mental instability, with sudden shifts in dynamics and mood that keep listeners off-balance.
Are You Ready: Stadium-Ready Metal
From The Sickness, this track was designed to open concerts and pump up crowds. The call-and-response structure makes it perfect for live settings, with audiences eagerly shouting back Draiman’s provocative questions. Despite its simplicity compared to Disturbed’s more complex compositions, “Are You Ready” serves an important purpose in their catalog as pure adrenaline-fueled metal. The groove established by Wengren and bassist Steve Kmak makes it impossible to stand still, which explains its endurance in the band’s live setlists.
Criminal: Groove-Heavy Social Commentary
This Asylum track criticizes societal hypocrisy and corruption through Disturbed’s trademark heavy groove. The verses build tension through restrained instrumentation before unleashing fury in the choruses. Donegan’s guitar tone throughout this song is particularly nasty, cutting through the mix with aggressive midrange frequencies. When listening through quality earbuds, the intricate layering of guitar tracks becomes apparent, revealing the depth of production that characterizes Disturbed’s work.
Warrior: Battle Hymn for Personal Struggles
From Immortalized, “Warrior” addresses addiction and personal demons through the metaphor of combat. Draiman has spoken openly about the song’s connection to his own past substance abuse struggles, adding weight to the already powerful lyrics. The musical arrangement combines melodic accessibility with genuine heaviness, making it both radio-friendly and satisfying for longtime fans. The bridge section features some of Draiman’s most impressive clean vocals, proving his growth as a vocalist over the band’s career.
Torn: Relationship Turmoil Unleashed
This Believe track explores relationship breakdown through characteristically aggressive Disturbed instrumentation. The emotional rawness in Draiman’s vocal delivery elevates what could have been a standard breakup song into something more visceral and honest. The production by Johnny K gives each instrument space to breathe while maintaining the claustrophobic intensity that serves the song’s themes. The guitar solo provides a brief moment of release before plunging back into the emotional storm.
No More: Taking a Stand
From Evolution (2018), “No More” addresses abuse and exploitation with righteous anger. The song benefits from the more polished production approach of that album while retaining the aggression that defines Disturbed’s best work. Draiman’s vocal performance channels genuine fury at the systemic issues being addressed, making this more than just another heavy song. The band’s willingness to engage with difficult social topics through their music has always set them apart from peers focused solely on personal angst or fantasy themes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Disturbed’s most famous song?
“Down With The Sickness” remains Disturbed’s most recognizable and commercially successful original composition, though their cover of “The Sound of Silence” has reached broader mainstream audiences. The former defined the band’s early sound and became synonymous with nu-metal’s peak era, while the latter demonstrated their artistic range and introduced them to listeners who typically avoid heavy music. Both songs have surpassed hundreds of millions of streams and continue receiving significant radio airplay across multiple formats.
Who is the lead singer of Disturbed?
David Draiman has been Disturbed’s vocalist since the band’s formation in 1996. His distinctive vocal style—featuring manipulated delivery, strategic use of rhythm, and the ability to transition between melodic singing and aggressive growling—has become one of metal’s most recognizable voices. Draiman’s Jewish background and intellectual approach to lyrics set him apart from many metal vocalists, bringing philosophical and spiritual depth to the band’s themes.
What genre is Disturbed considered?
Disturbed is primarily classified as heavy metal and hard rock, though their early work was associated with the nu-metal movement of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Their sound incorporates elements of alternative metal, groove metal, and occasionally industrial influences. Unlike many nu-metal contemporaries, Disturbed avoided rapping and maintained traditional metal instrumentation, which helped them transition successfully as musical trends shifted.
Has Disturbed won any major awards?
While Disturbed has received numerous Grammy nominations throughout their career, they have not won a Grammy Award. However, they’ve achieved multiple platinum and multi-platinum certifications from the RIAA, with The Sickness achieving 5x platinum status. Their commercial success and influence on modern metal arguably exceeds what any single award could represent, with five consecutive albums debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
What album should new Disturbed fans start with?
The Sickness (2000) remains the ideal starting point for understanding Disturbed’s foundation and impact, containing their most iconic tracks. However, Ten Thousand Fists (2005) showcases their evolution toward more melodic and diverse songwriting while maintaining heaviness. For listeners preferring cleaner production and more accessible material, Immortalized (2015) demonstrates their mature sound and includes both the “Sound of Silence” cover and strong original compositions.
Are Disturbed still making music?
Yes, Disturbed remains active with their most recent studio album Divisive released in November 2022. The band took a hiatus from 2011 to 2015, during which members pursued side projects, but they’ve maintained consistent activity since reuniting. They continue touring internationally and have expressed commitment to creating new music, though they’ve adopted a more measured release schedule compared to their early career’s rapid output.