Thanks for an unforgettable night at EXIT/IN last night Disturbed! 🤘🔥
Some photos Photos by Kristi Potts (the ones without watermarks were uncredited)

Did Dan go honky tonkin’ last night?! Hayley with Dan Donegan of Disturbed before their exclusive show at EXIT/IN last night.

Original Article By: 1057thepoint.com

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The Point’s LIV MADDIX catches up with DISTURBED guitarist, DAN DONEGAN before their Point BIG Summer Show with Breaking Benjamin on August 29th, 2023 at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre. Dan and Liv discuss what a Disturbed live show is all about, bringing in a new generation of fans, and the rollercoaster of emotions that Disturbed brings with their music and shows. Dan announces that the next single from ‘Divisive’ will be the track “Don’t Tell Me” featuring the legendary Ann Wilson from Heart which sparks a conversation about Disturbed’s search for a female vocalist to tour with the band and perform Ann Wilson’s part of the song live. Thanks to Dan Donegan and @DisturbedMusic for spending some time with us!

Original Article by: blabbermouth.net

In a recent interview with Wichita’s T95 The Rock Station, DISTURBED guitarist Dan Donegan was asked how he and his bandmates have managed to keep their personal friendships and working relationships intact after all these years. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I think the older we’ve gotten, the more mature and more respect that we have for each other and everybody’s role that we play. That’s just developing over time — from the early days of being in a band in the beginning and finding our way and finding our sound and whose contribution to what. Everybody has a slightly different role in the band, and just being able to accept certain things — why certain things work that way and just kind of respecting that. And everybody’s important, but we have slightly different roles too. And there’s just that great deal of respect, like I said.

“In our time apart, it is literally apart — everybody lives in different states,” he explained. “Maybe that helps that there’s a little bit of breathing room, if we are too much around each other. I think we’ve just got such a strong bond and a good friendship. Like I said, we respect each other. It doesn’t mean we don’t have differences [and aren’t sometimes] at odds, especially in the studio, if we’re trying to work on what we feel what’s best for the song; somebody might feel differently about it. So we definitely have those moments. But it’s all for the good of the band and of the song.”

Donegan‘s comments echo those of his bandmate, DISTURBED drummer Mike Wengren, who told the 100.3 The X Rocks radio station that “respect” is the main reason he and the other guys in the group have managed to stay together for so long. “We are all four — we’re brothers, but we’re all different individuals as well,” he said. “And we pool off of each other’s strengths. We have a tremendous team in the four of us, but also in the people that work behind the scenes as well — our crew, our management, record label; I mean, the list goes on and on — we have a tremendous team. But as far as the four of us are concerned, it really just comes down to mutual respect. We actually like each other. [Laughs] We check in with each other.”

He continued: “It was so funny because during the pandemic, living in different states, [we] couldn’t see each other for a while. And when we wrapped up in October of ’19, was the last show we did, me and Danny actually took a trip. David [Draiman, vocals] was living in Hawaii at the time, and we went out there to go stay with him and his wife and son and just chill out for a little bit. The thought was maybe when we got home, we would start writing again, and blah blah blah. And lo and behold, just about — what? maybe two months later, everything was shut down and almost two years later we finally see each other. It was almost like [scene in the movie] ‘Chariots Of Fire’ on the beach — we all ran into each other’s arms practically. Like, ‘Hey…'”

DISTURBED‘s latest album, “Divisive”, was recorded earlier this year with producer Drew Fulk (MOTIONLESS IN WHITE, LIL PEEP, HIGHLY SUSPECT) in Nashville, Tennessee.

Donegan‘s divorce inspired the “Divisive” song “Don’t Tell Me”, which is a duet with HEART‘s Ann Wilson. In two decades, it breaks ground as the first-ever guest collaboration on a DISTURBED record.

According to Billboard, “Divisive” sold 26,000 equivalent album units in its first week of release, with 22,000 units via album sales.
On the all-format Billboard 200 chart, “Divisive” debuted at No. 13.

DISTURBED has had five No. 1s on the all-genre chart, beginning with “Believe” in 2002.

