David Michael Draiman is an American singer who is best known as the lead vocalist of the band Disturbed as well as the band Device. Draiman is known for his distorted voice and percussive singing style.
Education
Draiman attended five Jewish day schools, including Wisconsin Institute for Torah Study in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Valley Torah High School in Los Angeles, California, where he formed his first band; and Fasman Yeshiva High School in Chicago, Illinois. During his freshman year at Wisconsin Institute for Torah Study, he was asked to leave, as he "rebelled against the conformity" and "just wanted to be a normal teenage kid," adding that he "couldn't really stomach the rigorous religious requirements of the life [there]." Of his study at Jewish day schools, Draiman stated that he "was a bit resentful"; but he later encouraged his family to observe Shabbat and was trained as a hazzan.
Draiman later enrolled at Ida Crown Jewish Academy in Chicago, Illinois, where he graduated from high school in 1991. From there, in 1991–1992, he spent a year after high school studying at the Yeshivas Neveh Zion in Kiryat Ye'arim, on the outskirts of Jerusalem, Israel.
After returning to the US in 1992, Draiman commenced pre-law studies at Loyola University Chicago. In 1996, he graduated from the University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Government, Philosophy, and Business Administration. Initially considering offers to matriculate and study at law school, Draiman realized that although criminal defense law was the only area of law that interested him, he could not "really look at myself in the mirror and say 'I'm going to lie for a living and protect criminals.'" During his university studies, Draiman also worked as a bank teller and in phone sales.
Career
After graduating from college, Draiman worked as an administrative assistant in a healthcare facility. A year after, he earned an administrator's license and commenced running his own healthcare facility. For five years before joining Disturbed and the band's signing with Giant Records, Draiman worked as a healthcare administrator.
In 1996, David Draiman, guitarist Dan Donegan, bassist Steve Kmack and drummer Mike Wengren founded Disturbed, playing in the style of alternative metal. David became the vocalist, songwriter and a composer of the group.
Disturbed went on to record two 3-track demo tapes, the first having the demos for "The Game," "Down with the Sickness," and "Meaning of Life," with the second having the demos for "Want," "Stupify," and "Droppin' Plates." The artwork was composed of the band's recently created pet, The Guy. The band eventually signed with Giant Records. In 2000, the band released its debut album, titled The Sickness, which launched the band into stardom. The album peaked at number twenty on Billboard 200,[4] and it has sold over four million copies in the United States since its release. Before joining Marilyn Manson's 2001 European tour, bassist Steve Kmak was unable to play with the band due to a shattered ankle, caused by falling out of a fire escape outside Disturbed's rehearsal hall in Chicago. He took the fire escape to exit the building while the elevator was being used to move their equipment downstairs. Kmak skipped the European trek of the tour, but he did perform with the band on January 11 and 12, 2001 at Disturbed's show in Chicago. During the European tour, Marty O'Brien replaced Kmak until he was able to tour again.
Disturbed covered the song "Midlife Crisis" for a Faith No More tribute album that was eventually released in 2002. However, Disturbed's cover was not used, and a rerecorded version would later make an appearance on the compilation album, The Lost Children. In September 2001, production of their second studio album began. On June 4, 2002, Disturbed released a documentary DVD about the band, titled M.O.L., which showed some of the band's more personal moments in the studio and during tours, as well as featuring several music videos and live performances. On September 17, 2002, Disturbed released their second studio album, titled Believe, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. The music video for the first single from the album, titled "Prayer," was pulled from most television stations, due to perceived similarities with the September 11, 2001 attacks. David Draiman recorded vocals for a song titled "Forsaken," a song written and produced by Jonathan Davis of the band Korn, released on Queen of the Damned.
In 2003, the band once again participated in the Ozzfest tour and started another one of their own tours, titled Music as a Weapon II. The bands Chevelle, Taproot, and Unloco toured with them. During the tour, Disturbed debuted an unreleased song, titled "Dehumanized." After Disturbed finished the Music as a Weapon II tour, Steve Kmak was fired by the band because of "personality differences." He was replaced by John Moyer, who is now the current bass player. On the night Moyer became the band's new bass player, Disturbed played live at the House of Blues and performed two new songs, "Hell" and "Monster," both of which are B-side tracks on the band's third studio album, Ten Thousand Fists.
