The Sickness

For the Animorphs book, see The Sickness (Animorphs).

The Sickness
Studio album by Disturbed
Released	March 7, 2000
Recorded	November–December 1999
Genre	Nu metal
Length	47:41 54:19 (2010 reissue)
Label	Giant, Reprise
Producer	Johnny K, Disturbed
Disturbed chronology
The Sickness (2000) Believe (2002)
Reissue cover
The artwork for the remastered 2010 release.
Singles from The Sickness
"Stupify" Released: April 12, 2000 "Down with the Sickness" Released: October 31, 2000 "Voices" Released: November 21, 2000 "The Game" Released: February 20, 2001

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

The Sickness is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Disturbed. The album was recorded in 1999 and released on March 7, 2000. The album peaked at number 29 on the Billboard 200 chart and it has spent a total of 103 weeks on that chart, as of June 2010.^[2] The Sickness has been certified 4x Platinum by the RIAA, with around 4,248,000 copies sold in the United States alone as of 2011, making it the band's most successful album.^[3] It is also the only Disturbed album to have the Parental Advisory label and contain high amounts of profanity.

Unlike Disturbed's later albums, which are mixed in style, The Sickness consists primarily of heavier songs. In addition, The Sickness includes much more profanity, darker lyrical themes, and more electronic elements than later Disturbed albums. It is the only studio album by Disturbed to exclude a title track of exactly the same name, although the fourth track, "Down with the Sickness", includes the album title as the last two words, so it can be considered the title track.

2010 reissue

On March 23, 2010, a reissue of the album was released, which includes B-sides, new artwork, and exclusive online content.^[4] This reissue celebrates the tenth anniversary of the release of the album and is available for the first time in vinyl format.^[5] Disturbed's guitarist, Dan Donegan, commented on the reissue: "[...] it's the album that put us on the map and launched our career. So we went back into the studio and we remixed it, we're having it remastered, we're gonna put a couple of bonus tracks on there and touch up some of the packaging and the artwork. Just a little collector's item, a little tribute to that album for the fans".^[6]

The two songs included in the reissue, "God of the Mind" and "A Welcome Burden", are also included in a B-side compilation called The Lost Children.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Disturbed, except where noted. 

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Voices"	3:11
2.	"The Game"	3:46
3.	"Stupify"	4:33
4.	"Down with the Sickness"	4:38
5.	"Violence Fetish"	3:23
6.	"Fear"	3:46
7.	"Numb"	3:44
8.	"Want"	3:52
9.	"Conflict"	4:35
10.	"Shout 2000" (Tears for Fears cover)	4:17
11.	"Droppin' Plates"	3:48
12.	"Meaning of Life"	4:01
Total length:		47:41

2002 international reissue (excluded North America)
No.	Title	Length
13.	"God of the Mind"	3:05
14.	"Stupify" (live)	4:53
15.	"The Game" (live)	3:53
16.	"Voices" (live)	3:36
17.	"Down with the Sickness" (live)	6:16
Total length:		1:09:17

2010 reissue bonus tracks
No.	Title	Length
13.	"God of the Mind"	3:05
14.	"A Welcome Burden"	3:31
Total length:		54:19

The track "Stupify" actually lasts 4:07, but skipping to the track or ripping it produces a song that's 4:33. There's a 0:26 backwards-played instrumental part hidden in the pregap between tracks 3 and 4 that can only be heard by rewinding / playing straight through.

Chart performance

Album

Year	Chart	Peak position
2000	US Top Heatseekers[7]	3
	US Billboard 200[2]	29
2001	UK Albums Chart[8]	102
2002	US Catalog Albums Chart[2]	1
2008	Australian Albums Chart[9]	30
	US Hard Rock Albums Chart[2]	25
2010	Greece Albums Chart[10]	5

Singles

Year	Song	Chart	Peak position
2000	"Stupify"	Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks[11]	12
		Alternative Songs[12]	10
2001	"Down with the Sickness"	Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks[11]	5
		Alternative Songs[12]	8
2006		Hot Ringtones[11]	2
2000	"Voices"	Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks[11]	16
		Alternative Songs[12]	18
2001		UK Singles Chart[8]	52
2002	"The Game"	Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks[11]	34

Certifications

Country	Certification
Australia[13]	Platinum
Canada[14]	Platinum
United Kingdom[15]	Silver
United States[16]	4× Platinum

Personnel

Disturbed David Draiman – lead vocals, backing vocals Dan Donegan – guitars, electronics, programming Steve Kmak – bass guitar Mike Wengren – drums, percussion, programming Production Produced by Johnny K and Disturbed Engineered by Johnny K 2nd engineer – Tadpole Additional programming by Frank De Lamora and Enrique Santiago Mixed by Andy Wallace Mixdown engineer – Steve Sisco Mastered by Howie Weinberg Art direction, design, cover and object photography – P.R. Brown at Bau-Da Design Lab LA Band photography – Jana Leon

2010 10th Anniversary Edition Mixed by Neal Avron Mastered by Ted Jensen International edition live tracks Engineered by Tim Powell and Bif Dawes for Westwood One Recorded in Chicago, IL March 10, 2000 at The Metro

References

1. ^ Huey, Steve. "Review The Sickness Disturbed". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r466832/review. Retrieved April 27, 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d} "The Sickness: 10th Anniversary Edition - Disturbed". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200#/album/disturbed/the-sickness/413140. 
3. ^ Metal Hammer Forum - Einzelnen Beitrag anzeigen - Der relevante Charts/Verkaufszahlen Fred
4. ^ "Disturbed Begins Recording Next Album". Blabbermouth.net (Roadrunner Records). February 8, 2010. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=134709. Retrieved April 27, 2010. 
5. ^ "Disturbed's 'The Sickness' To Be Reissued With Bonus Tracks, Expanded Artwork". Blabbermouth.net (Roadrunner records). January 12, 2010. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=133307. Retrieved April 27, 2010. 
6. ^ "Disturbed Getting Ready To Record Next Month". Blabbermouth.net (Roadrunner Records). January 14, 2010. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=133405. Retrieved April 27, 2010. 
7. ^ "The Sickness: 10th Anniversary Edition - Disturbed". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-sickness-10th-anniversary-edition-r466832/charts-awards. Retrieved April 27, 2010. 
8. ^ ^{a b} Zywietz, Tobias. "Chart Log UK 1994–2008". Zobbel. http://www.zobbel.de/cluk/CLUK_D.HTM. 
9. ^ "Disturbed - The Sickness". australian-charts.com. http://www.australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Disturbed&titel=The+Sickness&cat=a. Retrieved April 27, 2010. 
10. ^ "Disturbed - The Sickness". greekcharts.com. http://greekcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Disturbed&titel=The+Sickness&cat=a. 
11. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Disturbed > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p415878/charts-awards/billboard-singles. Retrieved April 27, 2010. 
12. ^ ^{a b c} "Disturbed Album & Song Chart History: Alternative Songs". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/artist/disturbed/chart-history/382997#/artist/disturbed/chart-history/382997?f=377&g=Singles. 
13. ^ "Accreditations - 2006 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/ariacharts-accreditations-2006albums.htm. 
14. ^ "Gold & Platinum Certification". Canadian Recording Industry Association. http://www.musiccanada.com/GPSearchResult.aspx?st=the%20sickness&ica=False&sa=disturbed&sl=&smt=0&sat=-1&ssb=Cert.%20Date. 
15. ^ "BPI certifications". British Phonographic Industry. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx. 
16. ^ "RIAA Database Search Results for Disturbed". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?&artist=Disturbed.