DISTURBED's DAVID DRAIMAN Records A Cappella Version Of 'The Sound Of Silence' With Israel's HELLSCORE

During his recent visit to Israel, DISTURBED frontman David Draiman entered a Tel Aviv studio and recorded an a cappella version of the SIMON & GARFUNKEL classic "The Sound Of Silence" accompanied by HELLSCORE, a Tel Aviv-based choir that adapts heavy metal songs. According to The Jerusalem Post, he spent another day filming a video for the song, which is expected to be released in the next few weeks.

"He was the warmest person; you could tell that he was 100% invested in the cause that we're all fighting for," HELLSCORE choir director Noa Gruman told The Jerusalem Post. "He's so genuine, open, and friendly. It felt like he was just one of us working on the same level. It was heartwarming and an honor to work with him."

Draiman told The Jerusalem Post that he was pleased by the results of the hastily planned project.

"It was challenging to try and get together so last minute, but it came out really beautifully," he said. "It's poignant and haunting."

Last month, the official music video for DISTURBED's cover of "The Sound Of Silence" officially topped a billion views on YouTube.

The clip, which was uploaded to YouTube in December 2015, marked DISTURBED's first song to reach the milestone.

"The Sound Of Silence" originally appeared on DISTURBED's sixth studio album, "Immortalized", which was released in August 2015.

In November 2019, video of DISTURBED's performance of "The Sound Of Silence" on the March 28, 2016 episode of Conan O'Brien's nighttime talk show, "Conan", surpassed 100 million views on YouTube, becoming the first "Conan" clip to reach the milestone.

DISTURBED's studio version of "The Sound Of Silence" went to No. 1 on the Billboard magazine Hard Rock and Mainstream Rock charts and became the band's highest-charting single ever on the Top 100. It's also been used in the soundtrack for "The Blacklist" and the video game "Rock Band 4".

Draiman told the Colorado Springs Independent that he and his bandmates didn't have a clue that any of that would happen when they recorded the song and decided to issue it as a single and music video.

"How could we?" he asked. "It really, within the genre, was unprecedented. Never in a thousand years would I have dreamed it would be that massive and be used in all the places I've heard it used, figure skating, 'Dancing With the Stars', with the 9-11 Memorial and getting the blessing from Paul Simon, when we met him on Maui. The thing, surreal doesn't cover it."

This past March, a remix of DISTURBED's cover of "The Sound Of Silence" by Australian DJ/producer Cyril Riley landed at position No. 34 on Billboard's Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. A month earlier, the same version of the tune reached the Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart.