HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''The Sickness'' is the debut
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
by American heavy metal band
Disturbed Disturbed may refer to: Books * ''Disturbed'', a 2011 novel by Kevin O'Brien (author) Film and TV * ''Disturbed'' (film), a 1990 film starring Malcolm McDowell * "Disturbed" (''Numb3rs''), a 2009 episode of ''Numb3rs'' * "The Disturbed", a 20 ...
. It was released on March 7, 2000, by
Giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''wiktionary:gigas, gigas'', cognate wiktionary:giga-, giga-) are beings of humanoid appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''gia ...
and
Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Green Day, En ...
. 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 Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...
'' debuted at number 4 in 2018. In 2018, ''The Sickness'' was certified five times platinum by the
RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
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 David Michael Draiman (; born March 13, 1973) is an American heavy metal singer. Noted for his distorted baritone voice and percussive singing style, he has been the lead vocalist of Disturbed since 1996. He has written some of the band's most ...
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.
his was His or HIS may refer to: Computing * Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company * Honeywell Information Systems * Hybrid intelligent system * Microsoft Host Integration Server Education * Hangzhou International School, ...
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 The Smashing Pumpkins (also simply known as Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. ...
,
Local H Local H is an American rock band co-founded in 1990 in Zion, Illinois by guitarist and vocalist Scott Lucas, who has remained the band's sole consistent member. Following the departures of the early line-up's bassist and lead guitarist, Lucas a ...
. 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 Daniel Joseph Donegan (born August 1, 1968) is an American musician who is the guitarist, keyboardist and one of the founding members of heavy metal band Disturbed. Donegan began playing guitar as a teenager and eventually formed a band calle ...
took a different approach than usual and adopted a style that did not incorporate
guitar solo A guitar solo is a melody, melodic passage, instrumental section (music), section, or entire piece of music, pre-written (or improvised) to be played on a classical guitar, classical, electric guitar, electric, or acoustic guitar. In 20th and ...
s: "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 ''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists and fans of guitar-based music and trends. The magazine has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original a ...
''. 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 Michael Wengren (born September 3, 1971) is an American drummer, best known for his work with Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Disturbed (band), Disturbed. He is one of the founding members of the band, which was formed in 1994. Wengren is k ...
on drums and Steve "Fuzz" Kmak on bass. Seeking help with the album's production process, the band turned to producer
Johnny K John Karkazis, better known as Johnny K, is an American record producer, engineer and mixer. He owns Groovemaster Recording Studios in Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Ill ...
, 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. " twas actually a hard sell at radio," Draiman said. "It's not like it shot up. They worked it. Giant Records at the time, they worked it. They pushed it to where it got enough awareness that it did start to chart decently." The track addressed themes of racism and discrimination, loosely based on one of Draiman's own experiences. It would go on to reach No. 12 on the
Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...
chart and No. 10 on
Modern Rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. ...
and remains one of their most popular songs. It was followed by the singles " Down with the Sickness" in October of the same year, "
Voices Voices or The Voices may refer to: Film and television * ''Voices'' (1920 film), by Chester M. De Vonde, with Diana Allen * ''Voices'' (1973 film), a British horror film * ''Voices'' (1979 film), a film by Robert Markowitz * ''Voices'' (1 ...
" the following November, and " The Game" in February 2001.


Reception

The album received positive reviews upon release. Steve Huey from
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
commented "But even if it has a few less-than-compelling moments, ''The Sickness'' overall comes off as the work of a band who really doesn't have far to go to achieve total control of its sound and compositional skills, and that makes it a terrific debut album." In 2013, ''
Loudwire ''Loudwire'' is an American online media magazine that covers news of hard rock and heavy metal artists. It is owned by media and entertainment business Townsquare Media. Since its launch in August 2011, ''Loudwire'' has secured exclusive i ...
'' featured ''The Sickness'' in their "Top 25 Debut Hard Rock Albums" list, placing the album at number 24. In 2020, it was named one of the 20 best metal albums of 2000 by ''
Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions published by different companies available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' featu ...
'' magazine. In 2021, the album was put on the list of the
Revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...
magazine "20 Essential Nu-Metal Albums".


