'I miss Chester. I miss Chris. I miss Scott.' Disturbed tackles addiction on brilliant new tour: review
By Bobby Olivier | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com | Posted February 26, 2019 at 10:57 AM | Updated February 26, 2019 at 11:16 AM
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Matt Smith | For NJ Advance Media
After more than 20 years of seething hyper-aggression, Disturbed has found a new reason to fight.
“We’ve had far too many casualties in this war,” singer David Draiman declared Monday night at Madison Square Garden, in reference to the addiction and depression epidemics that have recently claimed the lives of several of his colleagues and friends.
“I miss Chester. I miss Chris. I miss Scott.”
Chester, Chris and Scott — Chester Bennington of Linkin Park, who committed suicide in 2017; Chris Cornell of Soundgarden, who also committed suicide in 2017; and Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots, who died of a drug overdose in 2015 — all cut their teeth in alternative circles throughout the ‘90s, just as Draiman’s propulsive hard-rock quartet was emerging from the Chicago underground scene and writing its breakthrough debut album, 2000’s “The Sickness.”
All these musicians knew each other, toured together, performed together and shared a deep respect for each other’s abilities as vocalists and songwriters.
And Monday, as Draiman, 45, stood with his band as one of the few acts to survive this caustic period of alt-rock — and fewer still to be selling out arenas, following five consecutive No. 1 albums — he used his mammoth platform to urge fans to seek help when needed and assist their family and friends: “drag them kicking and screaming to rehab if you have to.”
Matt Smith | For NJ Advance Media
He asked the crowd of 15,000 onlookers to raise their hand if they or someone they knew had struggled with these diseases. Almost every hand went up, in somber contrast to the band’s titanic “Ten Thousand Fists” single played a few minutes earlier.
“See, you are not alone,” Draiman said. “We are in this war together.”
As the band made its way to and from an auxiliary stage at the back of the arena, phone numbers for the national addiction and suicide prevention hotlines were broadcast on the large scene backing the band’s arrow-shaped main stage.
It was a poignant series of events, punctuated by the band’s performance of a new, towering ballad called “A Reason To Fight,” and its apt chorus:
When the demon that's inside you is ready to begin
And it feels like it's a battle that you will never win
When you're aching for the fire and begging for your sin
When there's nothing left inside, there's still a reason to fight
“Reason” was performed from that intimate B stage, where guitarist Dan Donegan and bassist John Moyer played acoustic instruments surrounded by burning candelabras and Draiman sang tenderly, without much reliance on the patented growls and vocal fry he’s used to boost just about every Disturbed song since “Down With The Sickness.”
Matt Smith | For NJ Advance Media
It all felt deeply emblematic of the band’s latest album moniker, 2018’s “Evolution,” and how a group that was bemoaned at the beginning of the decade for relentlessly rewriting the same kinds of blistering alt-metal jams has morphed — after a four-year hiatus — into a far more dynamic and ultimately arresting rock act.
It was actually a cover, of Simon and Garfunkel’s majestic dirge “The Sound Of Silence,”that brought this transformation to the forefront, as a symphonic arrangement and Draiman’s bellowing vocal performance pushed the tribute all the way to No. 42 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2016, marking the band’s highest-charting single of all time.
“Silence” was a soaring highlight Monday night, as the band pulled out all the stops; Donegan plinked a baby grand piano that was set aflame during the final chorus, drummer Mike Wengren pounded timpani drums and an additional guitarist, violinist and cellist sat in to bolster the orchestral effect. Though nothing would upstage Draiman’s offering here: an earth-quaking achievement that further solidified him as one of modern music's most superb rock singers.
Though none of this is to say Disturbed has categorically gone soft. There was still plenty of familiar rage and frenzy to be had throughout this brilliant two-hour performance — and the band's first-ever MSG gig — from the newest assailants “Are You Ready” and “No More” to more weathered tracks like “Stupify” and “The Game,” which have transcended the early ‘00s nu metal craze and remain deliciously heavy and fresh.
Matt Smith | For NJ Advance Media
While he has since discarded his famous labret piercings, Draiman displayed no lost fury in his performance of the elder jams. He still possesses the vocal precision required to sing sonic howitzers like “Voices” and “Prayer” and commands a crowd like few other frontmen I’ve ever seen. Disturbed fans would readily follow this man to the edge of oblivion, and have kept the band relevant long after its sound was fashionable in the mainstream.
And the band was gracious Monday, thanking the crowd — “my brothers, my sisters, my blood” as Draiman refers to them — for their undying support and rewarded them with an early contender for best rock tour of 2019. It was engaging, brutal and sincerely electrifying. I won’t soon forget this one.
Disturbed's setlist
Feb. 25, 2019 — Madison Square Garden, New York
- "Are You Ready"
- "Prayer"
- "The Vengeful One"
- "The Animal"
- "Stupify" (followed by guitar jam, full band instrumental)
- "Voices"
- "Land of Confusion" (Genesis cover)
- "Hold On to Memories" (followed by bass / drum solos)
- "Ten Thousand Fists"
- "The Game"
- "A Reason to Fight"
- "Watch You Burn"
- "The Sound of Silence" (Simon & Garfunkel cover)
- "Indestructible"
- "Inside the Fire"
- Encore:
- "The Light"
- "Stricken"
- "No More"
- "Down With the Sickness"
More Disturbed photos
Matt Smith | For NJ Advance Media
Disturbed singer David Draiman performs Feb. 25, 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Matt Smith | For NJ Advance Media
Disturbed singer David Draiman performs Feb. 25, 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Matt Smith | For NJ Advance Media
Disturbed singer David Draiman performs Feb. 25, 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Matt Smith | For NJ Advance Media
Disturbed bassist John Moyer, left, and singer David Draiman, night, perform Feb. 25, 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Matt Smith | For NJ Advance Media
Disturbed singer David Draiman performs Feb. 25, 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Matt Smith | For NJ Advance Media
Disturbed guitarist Dan Donegan performs Feb. 25, 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Matt Smith | For NJ Advance Media
Disturbed performs Feb. 25, 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Matt Smith | For NJ Advance Media
Disturbed singer David Draiman performs Feb. 25, 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Matt Smith | For NJ Advance Media
Disturbed drummer Mike Wengren performs Feb. 25, 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Matt Smith | For NJ Advance Media
Disturbed singer David Draiman performs Feb. 25, 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Matt Smith | For NJ Advance Media
Disturbed bassist John Moyer performs Feb. 25, 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Matt Smith | For NJ Advance Media
Disturbed bassist John Moyer performs Feb. 25, 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Bobby Olivier may be reached at bolivier@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@BobbyOlivier and Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us.nj.com/tips
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