Disturbed is an American heavy metal band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 1994 around the nucleus of guitarist Dan Donegan, drummer Mike Wengren, and bassist Steve Kmak, with David Draiman joining as lead vocalist in 1996 after responding to an advertisement. The band's combination of Draiman's immediately recognizable vocal style — powerful, percussive, and capable of extraordinary range — with Donegan's down-tuned, groove-heavy guitar work created a sound that was both accessible to mainstream rock audiences and heavy enough to satisfy metal fans, making Disturbed one of the most commercially successful heavy metal acts of the 2000s.
Their debut album The Sickness (2000) was a phenomenon, selling over four million copies in the United States and producing the massive rock radio hit Down with the Sickness, a song that became one of the defining tracks of the nu metal era and has remained a staple of rock radio for over two decades. Believe (2002) and Ten Thousand Fists (2005) both debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, making Disturbed one of the very few metal bands to achieve that distinction with consecutive albums. Indestructible (2008) and Asylum (2010) continued the streak, with each album debuting at number one — four consecutive chart-toppers that placed them in rarefied commercial territory.
After a five-year hiatus the band returned with Immortalized (2015), which produced their most unexpected and celebrated moment — a haunting, stripped-down cover of Simon and Garfunkel's The Sound of Silence that became a massive viral hit, reaching number one on multiple charts and introducing the band to an entirely new audience. The cover demonstrated a musical depth and emotional range that surprised even longtime fans. Evolution (2018) and Divisive (2022) have continued their run of chart success, and Disturbed remain one of the most consistent and beloved acts in heavy metal more than two decades after their debut.
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