Reissues


10th anniversary

On March 23, 2010, a reissue of the album was released that was remastered, slightly remixed and includes
B-sides The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...
, new artwork, and exclusive online content. This reissue celebrates the tenth anniversary of the release of the album and is available for the first time in Standard Black
vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
format. Disturbed's guitarist,
Dan Donegan Daniel Joseph Donegan (born August 1, 1968) is an American musician who is the guitarist, keyboardist and one of the founding members of heavy metal band Disturbed. Donegan began playing guitar as a teenager and eventually formed a band calle ...
, commented on the reissue: " ..it's the album that put us on the map and launched our career. So we went back into the studio and we remixed it, we're having it remastered, we're gonna put a couple of bonus tracks on there and touch up some of the packaging and the artwork. Just a little collector's item, a little tribute to that album for the fans". The two songs included in the reissue, "God of the Mind" and "A Welcome Burden", are also included in a B-side compilation called '' The Lost Children''.


20th anniversary

In January 2020, Disturbed announced that they were going on tour for ''The Sickness 20th Anniversary Tour'' with
Staind Staind ( ) is an American rock band from Springfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The original lineup consisted of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Aaron Lewis, lead guitarist Mike Mushok, bassist and backing vocalist Johnny April, and ...
and
Bad Wolves Bad Wolves is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 2017. Initially finding fame from their first single, a cover of the Cranberries' 1994 hit "Zombie (The Cranberries song)#Bad Wolves cover, Zombie ...
. The tour was canceled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. ''The Sickness'' was re-released to mark the album's 20th anniversary. It includes all of the original songs remastered and live versions of the songs. ''The Sickness 20th Anniversary Tour'' was rescheduled for July and September 2021 but was once again canceled due to the
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
pandemic and restrictions.


25th anniversary

On March 7, 2025, the ''25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition'' of the album was released with bonus tracks including B-sides, demos, rarities, and live tracks recorded between 2000 and 2001. Among the new tracks included is a new mix of "Glass Shatters" that features a snippet of
Stone Cold Steve Austin Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson and later Steven James Williams; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, producer and retired Professional wrestling, profes ...
, who used the song as his entrance theme in the early 2000s, introducing Disturbed from when the band performed it during the October 1, 2000 edition of '' WWF Sunday Night Heat''.


Soundtrack appearances

* "Voices" appeared in one of the trailers for the horror film ''
Jeepers Creepers Jeepers Creepers may refer to: * "Jeepers Creepers" (song), a popular 1938 song * ''Jeepers Creepers'' (1939 live-action film), a 1939 film starring Roy Rogers * ''Jeepers Creepers'' (1939 animated film), a 1939 animated short film featuring ...
''. * "The Game" appeared in the English adaptation of '' Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge''. * "Stupify" and "Fear" appeared in an English adaptation of '' Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug''. * "Down with the Sickness" appeared in several films, TV episodes, and video games, including ''
The One The One may refer to: Buildings * The One (shopping centre), a shopping centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong * The One (Toronto), a mixed-use skyscraper under development in Toronto, Canada * The One, a residential skyscraper under constru ...
'', ''
Queen of the Damned ''Queen of the Damned'' is a 2002 horror film directed by Michael Rymer from a screenplay by Scott Abbott and Michael Petroni, and based on the 1988 novel ''The Queen of the Damned'' by Anne Rice, the third novel of the book series ''The Vampi ...
'', the 2004 remake of '' Dawn of the Dead'', ''
The Death of Dick Long ''The Death of Dick Long'' is a 2019 American black comedy-drama film directed and produced by Daniels (directors), Daniel Scheinert and written by Billy Chew. The film stars Michael Abbott Jr., Virginia Newcomb, Andre Hyland, Sarah Baker (actres ...
'', '' Green Street'', the ''
Brooklyn Nine-Nine ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' is an American police procedural sitcom television series that aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox, and later on NBC, from September 17, 2013, to September 16, 2021, for eight seasons and 153 episodes. Created by Dan G ...
'' episode "
Sicko ''Sicko'' is a 2007 American political documentary film by filmmaker Michael Moore. Investigating health care in the United States, the film focuses on the country's health insurance and the pharmaceutical industry. Moore compares the for-prof ...
", the ''
South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...
'' episode "
With Apologies to Jesse Jackson "With Apologies to Jesse Jackson" is the first episode of the eleventh season of the American animated television series ''South Park'', and the 154th overall episode of the series. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on March ...
", ''
Rock Band 2 ''Rock Band 2'' is a 2008 rhythm game developed by Harmonix, published by MTV Games, and distributed by Electronic Arts. It is the sequel to ''Rock Band (video game), Rock Band'' (2007) and the second installment in the Rock Band, ''Rock Band ' ...
'', ''
Guitar Hero 5 ''Guitar Hero 5'' is a 2009 rhythm game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the fifth main installment and the ninth overall installment in the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series. The game was released internationally in ...
'', ''
Guitar Hero Live ''Guitar Hero Live'' is a 2015 rhythm game developed by FreeStyleGames and published by Activision. It is the seventh main instalment and the twelfth overall instalment in the ''Guitar Hero'' series. The game was released for PlayStation 3, ...
'', ''
Fortnite Festival ''Fortnite Festival'' is a 2023 rhythm game developed by Harmonix and published by Epic Games. In the game, players perform songs while attempting to achieve the highest score possible based on their performance. Each song features four differen ...
'', ''
WWE 2K18 ''WWE 2K18'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by 2K (company), 2K. It is the nineteenth instalment in the WWE 2K, WWE game series (fifth under the ''WWE 2K'' banner) and a follow-up to ''WWE 2K17''. It wa ...
'', and other media. The ''Guitar Hero 5'', ''Rock Band 2'', and ''Fortnite Festival'' versions have the "abuse" segment intact, however, all profane language was removed. ''Guitar Hero Live'' also features this song in the GH On Demand feature of the game, however as the music video version of the song is the version that is used, the "abuse" segment is not featured. Professional wrestler Christopher
Chri$ Ca$h Christopher Jonathan Bauman Jr. (July 13, 1982 – August 18, 2005) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Chri$ Ca$h. Bauman wrestled in many Independent circuit, independent Professional wr ...
Bauman also used "Down with the Sickness" as his theme song from 2001–2005 in
CZW Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion founded in 1999 by John Zandig. Commonly associated with the 2000s hardcore wrestling genre, early CZW shows showcased a brand of wrestling dubbed by the pro ...
until his death in an automobile accident on August 18, 2005. As of 2005, Combat Zone Wrestling annually run a memorial tribute event for Bauman titled "Down with the Sickness" after his theme song. The show originally started as a double header afternoon show, with another CZW event taking place later in the evening. Many former CZW trainees have made appearances on past events, including longtime friend GQ, who has wrestled on all of the events. * The "Forbidden 'Fu' Mix" of "Stupify" is featured in the ''
Little Nicky ''Little Nicky'' is a 2000 American dark fantasy comedy film directed by Steven Brill, written by Tim Herlihy, Adam Sandler, and Brill, and starring Sandler in the title role, Patricia Arquette, Harvey Keitel, Tommy "Tiny" Lister Jr., Rhys Ifa ...
'' soundtrack.


