Disturbed Discuss Nu Metal Label + Chart Success

By Chad Childers June 17, 2016 2:18 PM

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Around beginning of the 21st Century, there was a wave of new hard rock and metal acts arriving on the scene, most of whom got lumped into the what was being dubbed “nu metal” at the time. In the interview above, Disturbed guitarist Dan Donegan discusses how he felt about the label and how he saw the band as one that didn’t necessarily fit in with the other acts also being grouped in with them.

Speaking with Loudwire Nights host Toni Gonzalez, Donegan states, “I don’t want to say we’re the black sheep so much as we never really quite fit in. Nobody knew how to label us because we came in at a time, and not that I even care for labels personally, but we came in at a time where nu metal was the term that was being thrown around for any band that came out at that time.”

The guitarist says he didn’t shun the nu metal classification, but the band just rode the wave for what it was. “There was always some kind of things that were just blurry to people of kind of where we fit in. We don’t need to fit in. We’re just Disturbed. That’s who we are,” says Donegan, who later added, “Love us or hate us, nobody knows what to label us as, but we clearly have a fan base that is okay without the label.”

Nu metal or not, Disturbed have achieved a feat that many of their peers have not — five straight No. 1 albums. It’s a pretty small club of acts who have done that and singer David Draiman jokes, “It means we’re no longer a black sheep.” In all seriousness, the vocalist does go on to credit their fan base without whom they wouldn’t have topped the album charts in the first place. See Donegan and Draiman’s full chat with Loudwire Nights host Toni Gonzalez in the video above. And look for Disturbed on tour at these locations.

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