THE HIDDEN ROOM: Disturbed : The Sickness (Deluxe Edition)

Disturbed : The Sickness (Deluxe Edition)

IT SEEMS

WHAT'S LEFT

OF MY HUMAN SIDE

IS SLOWLY CHANGING IN ME

The Sickness

is the debut

studio album

by American

Heavy Metal band

Disturbed

It was released on

March 7, 2000,

by Giant

and

Reprise Records.

The album peaked at

number 29

on the

US Billboard 200,

and spent a total of

106 weeks

on the chart.

It was Disturbed's

only album

to not hit number one

on the

US Billboard 200

until their seventh album

Evolution

debuted at number 4

in 2018.

In 2018,

The Sickness

was certified

five times platinum

by the RIAA

for shipments of over

five million copies

in the US,

making it the band's

most successful album

Background and Recording

The Sickness

was Disturbed's

first studio release

since the band's formation

in 1994.

Reflecting on the band's

early days,

lead vocalist

David Draiman said

in a 2015 interview,

"People think it was like

this meteoric rise.

It really wasn't.

We beat the hell out

of ourselves for

two or three years

as a local band,

our own self-promotional

mega-machine,

every band member in a

different venue of the city

every time a rock show

would come through town,

passing out our promotional material

cassettes,

stickers, t-shirts,

whatever we could.

[This was]

in addition to

playing strategically

where we thought it made

sense and in addition

to building our following

on the south side of Chicago.

So there was a long period of time

before that and a lot of struggle

in a city that wasn't conducive

to hard rock and heavy metal.

Chicago was an

alternative town.

It was Smashing Pumpkins,

Local H.

It was not metal.

So we were blacklisted.

We couldn't even

play inner-city clubs.

We weren't cool enough.

We were too metal.

That was something that wasn't

considered cool enough.

We had to force our way in."

However, as the late 1990s

brought a shift in focus

in the rock industry

toward a heavier sound,

the band secured

a record deal with

Giant Records

and Disturbed

got their big break.

Prior to the album's recording,

the band sought to

refine its sound.

Lead guitarist

Dan Donegan

took a different approach

than usual and

adopted a style that

did not incorporate

guitar solos:

"In the beginning,

before we were even signed,

I'd solo all over the place

and it didn't really work,

so I pretty much cut out

the solos altogether

until the last album or two.

That's the way it's

worked with us.

Over time we've pushed

each other to become

better musicians,"

Donegan said

in a 2011 interview

with Guitar World.

According to Draiman,

it was challenging for him to

become comfortable with

writing about the

personal themes

contained throughout the

album's lyrics, saying,

"It's very frightening.

Because here you go,

you've decided to be open

and bare a part of your soul

to these people,

and lay it out on

a platter for them

to observe.

So until you know that

the listeners are getting

any part of what

you're saying,

it's incredibly frightening."

With Draiman on vocals

and Donegan on guitar,

the two were joined by

Mike Wengren

on drums

and

Steve "Fuzz" Kmak

on bass.

Seeking help with the

album's production process,

the band turned to

producer

Johnny K,

who had gone to

high school with

Donegan's brother.

By the time work on

the album had started,

a bond had already formed

and Johnny K

had begun working with

the band as the producer

for their album.

In an interview with

Guitar Edge,

Johnny K

spoke about

the process, saying,

"They fought hard to get me

to do their record.

They didn't want to go to L.A.

and make a record that

wouldn't be any better

than their demos.

I felt that with a

budget and time,

I could make a record

everyone would really like [...]

I pushed them as hard

as I could,

and we felt successful

before it sold one copy.

All of that hard work,

and the fact that they are

such a good band,

made it easy for me

to get other jobs.

People liked it

and would say,

'Who did the Disturbed album?

Let's get him.'"

Recording sessions took place

in late 1999,

and on

March 7, 2000,

The Sickness

was released;

however, the album

was not an instant success.

The lead single from the album,

"Stupify",

was released in

April 2000. "

[It] was actually a

hard sell at radio,"

Draiman said.

"It's not like it shot up.

They worked it.

TRACKLIST

CD 1

Voices

The Game

Stupify

Down With The Sickness

Violence Fetish

Fear

Numb

Want

Conflict

Shout 2000

Droppin' Plates

Meaning Of Life

CD 2

(Demos and Rarities)

Down With The Sickness

(Demo)

Droppin' Plates

(Demo)

Meaning Of Life

(Demo)

Shout

(Demo)

Stupify

(Demo)

The Game

(Demo)

Want

(Demo)

God Of The Mind

A Welcome Burden

Glass Shatters

Stupify

(Fu's Forbidden Remix)

Voices

(Alternative Mix)

Fear

(Alternative Mix)

Numb

(Alternative Mix)

Conflict

(Alternative Mix)

Down With The Sickness

(Just Vocals)

CD 3