Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
During his band’s performance in the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on October 14, Disturbed vocalist David Draiman took a moment to speak to the crowd. As reported by theprp, his remarks came after yet another round of criticism for his previous behavior and his open backing of Israel and the Israel Defense Forces in the now-tentatively-concluded Israel-Gaza War. Draiman signed an artillery shell from the Israel Defense Forces in 2024, sparking a controversy that has dogged him ever since. Draiman wrote “Fuck Hamas” as a signature on the shell. The incident sparked an instant outcry, with critics accusing Draiman of being indifferent to the civilian deaths reported in Israel’s artillery and bombing operations. Others accused them of supporting genocide and being belligerent.
Even though Draiman has been plagued by those complaints ever since he signed that contract, they just cost his band a scheduled live appearance. This week, the ensemble was scheduled to perform in Brussels, Belgium on October 15. However, Charles Spapens, the mayor of the Forest municipality in Brussels, has called off that event. Due to a lack of police resources following a nationwide strike and evident worries about possible demonstrations or worse at Disturbed‘s appearance, Spapens decided to cancel the performance. Following the completion of a local police risk assessment report on the concert, that decision was made.
Then, the band released a statement that you can read here.
Speaking to the audience in Amsterdam, Draiman invited his bandmates to the center stage to stand next to him. He continued by speaking to the crowd about togetherness and the recent occurrences.
Look at these beautiful people. I brought my brothers up here with me because collectively, we’d like to try and say something to not just you, but to the whole world. There have been certain people out there that have been trying to put words in our mouths, trying to make you think that they know what we think about things that are going on in this world.
So instead of listening to the people who can’t stop talking about everything that they’re so angry about all of the goddamn time, we’re going to tell you from our own mouths how we feel, okay? We in Disturbed are all about unity, Okay? We’re all about no matter who you are, no matter what walk of life you walk, no matter where you come from, no matter how much money is in your pocket, you are welcome at these shows. you understand that?
It doesn’t matter if you’re a believer, or a non-believer. It doesn’t matter how you identify it. None of those things matter, okay? And all of the noise of this world, all the anger that so many people try and instill in us. All the people in this world who benefit so much from pitting us against each other, we refuse to be defined by those people. The noise of the world doesn’t define us. The conflicts that are going on in this world don’t define us, because in this building, there is no fucking conflict.
And it doesn’t matter if you’re Chinese or Taiwanese. It doesn’t matter whether you’re Indian or Pakistani, it doesn’t matter whether you are Israeli or Palestinian. Everyone is welcome in our house every fucking time we take the stage. Now there is no one, no one, in the world, okay? That is celebrating this long-awaited moment and chance at real peace that we have [more than me.]
And to show the world that all the noise doesn’t matter, that all the people that try to pit us against each other don’t matter. I want you to do something for me. I want you to go ahead and take the hand of the person that’s standing next to you — every single fucking person in this arena — and I want you to raise those hands in the air, each one of you, grab the hand of the person standing next to you. Raise those hands to the sky. There is no one that gets to define us, except us, my brothers and sisters, my blood. Look around. You see my friends? Sometimes darkness can show you the light.
Following the speech, Disturbed played “The Light,” a single from 2015. In celebration of their multi-platinum debut album “The Sickness,” released in 2000, the band has been touring around Europe and the UK during the fall. Megadeth, a stalwart of thrash metal, will provide direct support for that run, which will continue throughout this month.
