We never enter the studio unless we feel like, right now, if these are the songs we record, that we would have an album that we're proud of and we're excited about. And we put everything under the microscope and examine it the best we can to make sure that we're prepared.
— David Draiman
I'm liberal about everything that is issue-based as far as ideology, but I'm also of the opinion of a very small government.
I always feel it's not a parent's role to either allow or to deny, but merely to guide.
To be perfectly honest with you, I think that The Darkness is a joke, and that's, unfortunately, exactly what the world wants.
We've put out records that consistently have been what the fans have been looking for from Disturbed. We've been consistent with our live performances. As long as we continue to maintain that level of trust with our fanbase, I think they'll still be there.
It used to be that, whenever I walked around without my old piercings, that I was very rarely recognized - it wasn't a common thing; I could be somewhat incognito.
'The Sound Of Silence' taught us that we shouldn't be afraid of pushing the boundaries.
There'd be no merit to replicating something, to repeating something. As artists and as musicians, you wanna continue to go in different directions and develop.
The way I sing is extremely physical, and it was causing acid from my stomach to wash up to my vocal cords and burn them.
I despise lackadaisical behavior when it comes to our music. I mean, this is heavy metal music. You must be involved. You're required to be involved.
I love 'The Exorcist.'
What makes something pop? It's really just the bed it's placed in. If I grab melodies by Black Sabbath or Metallica and take them out of their musical bed and put them into a pop context, it's not like they wouldn't translate.
I'm lucky that I've been able to do things in my career that is affording us the luxury of not having to travel in a van to tour.
I formed my first band when I was going to Valley Torah High School in Los Angeles.
There's still anti-Semitism everywhere, and unfortunately, what has happened with our people no longer being the underdogs in this region, peoples' perception of Israel has changed dramatically.
People who are divided are easier to control.
I think there's no truer and more pure purpose than to be able to refine your art to a point where you feel it's as possible as it can be.
I will never, ever apologize for being passionate about the things that I believe in, and it is just that, it is just an opinion, and people don't have to share my opinion.
We had a master sergeant present us with the Bronze Star of Valor he had gotten because he had felt we were the eighth men of the platoon.
I think that there's always a time to be tongue-in-cheek, and there's always time for humor, but there's a time to be serious and a time for emotional content.
I would have no problem with a woman as president. I have a problem with Hillary Clinton as president. I think the right woman could be great. She's not the right woman. She's not the right anything. She's just a liar.
You have to decide what's important to you. For instance, myself, I mean, I lead a very, very straight-edge sort of lifestyle on the road.
Obviously, what happened from the 'Immortalized' record was we achieved a level of success that, to be perfectly honest, was unpredecented in our career. Every track released from that record ended up going No. 1 at radio.
At the end of the day, what people want from me is to get up there on that stage and make them feel powerful and give them a release for an hour and a half or two hours every once in a while. And if I'm still able to do that, hopefully I'm still making people happy.
'Oppressed' is one of the terms that's very, very sellable and easily thrown around these days because everybody feels it, no matter what side you're on. We thrive on it. We're addicted to it.
Don't get me wrong - we love our hip-hop, but in its own context. Rap has no place in our music. Is what we do rhythmic? Sure. Is it syncopated? Certainly. But our music has nothing to do with hip-hop.
I like the original 'Halloween.'
I had a motorcycle accident, and I had my garage burn down with most of my vehicles. And I've had really bad relationships that I've been in and out of. They've left their mark.
I'm a fan of good music, period.
I love hooks, but getting radio airplay has never been a concern to me while I'm writing. That would be a very stifling and imprisoning way of writing music.
I'll never forget getting my first Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chain records, and hearing that wonderful, beautiful darkness. And the rhythmic intensity, that's what attracted me more than anything else.
I used to have, and I still do have, really bad acid reflux. I had a surgical procedure done... that repaired a valve at the top of my stomach that had completely burned away.
I think that we're more united than the media would care to admit. We're not as divided as the perception would relay - not in the United States, not anywhere, really, in the world.
Oh, I'm going to raise him on Black Sabbath and Metallica and football and MMA and all things that should matter for a young boy, and discipline and strength and honor and courage and everything that I would hope to instill within my son.
Every time we put out a piece of art, it continues to define who we are. What could possibly be more important than that and require more of your focus and your time and your energy.
I support the troops with every fiber of my being. I don't support them having their lives wasted.
The world wants rock bands to be idiots.
I think that seeing as much support as somebody like Obama as a black candidate running for president in a country that historically has had issues with the African-American people, and them having issues vice-versa, is a miraculous thing.
I really don't think that anybody's going to buy or not buy a Disturbed album and/or ticket because I am or am not wearing my labret piercings.
We've always used that as a goal - the record that literally every single track on it could be a hit. A record that breaks doors down, that opens up new opportunities to us, that helps you achieve true immortality as an artist.
I come from a classical background.
Social media has become a high school playground where the challenge is what idiot can come up with the best insult, and do you end up congratulating them for it?
We are a metal band, period. To me, the 'nu' part infers some sort of a rap influence.
I'm a fan of the 'Underworld' films, but I don't necessarily consider them horror.
When you record and tour year after year without a break, it starts to feel like you're on an assembly line.
I'm pretty much done with political commentary. I've said everything I could possibly say. I've been a big mouth for long enough.
I attended five different Jewish day schools as a teenager. I mean, I was trained as a hazan!
The first record I ever bought was Kiss's 'Destroyer.' And those classic bands like Black Sabbath were my first loves.
Even though there is obviously a marked stylistic difference between the majority of our catalog and a cover like 'The Sound Of Silence,' it certainly isn't the first time we've done an acoustic track.
I think that, in my humble opinion, that the world is divided, and the media has a very good, a very predictable habit of emphasizing whatever will keep people clicking.
