Disturbed vocalist David Draiman took the time to address the audience during his band’s set at the Ziggo Dome In Amsterdam, Netherlands yesterday, October 14th. The speech he gave followed another wave of controversy surrounding his past actions and his public support of the Israel Defense Forces and Israel in the now tentatively concluded Israel Gaza War.
Back in 2024, Draiman set off a firestorm of controversy that has followed him to this day after he signed an Israel Defense Forces artillery shell. Draiman signed the shell with the phrase ‘Fuck Hamas.’ The backlash for the incident was immediate, with critics decrying Draiman for being insensitive to the high amount of civilian casualties reported in Israel bombing runs and artillery strikes. Others leveled accusations of warmongering and condoning genocide.
While those criticisms have continued to dog Draiman since he signed that shell, they’ve also recently cost his band a planned live appearance. The group had been booked for an October 15th show in Brussels, Belgium this week. However, that concert was recently canceled by Charles Spapens, the mayor of the Brussels municipality of Forest.
Faced with limited police forces in the wake of a national strike and apparent concerns over potential protests or worse at Disturbed‘s show, Spapens scrapped the performance. That decision was reached after a local police risk assessment report was conducted regarding the concert. Spapens stated of that:
“My priority and responsibility is the safety of residents, demonstrators, spectators and the staff of Forest National. Given the unfavourable opinion of the police and the unique geographical location of the venue, it was my duty to take this decision.”
This past Monday, October 13th, the band issued the following statement in response to the show being canceled:
“BELGIUM UPDATE
Music is where all our differences fade into the background. Music has the power to heal, to inspire and to bring people together, it’s not about what divides us. We have always made it a point that at our shows ALL are welcome no matter what you believe. Everyone who comes to a Disturbed concert is accepted and loved. We are saddened that our fans in Belgium are not going to be able to share in this celebration of music.
Your tickets will be refunded automatically within 30 days to the payment card used at the time of purchase. You don’t need to take any further action.
We would like to thank you for your understanding, and we appreciate your support.”
Speaking to the crowd in attendance last night, Draiman brought his bandmates up to stand beside him center stage. He went on to address the recent events and speak of unity to the crowd, stating the following [transcribed by theprp.com]:
“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.”
After the speech, Disturbed launched into their 2015 single “The Light“. The band have been spending the fall touring across Europe and the UK in support of their multi-platinum 2000 debut album “The Sickness“. That run will continue throughout this month and finds thrash metal pillar Megadeth as direct support. See below for the remaining dates:
10/17 Munich, GER – Olympiahalle
10/18 Berlin, GER – Velodrom
10/20 Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena Birmingham
10/22 Dublin, IRE – 3Arena
10/24 Manchester, UK – AO Arena
10/26 London, UK – The O2
10/28 Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
