DISTURBED's DAVID DRAIMAN Discusses Importance Of Vocals In Modern Music: 'People Remember Hooks'

DISTURBED frontman David Draiman, who produced TRIVIUM's "Vengeance Falls" album nearly a decade ago, was asked in a new interview with AXS TV's "Rock & Tell" if he gravitates to listening to the vocals first when he is working with an artist or if he is able to block that out and listen to something else first. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, it all depends on the type of music you're approaching, number one. Obviously, if we're talking about something instrumental, then it's a moot point. But if you're talking about a vocal-driven song, and that's the way 99.9 percent of all music, is vocally driven, then I think any producer, whether it's me or anyone else, is going to start with the vocals. The musical bed has to be powerful, it has to be complex, it has to be artistic, it has to be telling a story of its own and have its own color and all those things, but at the end of the day, people remember hooks. And usually — usually — and don't get me wrong, there are certain instances where there are exceptions, but the vocal carries the hook, for the most part. In fact, so much so that I would say that most producers will tend to strip away aspects of musicality in cases to accommodate the vocal where it is so strong that things get in the way. And I think if you don't do that, then you're kind of shooting yourself in the foot."

He continued: "Don't get me wrong — it's like the focal point of the laser; if it doesn't have the rest of the machine, it doesn't work, and it's not anywhere near as powerful; it doesn't become the laser. But when you have the rest of the machine working with it, it'll burn through you."

DISTURBED performed live for the first time in nearly two years in late September as one of the headliners of the Louder Than Life festival in Louisville, Kentucky.

In March 2021, DISTURBED's "The Sickness 20th Anniversary Tour" was officially canceled. The amphitheater tour, with very special guest STAIND and BAD WOLVES, was originally slated to take place in the summer of 2020 but was rescheduled to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. It was eventually scrapped altogether.

"The Sickness 20th Anniversary Tour" was supposed to celebrate the 20th anniversary of DISTURBED's seminal album "The Sickness". On this tour, the band was expected to perform songs off the album, as well as tracks from "Evolution" and DISTURBED's extensive catalog.

In September 2020, DISTURBED released a cover version of Sting's 1993 single "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You".