greatfallstribune

Disturbed ready to light fire in Great Falls fans
By PAT DOUGLAS • For the Tribune • November 28, 2008

When the army of tour buses brakes at the Four Seasons Arena today, it will mark the first time that the band Disturbed has set up shop for a gig in Montana.

The uber-group has sold more than 10 million albums and played all around the world, yet their only history in Big Sky country before today consisted of driving through on a tour bus.

Now, Great Falls is host to the only stop in Montana on this small market tour, a fact that hasn't escaped the attention of the band.

"Hopefully we make a big enough impression that the fans of Montana would want us back," said guitarist Dan Donegan in an interview with the Tribune from a stop in Minnesota. "Obviously, with Great Falls (and this) being our first time here ... we kind of anticipate the intensity that they're gonna bring us."

The metal band known for its tribal beats and animalistic-like vocals became one of just six other rock bands to have released three consecutive number one albums when the record "Indestructible" hit stores this past summer. Disturbed joined Van Halen, U2, the Dave Matthews Band, Staind, Metallica and System of A Down.

According to Donegan, having a successful album in the genre is nice reminder that metal is still out there, hiding amongthe masses of pop and hip-hop bands that usually accrue high record sales.

"It's a nice statement that was made by the fans to have a hard rock or metal band like us have a third number one debut in a row," said Donegan, who saw "Indestructible" push more than a million copies. "Heavy metal has never really been welcomed with open arms, but there's a huge fan base of metal fans in every state of this country and it's nice to know that they could ... let their voices be heard."

The band has had a knack for producing fan-favorite tunes over its 10 years together. Songs like "Voices," "Stupify," "Prayer," and "Indestructible" have propelled the group into the record books, but their definitive song has to be "Down With The Sickness."

Featuring vocalist David Draiman's trademark rhythmic grunts, the song is one of the most recognizable to come out of the genre in the past 25 years. While the band is thankful to have gained recognition with the work, they don't want to be looked at as one-dimensional because of it.

"The whole animalistic noise (reputation) has been a blessing and a curse," said Donegan. "It's great that there's something that people can identify with the band so I have no regrets or nothing bad to say about that. I just hope that they realize that we're more than just one noise in one song."

The genesis of Draiman's unique vocal style stems from the way he sings to the music in a song before writing the lyrics, which, according to Donegan, resembles scat singing more than anything else.

"(He's) kind of scatting over the top of it before there are any real words to it," explained Donegan. "When he's hearing the music, he's just doing this whole gibberish thing over it and 'Down With The Sickness' came about and that just kind of came out of him naturally when he heard that part and that kind of, of course, threw everybody off a bit. It stuck and it was original."

It's been a strong writing connection between Draiman's vocals and lyrics and Donegan's songs that has created so many hits, says the guitarist.

"We've been very fortunate that almost everything that I've thrown at David musically, he's been able to write great ideas on top of that. We've been able to turn just about everything into a song," said Donegan of the writing process before joking a bit. "I'm a bit concerned and think 'Oh my god, I hope we never have a writer's block.' (I'm) a little paranoid because we've been so lucky and paranoid that we've been able to write so good together."

The band also takes a lot of pride in the way they handle live shows whether it's their first time in Montana or their 20th trip to New York City.

"We're still hungry. There's still a fire lit under us," said Donegan. "We've never been the type of band that just goes up there and plays our songs and get off the stage. It's about us and the crowd and looking into the faces of the fans out there."

For the first time in their careers, the faces in the crowd will be comprised of Montanans, which in itself promises a special evening.

"I'm definitely looking forward to that because we know what it's like to play some of these towns that don't get shows like this," said Donegan. "These kinds of towns are maybe a little bit more appreciative. It's always usually the small towns that are going to be a memorable one for us because of the intensity they bring."