When comparing bands,there are few that are as different as folk-rock legends Simon and Garfunkel and heavy metal group Disturbed. That’s why it was such a surprise when Disturbed decided to cover The Sound of Silence. So, what prompted this change in style?
In an interview, Disturbed’s lead vocalist, David Draiman, explained that the band never planned to do covers in advance. It was only when they came together in the studio to work on new material for an album that they would discuss the possibility of including any covers.
Check out a live version of Sound Of Silence in the video below:
When they sat down to write the Immortalized album, the band’s drummer, Mike Wengren, suggested covering the iconic tune. It had come to his mind because he often played it at home while doing chores with his family. Normally, Disturbed’s music has a raw and slightly aggressive sound. However, for this particular cover, guitarist Dan Donegan strongly supported the idea of exploring a softer and more melodic sound.
Interestingly, if you listen to Disturbed’s other songs, you might not realize that lead singer David is naturally capable of singing in this style. When he was younger, David received training to become a Cantor, a singer who leads a Jewish congregation during prayers.
This required a great deal of skill, and fortunately, David was able to tap into this aspect of his past and showcase this style of singing in the cover.
Since the video was uploaded in 2016, it has amassed nearly 144 million views and 972K likes. Plenty of viewers left positive comments to praise a wonderful performance.
One commented, “I honestly think this is the best live performance of any song ever. They took an awesome, iconic song and made it their own. Which is arguably better than the original. Then David laid down one of the purest, cleanest, best controlled, most impactful vocal performances there has ever been.”