Down with the Sickness
| "Down with the Sickness" | ||||||||
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| Single by Disturbed | ||||||||
| from the album The Sickness | ||||||||
| Released | October 31, 2000 | |||||||
| Genre | Nu metal | |||||||
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| Label | Giant | |||||||
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| Producer(s) | Johnny K | |||||||
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"Down with the Sickness" is a song by the American band Disturbed. The song was recorded in 1999 and was released as the third single from their debut studio album, The Sickness. The song is one of Disturbed's best-known songs and is a concert staple, usually played as the last song. This was their first single to be certified platinum in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America.
"Down With the Sickness" is a nu metal song that features a famous "ooh-wah-ah-ah-ah" staccato noise from Disturbed's singer David Draiman at the end of the intro, which reappears from time to time throughout the song. Draiman has stated the sound was made possible by effects on his vocal cords after receiving surgery for acid reflux, but he has dismissed the rumor the noise was actually caused by heartburn, further explaining, "I mean the song originally was written and just had a pause. Mikey's beat is just so tribal and you know it just made me feel like an animal... [The noise] came out one day."
Guitarist Dan Donegan has mentioned that the tuning for the guitar "is drop C-sharp... your bottom five strings are half a step down and your low string will be dropped to C-sharp." This is sometimes referred to as "E♭ Drop D♭", the most common drop tuning for bands who play generally in E♭ standard instead of E standard.
The musical instruments that were used in the song include guitar, bass guitar, electronics, drums, and vocals. The tempo throughout the song consists of a kick-drum and bass guitar rhythm that gives the song the heavy metal/rock feeling.
A spoken segment near the end of the song seems to describe a child who is physically abused by his mother and who ultimately retaliates. This segment is somewhat controversial and music critics sometimes express a negative opinion of its inclusion in the song. For example, Leor Galil of the Chicago Reader opined, "Yet I still find it hard to believe that the megasingle 'Down With the Sickness,' with its idiotic vocal breakdown in which front man David Draiman crudely describes being beaten by his mom (and vice versa), guided the band on to a path that’s resulted in four albums topping the Billboard 200."
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Wikipedia