LiveDaily Interview: David Draiman of Disturbed
July 17, 2008
By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski


Disturbed frontman David Draiman didn't have to think twice about joining the inaugural Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival.

"It's a very, very strong bill. Monster-movie bill," Draiman said with a laugh. "It's a pretty amazing package. We've been looking forward to joining forces with Slipknot for some time. We're glad that the Rockstar Mayhem organization was able to put everything together to make it happen. The rest of the line-up is super strong, between Mastodon, Machinehead, Airborne, Black Tide, Five Finger Death Punch. It's a pretty amazing bill. I'm very proud to be a part of it."
Disturbed, best known for its staccato-driven hit "The Sickness," also joined the tour to promote its latest album, "Indestructible." On the eve of the Mayhem tour, Draiman--who is joined in the band by guitarist Dan Donegan, bassist John Moyer and drummer Mike Wengren--spoke to LiveDaily about the album, why Disturbed decided to remake its own songs "Perfect Insanity" and "Divide," and about his group's trip to Kuwait.

Why did you decide to name your album "Indestructible"?

There are two meanings to the name. One is it's a record meant to inspire indestructibility, meant to inspire strength and to strip you of your fear. The other is that it's a statement of the fact that we're still around. We're one of the last leviathans from the dawn of nu metal that are still standing, that were never really part of the genre to begin with. We're still here and still viable and are doing what we do at the level that we do it.

Why did you decide to remake "Perfect Insanity" and "Divide"?

"Perfect Insanity" and "Divide" [are] two tracks whose original versions predate "The Sickness." The whole idea was that we had loved those songs. We had always talked about doing a modern version of both of them. We definitely wanted to make a conscious effort to capture or recapture a little bit of the attitude and the vibe and the darkness that was inherent in the first record. What better way to do it than pull a couple songs out of the treasure trove that never actually got to see the light of day from before that era?

My favorite song on the album is "Inside the Fire." Tell me about the inspiration behind that song.

It's a song that deals with the subject of suicide based on an unfortunate real-life incident that I went through when I was a teenager--a girlfriend of mine who had taken her own life. It was not easy. But you finally reach a point in time when you're willing to exorcise those internal demons and finally reach a certain place in your heart and in your mind. You reach a certain age and you're finally ready to let them free, so to speak.

I see that the band produced "Indestructible." Was that a difficult task?

You know, it was easier than you might think. We actually recorded it in the same studio as we did the first three records, with the same equipment and with the same engineer. Not all that much changed except for [longtime producer] Johnny K. not being involved in this one. He's been a great teacher to us. In three records straight, he taught us how to make great records. After three records, we should know what we're doing at that point in time.

Tell me about Disturbed's songwriting process.

Everything's always written prior to going in the studio. There's always changes that are made. Sometimes there are some last-minute major changes that can be made in the studio that radically affect the way a song comes out. There was one instance with this record in the title track "Indestructible." It actually was very, very different when we went in and I completely rewrote the vocal for it in the studio. But that doesn't happen very often. Ninety percent of the time, the songs are completed, arrangement-wise, and with just about all the bells and whistles before we go in there. It always works out the same. It's always starting out with Danny sending me some riff ideas playing along with a simple two or three-part progression. Then I'll start improvising with melodies and rhythms to match what's going on musically, if I'm vibing on it. Then, when things start getting more solidified, we get back together and work on all the ideas.

How was your trip to Kuwait?

Unbelievable. Very truly a career moment for us. It was very, very moving. Very overwhelming in terms of the gratitude. Their willingness to give us their time. Story upon story about how they've used our music for strength and for courage and stories about them mounting loud speakers atop helicopter gun ships and blasting stuff like "Apocalypse Now" before they clear out an area of weaponry or into any kind of battle. Thousands of stories of people who have gotten strength and courage from our music. Thousands of autographs signed. Thousands of hands shaken. Pictures taken holding their machine guns. We trained with them on their simulation equipment. We basically ate where they ate, slept where they slept, went for a ride on one of the Blackhawks. It culminated with playing to 10,000 troops all holding fully automatic weapons in a mosh pit. Stage left is a Bradley Fighting Vehicle and it's bouncing up and down from all the troops that are on top of it trying to get a better view. It was a really surreal sort of sight.