David Draiman Says Disturbed Will Release ‘Slew of New Material’

When David Draiman joined Loudwire Nights on Friday (Feb. 21), he admitted that he had a lot of emotions with the release of Disturbed‘s new song, “I Will Not Break,” days before the band’s massive tour kicks off.

“Nervous and excited and stressed,” Draiman told host Chuck Armstrong about how he was feeling. “But it’s good. It’s good, all good things.”

Listen to the full conversation in the player near the end of this article.

Most of Draiman’s stress comes from the prep for Disturbed’s tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of their debut album, The Sickness.

“[It is] incredibly challenging, in terms of there being a lot of moving parts,” he said.

“A lot of toys we’re bringing out on this one. Bringing back a lot of the aspects of nostalgia. People are going to be barraged with surprise after surprise. It’s going to be fun.”

Draiman admitted that the walk down memory lane, re-visiting The Sickness, has been interesting.

“This is the first time in our entire career that we’re going to be performing the first album front to back in its entirety,” he said. “Some of these songs have literally not been played in 15 or 18 years.”

As fun as this has been, Draiman seemed just as excited to be celebrating Disturbed’s brand-new music — and he promised the Loudwire Nights audience there was plenty more on the horizon.

“This new music is the first of a slew of new material that we have in the vault that we will be releasing over the course of the next year or two, leading up to a full album release,” he said.

“We’re incredibly proud of this body of work. It’s definitely got that old-school Disturbed feel to it. There’s definitely some surprises to come later down the line.”

David Draiman Celebrates Ozzy Osbourne + Black Sabbath

As if new music and a massive tour weren’t enough to keep Draiman occupied, he’s also gearing up to be part of Back to the Beginning, the all-day celebration for Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath set for July 5 in Birmingham, England.

“Oh God, [I’m] beyond honored, beyond humbled,” he said about being a part of the lineup for Ozzy and Sabbath‘s final shows.

“[I’m] overwhelmed to be part of the whole experience. I look at the list of names, look at the bill and it’s truly shaping up to be one of the greatest heavy metal shows of all time … I’m really looking forward to the whole experience myself as a fan.”

Draiman called Ozzy the Godfather of Metal and said he’s enamored by him and his love of music. It was clear that Ozzy is a constant inspiration for Draiman.

“He’s like a father to me,” he said. “He’s like a father to all of us. Without Ozzy, where would any of us be?”

When Draiman reflected on the first Sabbath album he ever owned, he was quick to celebrate the 1976 compilation, We Sold Our Soul for Rock ‘n’ Roll.

READ MORE: Chris Daughtry Literally Had a Dream He’d Tour With Disturbed

And though he couldn’t pick just one song as his favorite, he shared a handful of tracks that still mean as much to him today as they did the first time he heard them.

“Songs like ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath,’ I love ‘Fairies Wear Boots,’ I love ‘Sweet Leaf,'” he shared.

“I’m a student of Black Sabbath.”

What Else Did Disturbed’s David Draiman Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• What “I Will Not Break” means to him: “I’m definitely in a much more positive place at this point and feeling indomitable and feeling really strong. This is a vengeance track. A return track. A healing track.”
• Why it’s a little dangerous sometimes revisiting songs from 25 years ago: “It took so much angst and rebellion and darkness to make The Sickness happen in the first place. I feel like it’s sucking me in a little bit again, so it’s kind of a double-edged sword if you will.”
• What runs through his head when he hears that Loudwire named “Down With the Sickness” as one of the greatest songs of the last 25 years: “It’s very surreal to me for people to even speak about anything we’ve created in that positive of a light, because I’m just not used to it.”

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below

David Draiman joined Loudwire Nights on Friday, Feb. 21; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.