David Draiman | |
---|---|
Draiman singing with Disturbed, April 17, 2009
|
|
Background information | |
Birth name | David Michael Draiman |
Born | March 13, 1973 |
Genres | |
Occupation(s) | Vocalist, music producer |
Instruments | Vocals |
Years active | 1996–present |
Labels | Giant, Reprise, Intoxication |
Associated acts | |
Website | disturbed1 |
David Michael Draiman (born March 13, 1973) is an American songwriter and the vocalist for the band Disturbed as well as for the band Device. Draiman is known for his distorted voice and percussive singing style. In November 2006, Draiman was voted number 42 on the Hit Parader’s "Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time". Draiman has written some of Disturbed's most successful singles, such as "Stupify", "Down with the Sickness", "Indestructible", and "Inside the Fire".
In October 2011, Disturbed entered a hiatus. Draiman announced in the following year that he was working on an industrial rock/metal project with Geno Lenardo, formerly of Filter, which was later named Device. In June 2015, Disturbed released their first single since their hiatus, named "The Vengeful One". They produced it over a year before, and along with it announced a new album, Immortalized.
Draiman was born in Brooklyn, New York on March 13, 1973, the son to Miriam and YJ Draiman. His father, a candidate in the 2017 race for mayor of Los Angeles, is a former real estate developer, small-business owner, and elected member of the Northridge East Neighborhood Council, among other roles. Draiman's brother Benjamin is an ambient/folk rock musician who lives in Israel and performs in Jerusalem. Draiman's grandmother also lives in Israel.
His parents were observant, religious Jews (dati). They intended for Draiman to receive semikhah, and Draiman frequently spent time in Israel during his early life. 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.