Dan Donegan Names Best Disturbed Song to Introduce People to the Band
Disturbed have amassed quite an impressive catalog since arriving on the scene in 2000. While "Stupify" was the song that introduced most to the band, there are fans that have come along at different periods in the band's history and some who may still not have taken that deep dive. As part of Revolver's ongoing "Point of Entry" series, guitarist Dan Donegan revealed which song he feels would be the best introduction to the group for the uninitiated.
There are plenty of options. Given what "Stupify" or the massive "Down With the Sickness" meant to establishing their career, you might think that would be the option. And there is the crossover success of their "The Sound of Silence" cover that changed the group's trajectory in allowing for more acoustic and softer songs to offset the heavy hitters. But none of those is Donegan's choice.
So what did he choose? "The Light" off of 2015's comeback album Immortalized that ended their hiatus. The second single off the record enjoyed modest success at rock radio, but Donegan has other reasons for why that song he thinks would make for a good intro into the band's overall sound.
"We've gone down different paths in recent years with acoustic stuff and 'The Sound of Silence' and a couple ballads, and then you have the old-school sounds," said Donegan gauging the difficulty of answering the question. "So, it might not paint the full picture of who we are, but I think a strong song for me that I love to show people and I think might be a great introduction is 'The Light,' which we did on the Immortalized album."
Why was that his choice? The guitarist says, "Mainly because I just love it lyrically and vibe-wise, and just its message — the [chorus], 'Sometimes darkness can show you the light.' I think it's just such a powerful lyric because no matter who you are, we've all gone through hard times and dark times. I like that we always do our best to try to spread some positivity, for the most part, and send that positive message to give people hope, to try to find power and strength to get through those tough times."
The track includes the chorus, "When you think all is forsaken / Listen to me now (all is not forsaken) / You need never feel broken again / Sometimes darkness can show you the light."
Donegan adds, "That's why we do it and write these songs for ourselves, because of the struggles that we have, and the darkness that we may be going through at times. We've all had some struggles like anybody else. There're family issues. We've all lost people close to us — fathers, brothers. So 'The Light' is just such an uplifting, positive message of trying to remind people that we have those dark moments. Sometimes we need that [reminder] to show us the light [so we can] fight through that pain."
"The Light" hit No. 10 on Billboard's Rock Airplay Chart and No. 18 Billboard's Hot Rock & Alternative Songs Chart upon its initial release. "The Light" has also remained a favorite in Disturbed's live shows, ranking as the 14th most played song in their catalog according to Setlist.fm.