Original Article by: blabbermouth.net

DISTURBED guitarist Dan Donegan spoke to Matt Bingham of the Z93 radio station about how the events of the past couple of years have affected the lyrical themes covered on the band’s upcoming album, “Divisive”. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):

“In a big way. Obviously, with the whole world having to hit the ‘pause’ button and not knowing what this pandemic was gonna be and turn out to be and just stopping all of our lives, not just our lives, but obviously the music industry being affected by it in a large way, because our whole livelihood is based off of contact and being in front of thousands of people. So, it obviously was one of the later career choices for us to make a comeback, obviously, it was harder for that, to get out of this pandemic and find out what live entertainment was gonna be and what restrictions there may be. So, it was challenging — for all of us, our crew members, everybody that… Their whole livelihood was taken away from them. And my heart goes out to a lot of guys that worked for us and for other artists that had to go out and find new jobs during that whole time and a new career path. So it was challenging. It was challenging mentally. It kind of had an effect on me dealing with it and having the live show taken away from us. It’s always been therapeutic for us. That’s why we write music and do it. It’s our outlet and our way to seek that therapy. And we went through a difficult time. Mike [Wengren], our drummer, went through a divorce early on in the pandemic. I went through a divorce earlier this year. It was a tough time. It affected our personal lives. And then, obviously, all the changes in the world and politically and things going on here in the U.S., it’s become quite a mess and quite the division amongst each other. Everything you see on social media, it’s just become a mess. It’s pretty disgusting. It’s sad to see the division that has been going on here. It’s like people wake up in the morning and they can’t wait to get on social media to see what they can bitch about. We’re just so divided. It’s, like, ‘If you don’t believe what I believe, then I hate you.’ And ‘You’re a racist.’ And ‘You’re a homophobe.’ Just the name calling. It’s just an ugly time right now.”

Donegan, who in the past has shared posts on his personal Facebook page that amplified Republican talking points and that were derogatory to Democrats, continued: “It’s just shocking to me. And now I see it within friendships and family members. And people are that much at odds to where it’s affected those close relationships, not just the strangers that can hide behind the keyboard in their mom’s basement and spew out their hatred towards it. I don’t know. It’s just really disappointing to see people torn apart, a country torn apart like this. And I think we need to take a step back and take a look at the way we’ve been acting. We’re called the United States. We’re not really acting all that united in the past couple of years.”

Dan’s divorce inspired the “Divisive” song “Don’t Tell Me”, which is a duet with HEART’s Ann Wilson. In two decades, it breaks ground as the first-ever guest collaboration on a DISTURBED record. Clean guitar soundtracks the story of a long-term relationship in the middle of its last gasp. DISTURBED singer David Draiman and Ann engage in a call-and-response before locking into a skyscraping harmony as the solo reaches for the heavens.

“It was very personal to me,” admitted Dan. “I was going through my divorce, and I wanted to touch on the fact I was in a very long marriage to a wonderful woman. She’s a great mother to my kids. We were together for 18 years. Even though the marriage was in a tough spot, it was hard to leg go, because we’d invested so much into each other. I felt like listeners could relate to it.”

“Divisive” will arrive on November 18 via Reprise. The LP was recorded earlier this year with producer Drew Fulk (MOTIONLESS IN WHITE, LIL PEEP, HIGHLY SUSPECT) in Nashville, Tennessee. The follow-up to 2018’s “Evolution” includes the three recently released singles “Hey You”, “Unstoppable” and “Divisive”.

About the “Divisive” album title, Draiman noted: “Partisan tribal warfare has become a part of our regular existence nowadays. It’s one big battle of the cliques. The whole idea of the record is to be a wakeup call for everyone. Our society has become addicted to outrage. Music is the best cure for what ails us though. If only everyone reached out and used it. There’s no better environment to forget about all of this shit than live music. We can be together and realize we have more in common than not. Recognize what’s happening and let’s make a change for the better.”

Donegan added: “Whatever it takes, we’ve got to pull it together. We’ve always tried to take negative topics and spin them in a positive light. From touring around the world, we’ve seen the power of music as the universal language to bring everyone together from all walks of life. We can still play songs to unite people, and it’s a pretty powerful feeling.”

Z93…The Rock Station!

Original Article by: billboard.com

The metal band’s eighth studio outing, which has already scored a No. 1 Mainstream Rock Airplay hit with “Hey You,” takes a centrist view on today’s fractured society.

Disturbed’s forthcoming album, Divisive, has been four years in the making. The last time the band had this long of a gap between studio releases was during its early-2010s hiatus that lasted nearly as long. But these have been surreal times, with the coronavirus pandemic delaying albums and tours, and putting people a different head space. For many, lockdown inspired musical creations, but for others, it instigated a change that wasn’t for the better.