Track listing


Personnel


Disturbed

*
David Draiman David Michael Draiman (; born March 13, 1973) is an American heavy metal singer. Noted for his distorted baritone voice and percussive singing style, he has been the lead vocalist of Disturbed since 1996. He has written some of the band's most ...
– vocals *
Dan Donegan Daniel Joseph Donegan (born August 1, 1968) is an American musician who is the guitarist, keyboardist and one of the founding members of heavy metal band Disturbed. Donegan began playing guitar as a teenager and eventually formed a band calle ...
– guitars, keyboards, programming * Steve Kmak – bass *
Mike Wengren Michael Wengren (born September 3, 1971) is an American drummer, best known for his work with Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Disturbed (band), Disturbed. He is one of the founding members of the band, which was formed in 1994. Wengren is k ...
– drums, percussion, programming


Production

* Disturbed – production *
Johnny K John Karkazis, better known as Johnny K, is an American record producer, engineer and mixer. He owns Groovemaster Recording Studios in Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Ill ...
– engineering, production * Tadpole – engineering * Frank De Lamora – programming * Enrique Santiago – programming * Andy Wallace – mixing * Steve Sisco – mixdown engineering *
Howie Weinberg Howie Weinberg is an American audio mastering engineer. Over the course of his career, he has received over 2,257 mastering credits, three TEC Awards, 21 Grammy Awards, two Juno Awards, and one Mercury Prize. Career Weinberg mastered Herbie Ha ...
– mastering * P.R. Brown – art direction, design, cover and object photography * Jana Leon – band photography


10th anniversary edition (2010)

*
Neal Avron Neal Avron (born December 31, 1965) is an American record producer, mixer, audio engineer, and musician. Working predominantly in rock music, Avron began working on records in 1993 and achieved his production breakthrough when he co-produced Ev ...
– mixing *
Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' '' Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Early life ...
– mastering


International edition live tracks

* Tim Powell and Bif Dawes for Westwood One – engineering * Recorded in Chicago, IL on March 10, 2000, at The Metro


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Decade-end charts


Singles


Certifications


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sickness, The 2000 debut albums Albums produced by Johnny K Disturbed (band) albums Giant Records (Warner) albums Reprise Records albums