Dave Draiman of Disturbed (Chicago) talks about their album Immortalized and touring Soundwave

Headlining the Soundwave Festival this year are American rockers Disturbed. After a five-year hiatus, they sprung Immortalized on the world which was the fifth consecutive Billboard #1 album for the band. John Goodridge from the AU Review chatted to lead singer Dave Draiman about the making of the album.

So how did you start writing Immortalized? Did you have a concept as a whole in mind or did you write songs and match them together?

For us, dealing with a concept album or something like that has been too limiting. It makes your perceived direction too defined for the way that we like to write. Truth be told, this record in particular was first time since the Believe record that we all wrote these songs at the same time in the same room together. We’ve become very reliant on sending .wav files back and forth, or Pro-tools files back and forth after working on them in our own individual studios across the country from each other. It was when I hit a brick wall trying to come up with ideas that I was happy with. I could come up with a hundred ideas and not realize that ten of them are really kick-ass.

I’m my own worst critic; I could be somebody’s biggest for them as far as judging other things for them but when I view my own shit it’s very hypercritical. It’s a problem, but that’s when I reached out to Danny and he said come out to Chicago and let’s write in the same room together and I’ll bounce stuff off you, as I’m thinking it, as I’m improvising. Mike came up from Milwaukee and each time that’s how it was. I’d come out to Chicago or they’d go out to Austin, Texas and we’d go back and forward and every single session we were coming up with great stuff. It was very, very inspirational and an amazing process.

I really like the atmospheric opening of “Eye of the Storm” and then it jumps straight into the angst of “Immortalized” and “The Vengeful On”e. Is that contrast between the heavy and the reflective a deliberate choice?

We wanted it to make sense and we wanted it to feel right as far as the flow of it was concerned. I like the way the “Eye of the Storm” sets up the beginning of “Immortalized”, so it’s like the very opening kick, drums, slash, 808 that smacks you in the face when it starts has so much more impact when it’s preceded by this … caress. I like stuff like that.

I found it interesting that some people said it was too much like your old stuff and some thought it was too similar. When you write do you keep that sort of thing in mind or do you simply write what you feel at the time?

With all due respect to all the wonderful critics of this world, who are all such accomplished musicians in their own right, at the end of the day, all you can ever do is just write what you feel is good. You have to trust your gut, that’s all you can do. You can play it to people and get their reactions and they can either bolster your confidence or diminish it, depending on what their reactions are and it may not be accurate. At the end of the day you have to follow your gut. Thank god, we’ve got a pretty good track record, so we’re doing something right.

We trust our guts to a pretty strong extent and if it’s making the hairs on the backs of our necks stand up, we can only hope it does that for other people too. That’s really it! Everybody’s got something to bitch about: It’s not good enough; it’s too much like the old stuff, it’s not like the old stuff. Is it good? Is it good? That’s it! Who the fuck cares whether it’s like the old or new or whatever; is it fucking good? Are they good songs? Does the chorus get stuck in your head? Do you find yourself singing it as you walk away? Okay! If it’s doing any of that, then that’s what you should care about. If you feel something, then that’s what you should care about man, not how much it’s like this or that.

The cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Sound of Silence” is a spine tingling version. How did you choose that song to cover? It was a brave experiment.

Yeah, I’d have to agree. It was an adventure for us just finding a song we wanted to cover; an adventure in terms of how we were going to do it and how we did it. It was pretty cool. It was Mike’s suggestion initially for the song. We were trying to get away from constantly picking stuff from the eighties so we tried to look further back. He made the suggestion because it was one of the groups his parents raised him on, Simon and Garfunkel. It was Dan’s strong suggestion to keep our version of it ambient and acoustic and ethereal in the way that we did as opposed to what people were expecting, which I wasn’t exactly sure of initially.

Then Kevin came up with that piano line that you hear to start things out and I kinda took the idea and jumped on the microphone and went in a million different directions in a million different ways in the vocal booth for about three hours trying versions of it. Three days later with him pimping it he had a version to play for me and I was blown away and everybody else was too. It’s definitely different and definitely not what people are used to hearing from us, from me, vocally, hearing me sing that way, so it’s been a bit of culture shock for certain people, but like I said, if you think it’s good, regardless, then wonderful. If you don’t, then you’re entitled to that opinion too, then you don’t. For me it brings a smile to my face every time I listen to it. It makes me feel very complete knowing I still have the ability going to that zone.