Disturbed's third studio album, Ten Thousand Fists, was released on September 20, 2005. The album debuted at number-one on the Billboard 200, while also selling around 238,000 copies in the week following its release. The album was certified platinum, shipping 1,000,000 units, in the United States on January 5, 2006. The band toured with 10 Years and Ill Niño in support of the album. Disturbed headlined Ozzfest 2006 along with System of a Down, Lacuna Coil, DragonForce, Avenged Sevenfold, and Hatebreed.
In 2006, a European tour was scheduled but had been moved twice due to Draiman having troubles with severe acid reflux, which affected his voice. as related by Draiman himself. Later that year, Draiman underwent surgery for a deviated septum which affected his voice. It was successful, and ever since then, Draiman has limited his drinking on the road. In late 2006, Disturbed headlined another one of their own tours named Music as a Weapon III; the bands Flyleaf, Stone Sour, and Nonpoint toured with them. Disturbed completed the first leg of their Music as a Weapon III tour in late 2006. Soon after, Draiman stated that there was not going to be a second leg to the tour and that instead the band was going off the road to start working on their fourth studio album.
In July 2007, a new track titled "This Moment" was released on the soundtrack to the film Transformers. Disturbed mixed their fourth studio album, titled Indestructible, in Los Angeles in late 2007. In an earlier interview, David Draiman said that they were going to record fifteen songs, but only twelve would be on the album.
On September 30, 2008, the band released an iTunes-exclusive live album entitled Live & Indestructible, made up of songs from Deep Rock Drive, as well as the music video for "Indestructible." The band started a tour of Europe, starting in London during October 2008 and finishing during November 2008 in Helsinki. In November and December 2008, Disturbed toured in the United States. The song "Inside the Fire" was nominated for a 2009 Grammy Award in the "Best Hard Rock Performance" category. In March 2009, Disturbed released a music video for the single "The Night." The band began their Music as a Weapon IV tour in March 2009 and it ended in late May. The tour also dubbed a "festival," featured the bands Killswitch Engage, Lacuna Coil, and Chimaira on the main stage. The band released a second cover version of Faith No More's song "Midlife Crisis" on the album Covered, A Revolution in Sound, which also included bands such as Mastodon, The Used, and Avenged Sevenfold. This cover of "Midlife Crisis" was originally recorded for Indestructible, but the band decided not to include it on the album.
In an interview in July 2009, with FaceCulture, Draiman stated that the upcoming DVD will be "chronicling the past decade of Disturbed's existence. It's meant to show our growth over the course of the decade." He also talked more about the upcoming fifth album: "A couple of [song riffs] that Danny has come up with are really amazing. But they're just little pieces...it's not even in two-three part progression [yet]." A few months later on March 23, 2010, the band released a reissue of their debut album, The Sickness, with the B-side tracks "God of the Mind" and "A Welcome Burden," updated artwork, as well as remastering and remixing the track list. It was also available for the first time in vinyl format. On February 26, 2010, Harmonix announced a second Disturbed pack for download on the Rock Band music store, containing the 2010 remastered versions of "Voices," "The Game," and "Meaning of Life."
The band entered the studio in Chicago in early 2010 to begin recording their fifth album, planning on a release that summer. Guitarist Dan Donegan stated that the band had written around 15–18 songs. It was later confirmed that the title of the album would be Asylum. The band released a cover of heavy metal band Judas Priest's song "Living After Midnight" for the Metal Hammer Presents... Tribute to British Steel album. On April 20, 2010, roughly two months after they entered the studio, Disturbed announced that they had finished recording the album, and were ready to begin mixing it in Los Angeles, California. As they did with their last album Indestructible, Disturbed stated that they self-produced Asylum. The band announced that Asylum would be released on August 31, 2010. On July 9, 2010, the track listing was revealed on the band's official website. Asylum debuted at number-one on the Billboard 200. Asylum was Disturbed's fourth consecutive studio album to debut on top of the charts, an achievement only earned by two other bands: Metallica and Dave Matthews Band.
