Episode 11: Disturbed's "The Sickness", or Nu Metal's Triple Major

The P.O.D. Kast

An album that Bryan describes as "elevator music, but nu-metal", Disturbed kicks off a bafflingly successful career with this, their debut album, "The Sickness". An album that brought the world "ooh-wah-ah-ah-ah" and launched a thousand nu-metal jokes, Disturbed created the blueprint for how a band that originally came up in nu-metal could be successful well past the genre's expiration date. All the foundations of Disturbed are here, from David Draiman's weird rap-sing style to the chugga-chugga of every single song, as one bleeds into the next and we go deep into all of it.

In a continuing series where Bryan Quinby (Street Fight Radio) and John Cullen (Blocked Party) review one classic nu-metal album per month, this is an album that pitches straight down the middle. You know what you're going to get from the outset, with weird, very specific lyrics that turn out to be mostly made up, to the cover of an 80s new wave song designed to move copies. And move copies this album did, as it's gone five times platinum since its release and continues to be one of the pillars of the genre. Plus, we learn who David Draiman is as a guy, and guess what? He's not great. Shocker, we know. From describing how smart he is in nearly every interview (a triple major, baby!) to our most fun Challenge ever, we dissect just who this guy is, and how he came to front one of the most popular metal bands ever.

If you want to feel smart and popular, you can donate to the show at https://patreon.com/thepodkast, where $4 a month gets you access to a shiny bonus episode every single month, and access to our entire back catalogue as well. We're fresh off reviewing WWF's Forceable Entry with Stop Podcasting Yourself's Graham Clark, and past guests include Molly Lambert, Nick Wiger, and Felix Biederman. This month, we've got the review of Strait Up, the Snot-led tribute to their deceased lead singer Lynn Strait, which features the band fronted by a bunch of nu-metal singers and it's extremely underrated. It's gonna be a great one and you don't wanna miss out on all the times Bryan and John get together to talk nu. Donate today!