Then, one day, they discovered vocalist David Draiman. Since then everything changed. He even brought a new name for the band with him.

"Since Dave joined three years ago, the three of us have developed incredibly," quotes the bassist, Fuzz. "He was the first singer who came in and said, "Let's improvise," adds Dan. "That took some balls. No other singer who we had worked with had done that. They all wanted to sing covers of other bands' songs."

David came from a conservative religious family (ironic) that had different plans for him. They wanted him to be a salesman at Sears, a teacher, a minister... a doctor maybe? - certainly not the lead singer in a rock band with a name and an attitude that are both "Disturbed". David is well-versed in the act of going against the grain. "My whole life, people have set out a certain path that they wanted me to follow," he begins. "It didn't quite work out that way. Our songs and our image are about how the reverse effect has occured - going to and getting kicked out of five different boarding schools didn't help, along with everyone trying to make all of us into what society would have us to be."

David's point of view fits, along with the equally disquieting expressions - musical and otherwise - of his new buddies, soon made them the toast of Chicago's South Side clubs. One highly-traded demo tape later, Disturbed was well on its way. The music included on the quartet's debut for Giant Records surges without extraneous guitar solos and bellows its vein-popping rage without losing the keen, controlled eye of the master predator. Disturbed's brute force is unquestionable, yet there's murderous intelligence at work behind such songs as "Down With the Sickness" that will make the most jaded, veteran head-banger cast a wary, nervous gaze in their direction. Clearly, the band is... Disturbed?

Yes, before long, they were sharing stages with the likes of hometown titans Ministry. Dan's percussive riffs were becoming ever more pummelling. Like a boxer, David was jabbing and feinting with his syllables, his vocal delivery honed to a state of breathtaking agility. "I'm not a rapper by any means," states David. "But there's a very distinctive rythem that I use to complement the music." Witness the unique and predictable lyrical flow of their first single, "Stupify" for example.

"We wanted to set ourselves apart from everyone else right from the start," comments Mike on his and Dan's use of samples and electronic programming. "The electronics and stuff like that? It's there mostly for ear candy. What we like to stress in our music are the guitar riffs, although David's voice and lyrical content are the main focus."

Which is probably the only time you'll hear sweet stuff mentioned in connection with this crew. This is the band your mom warned you not to accept candy from. But listen for yourselves. You won't fail to walk away... Disturbed.