Disturbed singer David Draiman made an impassioned and personal speech onstage during a recent show in Milwaukee, telling the audience that he recently almost lost his life to “addiction and depression.”
While referencing the Disturbed song “A Reason to Fight,” an emotional Draiman mentioned how he missed his late friends like Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington, Stone Temple Pilots’ Scott Weiland, and Soundgarden’s “Chris Cornell,” while adding that a couple months ago he “almost joined them.”
He told the crowd the following:
“A reason to fight — we all need one. The demons that are known as addiction and depression are very, very real. They are diseases no different than cancer. You can’t see depression. You can’t see addiction. It festers inside. It metastasizes, takes over your body and mind, your soul. And I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of losing everybody I love to depression and addiction. Every single band member on this stage has dealt with those feelings, with those demons. And I miss the friends that we’ve lost. I miss Chester, I miss Scott, I miss Chris.
And if I can be completely honest with you, a couple months ago, I almost joined them. Addiction and depression can happen to anyone ladies and gentlemen. No one is immune from it no matter how beautiful their life may look from the outside. No matter how blessed they may seem. It’s out of our control. Now, by a show of hands how many of you have dealt with the demons of addiction and depression yourself or know someone that has? Keep ’em up. Now take a look around this arena. As you can see my friends, you are not alone.”
A couple nights later, at a show in St. Paul, Minnesota, Draiman talked about the misconceptions of metal and hard rock artists, telling the audience, “All that bullshit people go ahead and spew about hard rock and heavy metal being something that’s dark and evil. Such a crock of shit. Don’t get me wrong — we have colleagues that like to play the dark and evil character. And you know what? They do it pretty goddamn well. But you know what? They are playing a character. It’s not for real.”
He continued, “Nobody actually sacrifices anything. No one’s actually satanic. It’s all a bunch of bullshit. It’s called entertainment. And even more than that, it’s called therapy. Because, ladies and gentlemen, whether you realize it or not, you are now attending the largest group therapy session you will ever attend in your lives.”
Back in 2019, Draiman discussed the song “A Reason to Fight” and Bennington’s passing with Heavy Consequence, telling us, “It’s been a very, very difficult past number of years, not just within our community but even for just individuals in normal walks of life in this country and in the world… I’m tired of being passive about it.”
Last month, Draiman discussed his recent divorce from Lena Yada during an appearance on Consequence‘s Kyle Meredith With… podcast. A few days ago, he confirmed that he had attempted to rebound via Tinder, but called the dating app an “absolute shitshow.”
Disturbed are currently wrapping up a spring North American outing. Following a run of European festival dates in June, the band will launch a full summer US tour on July 11th in Denver, with tickets available here.
Watch David Draiman’s recent onstage speeches, as well as his 2019 interview with Heavy Consequence, below.