You know that sound. That "staccato" bark—Ooh-wah-ah-ah-ah!—that basically defines the year 2000. It's weird, right? Disturbed’s Down with the Sickness isn't just a song; it's a cultural landmark that somehow survived the death of Nu-Metal while everything else from that era kind of faded into the "guilty pleasure" bin.
If you grew up during the TRL era, this track was everywhere. It was in the gym, on the radio, and in every AMV (Anime Music Video) on early YouTube. But there’s a lot more to the song than just David Draiman making monkey noises. It’s actually a pretty dark, complex piece of music that almost didn't make it to the radio because of one specific, controversial section.
The "Ooh-Wah-Ah-Ah-Ah" Heard Round the World
Let's be real. The intro is the whole reason we're still talking about this.
Draiman has mentioned in various interviews over the years that the vocalization wasn't some calculated marketing move. It was an improvisation. During the recording sessions for the album The Sickness, producer Johnny K told Draiman to just "go for it." The result was a sound that simulated a primate or a guttural animalistic release.
It worked.
The song peaked at number five on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, but its "legacy" is way bigger than a chart position. It’s about the energy. The opening drum beat, played by Mike Wengren, uses this tribal, syncopated rhythm that feels like a war march. It sets the stage for a song that’s basically about losing control.
What Down with the Sickness is Actually About
People get the meaning wrong all the time.
A lot of listeners think it’s just a generic "I’m angry" song. It’s not. Draiman has clarified multiple times that the "sickness" is a metaphor for the societal pressure to conform. It’s about the internal struggle of keeping your individuality when everything around you is trying to "infect" you with a standard, boring way of living.
Then there's the "Abuse" segment.
If you've only heard the radio edit, you've missed a massive chunk of the song. About halfway through the full album version, the music drops out into a dark, spoken-word theatrical piece. Draiman portrays a child being physically and emotionally abused by his mother. It’s visceral. It’s uncomfortable. It features lines like "Mommy, don't do it again" and "You're a fuckin' bitch."
Disturbed took a huge risk putting that on the record.
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They weren’t trying to say Draiman himself was abused—he’s stated it’s a personification of the "mother" of society beating down the child of independence. Still, it’s so intense that most radio stations just chopped it out. Honestly, the song feels completely different depending on which version you hear. The radio version is an anthem; the album version is a psychological horror movie.
The Nu-Metal Survival Guide
Why did Disturbed survive when bands like Adema or Kittie kind of drifted away?
Focus.
While other bands were focusing on rap-rock crossovers, Disturbed stayed rooted in classic heavy metal structures. If you strip away the 2000s production, Down with the Sickness has more in common with Black Sabbath or Iron Maiden than it does with Limp Bizkit. Dan Donegan’s guitar work is precise. It’s not just "chugging" on a low string; there’s actual riff-craft there.
Also, David Draiman can actually sing.
He has a background in cantorial music (Jewish liturgical singing), which gives him a vocal range and a sense of "theatricality" that most of his peers just didn't have. He wasn't just screaming; he was performing. That's why the song still sounds "big" in a stadium today. It has a gravity to it.
The Impact on Pop Culture and Memes
You can't talk about this song without talking about the memes.
Around 2016-2017, the "Ooh-wah-ah-ah-ah" became a massive internet joke. People would edit the sound into videos of people falling, sneezing, or washing machines malfunctioning. It’s a testament to the song’s staying power. If a song is still recognizable enough to be a punchline 25 years later, it’s a classic. Period.
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It’s been featured in:
- South Park (the "The Losing Edge" episode).
- The One (the Jet Li movie that also featured a ton of other Nu-Metal hits).
- Dawn of the Dead (the 2004 remake).
That Richard Cheese lounge cover in Dawn of the Dead is particularly brilliant. It took this aggressive, masculine anthem and turned it into a swinging Vegas jazz number. It proved the melody was strong enough to exist in any genre.
Technical Breakdown: Why It Works
Musically, the song is built on a "hook" mentality.
The main riff is in Drop C# tuning, which was the standard for "heavy" at the time. It gives the song that thick, muddy bottom end. But the verses are surprisingly sparse. There’s a lot of "air" in the music, which lets the vocals breathe before the chorus hits you like a truck.
A lot of modern producers study this track because of the "dynamic shift." It moves from a whisper to a roar effortlessly. That’s a hard thing to mix. Johnny K (the producer) deserves a lot of credit for making sure the drums sounded huge without drowning out the bass or the synth layers hiding in the background.
The Legacy of the "Sickness"
By the time the album The Sickness hit 5x Platinum, Disturbed was already moving on to a more "hard rock" sound. But they can never escape this song. Every concert they play, this is the closer. It has to be.
It’s interesting to see how the song has aged. In the early 2000s, it was seen as edgy and maybe a bit "try-hard." Today, it’s viewed with a weird kind of nostalgia. It represents a time when rock music was the dominant force on the charts. It was the last gasp of the "Guitar Hero" era before hip-hop and electronic music completely took over the mainstream.
How to Appreciate the Song Today
If you want to actually "get" the song in 2026, don't just listen to it on a shitty phone speaker.
Put on some decent headphones.
- Listen to the full album version. Don't skip the "Mommy" section. Even if it makes you cringe, it’s part of the art. It’s supposed to be jarring.
- Focus on the percussion. Listen to how Mike Wengren uses the cymbals during the verses. It’s much more intricate than people give him credit for.
- Compare it to "The Sound of Silence." Disturbed’s cover of Simon & Garfunkel went viral a few years ago. If you listen to both back-to-back, you’ll see the same DNA: the drama, the buildup, and Draiman’s unique vibrato.
Down with the Sickness isn't just a relic of the baggy-pants era. It’s a masterclass in how to build a brand around a single sound. Whether you love it or think it’s the goofiest thing ever, you can't deny that it’s one of the most successful metal songs of all time. It changed the trajectory of heavy music and made Disturbed one of the few bands from that scene to actually survive the transition into the digital age.
If you're looking to dive deeper into the genre, check out the rest of the The Sickness album. Tracks like "Stupify" and "Voices" use similar themes but offer different textures. You'll find that while the intro to "Sickness" is the hook, the musicianship across the whole record is what actually kept the band relevant for over two decades.