Disturbed headlined the first annual "Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar" tour with Avenged Sevenfold, as well as Stone Sour, Hellyeah and Halestorm, among others in late summer 2010. Then, in October 2010, it was reported that David Draiman was diagnosed with a "serious throat condition," and the band's U.S. tour had been canceled, as Draiman's healing process could have taken up to four weeks. Around the end of that year, Disturbed announced that they would be commencing the Music as a Weapon V tour in 2011, co-headlining with Korn and guests Sevendust, In This Moment and Stillwell. In January 2011, the Mayhem Festival announced that Disturbed would be headlining the festival along with Godsmack and Megadeth that summer. In February 2011, Disturbed was added to that summer's Download Festival. Disturbed announced that in May 2011, they would be co-headlining the Rock on the Range Festival in Columbus, Ohio.
On Thursday, April 28, Disturbed announced that their previously unreleased bonus track from Asylum, titled "3," would be available for download on their website. They said that all proceeds made from the download of the song would go towards the Damien Echols Defense Fund, a benefit foundation supporting the release of the West Memphis Three.
In July 2011, the band confirmed it would go on hiatus after finishing their US tour that year, and in an interview that same month, Draiman dismissed concerns that the upcoming hiatus was a result of conflict between the band members. Disturbed went into hiatus in October 2011. Disturbed released a b-side compilation album, titled The Lost Children, on November 8, 2011. The song "Hell" was made available for digital download on October 11, 2011, but Draiman stated on his Twitter page that there would not be a music video for it. A previously unreleased track, titled "Mine," also appears on the album. The track listing and release date were revealed on Draiman's Twitter page on September 20. On April 21, 2012, to commemorate Record Store Day, Disturbed released "The Collection." It is a box set featuring the band's five full-length studio albums in 140-gram vinyl LPs.
In May 2012, Draiman announced his new project, an industrial metal band called Device. Draiman later released information regarding the future of Disturbed and his new project Device, stating that Device would release their self-titled debut album on April 9, 2013. The album features several guest musicians from various metal bands. On April 25, 2013, it was announced that guitarist Dan Donegan and drummer Mike Wengren had begun a new project with Evans Blue singer Dan Chandler, Fight or Flight. Their debut album, "Life by Design?" was released on July 23, 2013. In December 2014, Moyer formed a new band with Scott Weiland, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, twins Jon and Vince Votta entitled Art of Anarchy, with an album released in June 2015.
On June 20, 2015, on Disturbed's Facebook page and website, there was material posted hinting at a possible return of the band. The website shows a new Disturbed logo, plus a video of the band's mascot "The Guy" appearing to be on life support, still breathing. The new Disturbed logo was also posted to their official Facebook page, along with the video of their mascot, and their profile picture changed to solid black, indicating new activity within the band. On June 22, 2015, Disturbed posted another video on Facebook, this time showing The Guy awakening from life support, as well as an 18-hour countdown on their official website, giving speculation to a definite reunion. On June 23, 2015, Disturbed officially announced the end of their hiatus and the coming of their new album entitled Immortalized. On the same day, the official music video for the new single "The Vengeful One" was released on their YouTube channel. Immortalized was released on August 21, 2015. John Moyer did not perform on the album due to working on other projects, with all bass tracks being performed by Dan Donegan. Moyer is not in the band's video for "The Sound of Silence" released in December 2015. However, Moyer remains a band member, having appeared in promotional photography for the album as well as continuing to perform live with the band.
Disturbed headlined the 2018 Rock Fest, along with Godsmack and Incubus. The band announced via social media in early January 2018 that they had entered the studio to begin recording their next studio album. In June 2018, lead guitarist Dan Donegan and bassist John Moyer confirmed with sources that the new album had been completed, with 100% of the songs finished, leaving only mixing and mastering to be done. Band members also posted a picture via Instagram together at a dinner party in celebration of completion of the recording process. The band's first album in over 3 years and the band's first album in over 8 years to have bassist John Moyer being involved in.
The album, Evolution was released on October 19, 2018. On August 16, 2018, the lead single, titled "Are You Ready" was released. On September 21, 2018, the album's second single, titled "A Reason to Fight" was released. In support of the album, the band announced the Evolution World Tour, set to take place in early 2019. The initial dates announced included shows across North America with select Canadian dates, as well as a European leg of the tour.