Disturbed have announced an indefinite hiatus following one of the most turbulent years of their career, bringing a sudden pause to a band that once defined American metal’s modern resurgence.
The news was confirmed this week by guitarist Dan Donegan, who told fans that after “twenty-five years of intensity, we all need to breathe for a bit.” While the break is being framed as temporary, the announcement follows months of public controversy that have left the future of the Chicago four-piece uncertain.
Tension around the band escalated in mid-2025 when frontman David Draiman faced mounting backlash over politically charged social media posts and onstage comments during the Take Back Your Life tour. What began as spirited defences of free speech quickly spiralled into online conflict, alienating sections of Disturbed’s fanbase and drawing criticism from the wider music community.
At several North American shows, fans walked out during Draiman’s monologues between songs, moments that had once been rallying cries but increasingly felt like rants.
Promoters and festival organisers quietly distanced themselves from the band, and by August, the usually sold-out Disturbed arena machine was showing cracks.
In an uncharacteristically reflective post last month, Draiman wrote, “Sometimes you’ve got to shut the world out before you lose the part of yourself that still believes in the music.” That sentiment now reads like a precursor to this week’s announcement.
Dan Donegan’s statement framed the decision as mutual and overdue, “We’ve been doing this non-stop since 1996. We’ve been brothers, we’ve been family, and sometimes family needs time apart to stay that way. There’s no breakup. There’s no drama. There’s just life.”
The band’s official channels echoed the message but stopped short of promising a return, saying only that the members “will reconnect when the time feels right.”
For a group that built its brand on unrelenting strength and defiance, the words “indefinite hiatus” mark a rare moment of vulnerability.
Disturbed first broke through in 2000 with The Sickness, led by the now-iconic single Down With the Sickness. The album catapulted them from Chicago’s club circuit to global stardom and remains one of the defining releases of the nu-metal era.
Follow-up records Believe (2002), Ten Thousand Fists (2005), and Indestructible (2008) cemented their reputation for heavy riffs and rally-cry choruses. By the time Asylum arrived in 2010, Disturbed had achieved something few metal bands of their generation managed – consistent commercial success across a decade without compromising their sound.
A previous hiatus between 2011 and 2015 saw the members explore side projects before reuniting for Immortalized, featuring their haunting cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s The Sound of Silence, which reintroduced them to a broader audience and reignited their chart dominance.
Their latest album, Divisive (2022), hinted at both the musical polish and the internal strain that has now surfaced. Its title now feels prophetic.
While the break may only be temporary, Donegan’s tone suggests the band’s internal chemistry needs more than a few months to reset. Bassist John Moyer and drummer Mike Wengren are reportedly pursuing production and soundtrack work, while Draiman has hinted at a solo acoustic project.
Whether Disturbed return to the studio in a few years or drift into legacy-act territory will depend on how their personal and public reputations recover from a bruising year. But if history has proven anything, it’s that Disturbed have always found a way to re-emerge – louder, sharper, and unapologetically themselves.
For now, the silence may be the band’s most powerful statement.
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