DISTURBED Singer Says There Is No Animosity Between Him And His Bandmates

DISTURBED singer David Draiman spoke to Billboard.com about the persistent rumors that the band will call it quits once it completes its South American tour in August.

Draiman said in a previous interview that the band will not headline a sixth "Music As A Weapon" tour in 2012 and that the group has "some things going on internally . . . some personal things going on."

"This is really not due to any animosity I want to make that very clear," Draiman tells Billboard.com. "In fact, we just had dinner together last night. Believe me, it's not like we can't work with each other anymore or we don't get along. This isn't a bad blood thing, and I don't ever want people to get that impression of it. . . [We have just decided to] go away for... an indefinite period of time," adding that "it's just the right time to step away for awhile."

Regarding why DISTURBED has chosen to go on an indefinite hiatus after five studio albums four of which have debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and worldwide sales of more than 13 million, Draiman tells Billboard.com, "Many of those reasons are personal reasons, and many of those reasons have to do with the state of the music industry in general and the demise of hard rock and metal right now. The industry is still in a state of reformation; it is on the verge of collapse, in my opinion. It's a frightening time, and I think after 10 to 12 years straight of touring it's just a good time for DISTURBED to go away for awhile and wait for the Phoenix to rise from the ashes."

When asked if this could be the end of DISTURBED, Draiman says, "It could be a concern. We don't know. I can't definitely tell you at this point one way or another. Depending on how far those individual interests end up taking us, and depending on how much we end up missing (the band) over the course of time which, of course, at some point I'm sure we will that will determine if and when we return."

As to what the bandmembers plan on doing while on a break from DISTURBED, Draiman says that he, guitarist Dan Donegan, bassist John Moyer and drummer Mike Wengren are all looking forward to pursuing other opportunities, musical and otherwise. "I know that Danny has wanted to do some production work on his own, and there's some bands I've wanted to work with as well," Draiman says. "We've had things we've wanted to do as individuals for the past 10, 12 years and we haven't been able to because DISTURBED is so all-encompassing. This is going to give all of us an opportunity to just kind of go in different directions, creatively, as people and just see if the opportunities that have been kind of passing us by...are still around and if we feel fulfilled in doing them."

Read more from Billboard.com.