CHICAGO — Nu-Metal band Disturbed revealed their 2000 hit “Down with the Sickness” was also a Simon and Garfunkel cover much like their 2015 hit “The Sound of Silence,” surprised sources reported.
“Yeah, not very many people know that a good 75% of our songs are just covers of old folk songs,” frontman David Draiman provided. “True fans of Simon and Garfunkel will recognize ‘Down with the Sickness’ from a rare collection of B-sides that they released in the late sixties as part of the ‘Bookends’ sessions, but I can understand how the casual listener may not have heard the original version. Being a native of New York City, I of course grew up on Simon and Garfunkel, and consider them one of my biggest influences. Obviously, Disturbed makes their songs better when we decide to cover them, so it makes total sense that our versions completely overshadow theirs.”
Fan Audrey Enapay was taken aback at the revelation from one of her favorite bands.
“I couldn’t believe that ‘Down with the Sickness’ was also a Simon and Garfunkel cover,” Enapay admitted. “I just listened to the original for the first time, though, and it totally tracks. I was really shocked to hear Paul Simon randomly start ranting about his mother in the middle of the song, too, especially because I’ve never heard him swear like that. The song is incredibly sonorous and touching, and Art Garfunkel’s voice sounds so beautiful when he hits the ‘oh wahh ahh ahh ahh’ at the beginning. I’m surprised so few people have heard this track. Disturbed really did the world a favor by bringing such a work of art into the mainstream.”
Singer Art Garfunkel reflected on Disturbed’s rendition of his work.
“I was initially flattered with all these covers, but I really wish Disturbed would write some of their own songs,” Garfunkel said. “I don’t think their style really lends itself to our music that well, but they’ve been insisting on covering us routinely since they formed back in the early 2000s. I discovered that I’d really had enough when I first heard their cover of ‘The Sound of Silence,’ and I hope you can understand why. I don’t think I’ve ever cringed so hard in my life. I haven’t been able to listen to the original since, which is a shame because that’s one of our most popular songs. They must be stopped before they get their hands on the ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ album.”
At press time, Fred Durst had revealed that “Break Stuff” was also a George Michael cover.