VOX: How's it going?

David Draiman: I'm feeling it from last night. I'm beat.

VOX: Well, you guys leave it all on stage, that's for sure…

DD: That's why we do it. But there's alcohol for after the show to get more energy.

VOX: Let's jump right in…how did Disturbed get started?

DD: How did we get started…Well, the other three guys had been playing together for some time, doing the Chicago scene, playing in local bands. Basically, they put out an ad, and I answered it, and auditioned for them. It just clicked right then, that day. As a matter of fact, we wrote our first song together that day, or at least what would become our first song.

VOX: What song was that?

DD: "Want", which is one of the songs on the album.

VOX: I've seen you come out in a straight jacket and get zapped in an electric chair. What's next?

DD: I don't know…what I do is meant to be symbolic of the way society treats people who they don't understand or are different…how they handle people who don't fit into what society wants. They think these people will effect or infect other people, so they have them imprisoned or restrained. But, see, I don't die from what happens - I break out of the straight jacket and the electrocution doesn't kill me. I survive.

But who knows? I don't know what will be next.

VOX: What, to you, was the most critical element to completing the album? What were you after?

DD: We wanted the songs to be as strong as possible and the performances to be as strong as possible. We wanted the order of the songs to convey the theme of the album, too.

VOX: What is that theme?

DD: The whole album is about aspects of humanity that we view to be negative and exposes them for what they are and forces people to look at them. It's about individuality and finding your path - being who you are and being fine with that.

VOX: "Stupify" is a great song and has obviously received tons of airplay. What's the story behind it?

DD: It came out of a relationship that I was having with a young Latino girl that wasn't allowed to progress to fruition, because of the different ethnicities. Her family didn't allow it to happen.

VOX: What ethnicity are you?

DD: Jewish.

VOX: So there were ethic and religious issues…

DD: Our whole lives were different. It was painful.

VOX: "Voices", the current single, is a powerful song - tell me about it.

DD: That was originally inspired by some programs I had watched on the Discovery Channel, about John Wayne Gacey and other serial killers. The shows dealt with their modes of behavior and our own fascination with them, and I realize that they're not that different than everyone else. They were driven by buried or subconscious desires - these voices in their heads - which many people hear, but they choose to listen to. Society has such a fascination with that, without realizing the parallels that exist with what every other person relates to.

We hear that voice that says, "Take a chance…try this…wouldn't that be fun." It's the id that we all constantly have to deal with.

VOX: Are you all into the Internet - do you see it as an important medium for the band?

DD Absolutely! We're pro-Napster, pro-Internet. Anything that helps to get the music out there, we're behind it. It's critical to any band, now.

VOX: Do you read the e-mail that comes through the site?

DD: We used to, but there is just too much coming in now. We just don't have the time like we used to.

VOX: Well, that not necessarily a bad thing…

DD: No, it isn't. We used to read them - I used to spend almost three hours a day responding to e-mail, but we just don't have the time. When we do get the time, we still try to go on and read what we can.

VOX: How has the massive success of The Sickness changed your lives?

DD: Well, we don't have to work our day jobs any more…

VOX: What was your last day job?

DD: I was a health care administrator.

VOX: That a long way from what you're doing now.

DD: Oh, yeah! [Laughs] We get to do what we love five or six nights a week…we get to live our life's passion.

VOX: What are your upcoming tour plans?

DD: We'll be heading back to Europe on the 18^th to open up for Marilyn Manson, which should be great. After that, I don't know.

VOX: How would you describe the Disturbed live show?

DD: Hmmm, it's hard for me to describe, because I'm not always 100% sure of what's going on. I'm so into it that I'm not thinking about it.

I recently got to see some video of a show we did, in, umm, Portland, Maine, and I thought, "Wow, that looks pretty cool." I liked the way things looked.