Divisive takes on the country’s fraying society where political friction, social media sparring and, as frontman David Draiman calls it, “outrage addiction” has turned Americans against one another.

Headbanging songs like “Hey You,” “Love To Hate” and the title track (the video for which drops Oct. 28) tackle the tumultuous times. Even a ballad with Heart’s Ann Wilson, “Don’t Tell Me,” is about a disintegrating relationship where each party struggles with letting go.

The metal quartet had little problem with changing-up its recording situation. It worked with producer Drew Fulk (Motionless in White, Ice Nine Kills) for the first time, and it nested into Nashville for recording sessions rather than Las Vegas or Chicago as it had done in the past. Guitarist Dan Donegan notes that half of the music that he wrote came about in the studio due to the strong chemistry he had with Fulk. And for Disturbed’s 2023 world tour, he and his bandmates are considering switching things up in the setlist to keep things fresh and give fans a wider variety of tunes while hopefully digging into deeper cuts.

Headbanging songs like “Hey You,” “Love To Hate” and the title track (the video for which drops Oct. 28) tackle the tumultuous times. Even a ballad with Heart’s Ann Wilson, “Don’t Tell Me,” is about a disintegrating relationship where each party struggles with letting go.

The metal quartet had little problem with changing-up its recording situation. It worked with producer Drew Fulk (Motionless in White, Ice Nine Kills) for the first time, and it nested into Nashville for recording sessions rather than Las Vegas or Chicago as it had done in the past. Guitarist Dan Donegan notes that half of the music that he wrote came about in the studio due to the strong chemistry he had with Fulk. And for Disturbed’s 2023 world tour, he and his bandmates are considering switching things up in the setlist to keep things fresh and give fans a wider variety of tunes while hopefully digging into deeper cuts.

Donegan sat down for a Zoom with Billboard to talk about the creation of Divisive, his personal connection to “Don’t Tell Me” and what it was like recording with legendary vocalist Wilson.

Read the rest of this entry »

Original Article by: billboard.com

A Week in the Life of Disturbed’s Daniel Donegan — From Coaching Pee Wee Football to a No. 1 Album

The guitarist balances family, fun and the metal band’s fifth straight No. 1.

Aug. 22 Donegan gets to his suburban Chicago home at 4:30 a.m. after partying at House of Blues: “White Russians plus shots of Fireball and Jager,” says the 47-year-old of what was downed in honor of Disturbed’s first show and album (Immortalized, released Aug. 21 on Reprise) in four years. He crashes for two hours, then wakes to take son Jason, 8, to his football game. Oh, and Donegan is the coach: “I kept my sunglasses on.”

Aug. 23 Donegan heads to Best Buy to cop Disturbed’s new record. “It seems silly, but it’s tradition,” he says. He also scores a fresh Madden title for Xbox: Four of Jason’s friends are on their way over to the house for a sleepover. They end up being more interested in the Bulls-themed basketball court outside.

Aug. 24 Burgers fortify the Donegan clan for a day of pigskin practice — wife Nicole coaches cheer, and daughter Maya, 11, is on the squad. A huge Disturbed banner flaps menacingly above the field. “Visiting teams are freaked out by that,” he says. The band is a sponsor.

Aug. 25 Summer is ending, so it’s ice cream all around. “Being a dad is the greatest thing in my life,” says Donegan, but work is calling. He takes a meeting about a 2016 tour with hopes of going back to Japan.

Aug. 26 He gets Maya on a school bus by 6:45 a.m. It’s not easy. “She has to pick her outfit, fix her hair… do girl things,” he says with a groan. A reporter comes over to profile him in his element, which includes eating fried pickle spears at a local bar.

Aug. 27 Stock woes inspire an emergency meeting with his finance man, who talks him down. By phone, he and singer David Draiman review the music video treatment for “The Light,” to be shot in Florida by Culley Bunker.

Aug. 28 Disturbed gets word that Immortalized will be its fifth straight LP to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, putting the band in elite company: “It’s just us, Metallica and Dave Matthews,” says Donegan. “To take time off, then find out the fans are as rabid as ever, is overwhelming.” He and Nicole celebrate with a rare meal alone: sandwiches at their favorite deli.