Tell me about headlining Soundwave next year. How did that come about? Did you approach them or did they approach you?

They’ve been asking us to be a part of it for quite a while. We’ve been in talks with them for quite a long time but we were unable to commit to anything until things were locked in after the recording cycle and keeping the record a secret as long as we did – not doing the typical things that a band would do prior to releasing the first single, hindered things moving forward in the way that they normally would.

I’m glad that it’s out now and I’m glad that the bill is as strong as it is; there’s some amazing bands on the bill and we’re looking forward to it. Australian crowds are intense and they can hold their own against any festival crowd anywhere across Europe, or South America for that matter. I love playing to the Australian crowds; I think they’re amazing.

Have you had a chance to play since the album release?

Just the record release date in Chicago at the House of Blues. That’s the only show we’ve played and it was a tease. It wasn’t enough.

So you’ll be showcasing Immortalized at Soundwave?

Definitely some tracks from the new record, definitely some tracks from deep in the catalogue. The one thing that we’re trying to do is make sure that each Disturbed show is slightly different. So people are gonna hear different combinations of songs throughout the tour.

I’m not sure how much we’ll be able to variate it during the Soundwave run, because it will be the very beginning of the cycle, but we’re definitely going to mix it up as much as possible. Don’t get me wrong, we’re still gonna play the hits, but we’re definitely gonna play a few that people haven’t heard for a very long time or maybe never heard.

You had the song “Stricken” on Guitar Hero 3. How does that feel? Do you ever play Guitar Hero or anything like that?

I don’t see the point of playing something that I get to do for real. Let me put it to you this way: I like video games. I was just playing “Destiny” on my PS4 but see, that’s something I can’t do. I can’t go hopping around the galaxy killing bad guys. That’s something that I don’t have the ability to do, so I’ll play video games, which allows me to do that. Whether it’s Rock Band or Guitar Hero; I love what they are and do and I love that they enable an entire generation of fans to experience what it is to partake in Rock music, but for me personally I’d rather be in some first person shooter or something like that.

When Immortalized was released, there was a giant banner that covered the wall of Warner Music. What’s the feeling that you get when you see something like that? Do you get jaded to that experience or does it still give you a thrill?

It’s pretty amazing, but I’m gonna tell you a little story that always kinda puts it into perspective for me. This is something that I heard; I think Sebastian Bach told me. This is regarding Jani Lane from Warrant and he had told him that when they were in the big time at the label and “Cherry Pie” was the record and it was all over the place, people were all about Warrant at that point in time. Warrant had their picture up on the wall at the label, but then Alice in Chains took their spot up on the wall.

It was then that Jani said he saw the writing on the wall. Every time I come into the building, I keep expecting to see our Alice in Chains. Is that weird? I keep expecting to see who’s the band that’s going to change the face of music so much that we still have a place. Truth be told, we’re not in the same category, with all due respect, as Warrant. I like those guys and think they’re great but I wasn’t trying to acquaint myself with them. I think you know what I mean.

Any last words for the fans in Australia?

Can’t wait to come out there and kick their asses. Really looking forward to it.

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Disturbed new album Immortalized available now.

You can stay up to date with Disturbed on Facebook here.

Soundwave dates:
SATURDAY 23 JANUARY 2016, BRISBANE
SUNDAY 24 JANUARY 2016, SYDNEY
TUESDAY 26 JANUARY 2016, MELBOURNE – AUSTRALIA DAY PUBLIC HOLIDAY
soundwavefestival.com

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John Goodridge

John is all about celebrating the best of music, arts, and culture in Australia. He's a prolific reviewer and interviewer who's always on the pulse of what's new and exciting. His reviews are in-depth and thoughtful, giving readers a sense of what to expect from live performances, albums, and festivals. John's vibe on The AU Review is one of infectious enthusiasm, passion, and dedication to showcasing the vibrant cultural landscape of Australia.