Have you dived into listening to ‘Divisive,’ Disturbed’s latest release from last year? If you have, then you might have noticed the heart-stirring duet featuring none other than the legendary Ann Wilson. In a recent interview with Audacy’s 99.9 KISW hosted by Taryn Daly, David Draiman took us behind the scenes of this epic collaboration and shared Wilson’s reaction when she first heard the track.
As the pandemic swept the world, Disturbed felt inspired to channel the energy and emotions of the moment into their music. After two long years of meticulous preparation and production, ‘Divisive’ finally made its debut to the world in November. The album received a mixed reception, but there was one song that even those who don’t typically enjoy Disturbed’s sound couldn’t deny its greatness. ‘Don’t Tell Me,’ featuring Ann Wilson, stood out as a power ballad.
The song can be described as a thunderous piece that unites the forces of the Heart singer and David Draiman. With heavy guitar riffs and a driving backbeat, the two vocal powerhouses alternate verses, belting out the chorus with unified passion: ‘Don’t tell me now that you hate me.’ This collaboration marks a historic moment for Disturbed, as it’s the first time they’ve ever recorded with a guest vocalist.
It all started with a simple tweet from Ann Wilson a few years ago, praising Disturbed’s stunning cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘The Sound of Silence.’ That tweet sparked a flame in the minds of the Disturbed members, igniting the idea of a collaboration with the legendary rock goddess. They knew they had to act fast and reach out to Ann, and with bated breath, they awaited her response.
In his recent interview, David Draiman could barely contain his excitement as he shared the story of this epic collaboration. He beamed with pride as he spoke of the journey and the thrill of working with Ann Wilson. According to him, Wilson’s first reaction when she heard the chorus was just saying, ‘That’ll get them.’ What other reaction could one expect?
When asked if there was any chance Ann Wilson joining the band on stage for a live performance, Draiman replied:
“It’s got to happen at some point. I don’t know if it’ll be that performance. It’ll really depend on her schedule. She’s a busy lady. And she was all over the place and deservedly so. Her solo record is amazing. I love the covers on it. I love the originals on it. She did an amazing job with it.
She’s rocking it out there and touring on it and working with her, having the opportunity to work with her, to track her, to sing along with her, to work out melodies and harmonies together with her, to come up with that very outro part of the song for ‘Don’t Tell Me,’ [imitates vocals] that whole part that happened in the studio in front of her.
So she got to see me try it for the very first time, that idea to end the song like that and to see the reaction on her face… I remember after I showed her the idea and I sang it to her so that in and of itself, it’s like, ‘Oh, boy.’ I’m about to sing this song idea to Ann Wilson, who’s sitting right here in front of me, to get her opinion on how we should finalize the idea of the song. And I sang it, and she says she’s like, ‘Oh, yeah, that’ll get them.’ ‘Okay, cool, well, let’s do this.’”
Disturbed will have a busy touring schedule starting this spring. Setting off from Canada, they will promote their albums along the way, with stops in Austria, the UK, Israel, and many different parts of Europe and the States. It’s unclear whether Ann Wilson will accompany them because, as the frontman says, she’s pretty busy. However, the frontman is hopeful that this possibility will one day come true.
