DISTURBED Bassist Recalls His Roots

Jay Nanda of the San Antonio Metal Music Examiner recently conducted an interview with DISTURBED bassist John Moyer. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

San Antonio Metal Music Examiner: "Asylum" is the fourth consecutive, and fourth of five DISTURBED albums to debut at No. 1 on The Billboard 200. What's your explanation?

Moyer: Our fans. Just being there for us. We have a hard work ethic, too. We've been pretty consistent. We've done five albums in 10 years time, and we tour every record. Then we finish the tour, and we go into a writing cycle again. But you know, our fans have been there for us. The first record, they fell in love with the band, but the second record, "Believe", it hit at No. 1. And we figured, "How long can we keep this streak going?" (laughs)

San Antonio Metal Music Examiner: What makes "Asylum" different than the previous records?

Moyer: Well, I don't want to say it's the heaviest or fastest record yet, but every album is going to sound like DISTURBED. One of the things that separates it is we change the arrangements of the song, the keys we write in. David [Draiman, vocals] in particular changes the topics he writes about. On this record in particular, there are issues of loneliness and depression he was dealing with. This record is a lot more current. Some of his other stuff in the past has been very cryptic, but vague enough where anyone can put their own meaning on it. This one's a little darker and more personal and as a band, we've put forth new songs that still sound like DISTURBED and still rock.

San Antonio Metal Music Examiner: Looking back, things couldn't have worked out much better for you now that you're in DISTURBED. But do you have any regrets about THE UNION UNDERGROUND not lasting longer?

Moyer: Well, sure, man, I put my heart and soul into that band just like everything I do. Before that, I was in a band called SOAK, and we toured Texas and when I left, it was a hard decision. THE UNION UNDERGROUND, I was hoping to put together a second record, but internally, it broke apart. It broke my heart. When it didn't happen, it was hard that the band ended. Our last show was Halloween 2003 and for months after that, I wasn't in a band. It was the longest I'd gone without being in a band. I had some offers, but honestly, I was trying to hold out for the DISTURBED gig. I didn't audition with them until April 2004. They had auditioned lots of people, and I just kept figuring, "Man, that gig's gotta be mine (laughs)."

Read the entire interview from the San Antonio Metal Music Examiner.