PSD Bank Dome, Duesseldorf, Germany 1st October 2025
Disturbed - “The Sickness 25th Anniversary Tour” - Special guest: Megadeth
Things are happening one after another for DISTURBED: Just recently, the band released their brand new single ‘I Will Not Break’, opening a new chapter in their band history - and in this new chapter, the band is showing a surprising openness to experimentation.
This year, however, is not just about new things for the band: ‘The Sickness’, the band’s ground-breaking debut album, is celebrating its 25th anniversary - and has been released in a jubilee edition on March 7th for this occasion. And there’s also a tour for this occasion! The “The Sickness 25th Anniversary Tour” started in North America on February 25th and the band announced that they will also come for shows across the pond.
Megadeth
Formed in 1983 by guitarist / vocalist Dave Mustaine after his departure from METALLICA, MEGADETH is one of the “Big Four” of American Thrash Metal. Their discography spans over four decades and includes influential albums like ‘Peace Sells... but Who’s Buying?’ (1986) and ‘Rust in Peace’ (1990), showcasing their signature technical, complex, and aggressive Thrash Metal style, often with socially and politically charged lyrics. https://www.megadeth.com
Music & Performance
MEGADETH’s entrance was as straight as it gets. Dave Mustaine and his band mates walked on stage and kicked off their set with the classic ‘Wake up dead’. For the next 60 minutes, the thousands of spectators saw an old-school Metal gig, which ticked all the boxes: From hair manes being moshed violently, over huge speaker cabinet walls, to sewing machine-like guitar solos, MEGADETH had it all.
The setlist featured a good sample of the band’s discography over the decades, with their uber hit ‘Symphony of Destruction’ being played towards the end. Initially, the sound-mix suppressed Dave’s trademark singing voice, so it was almost eclipsed by the almighty drum set operated by Dirk Verbeuren, but the technicians figured this out.
Only a minor annoying detail was that the band engaged in a short break after every three songs, which kind of interrupted the whole flow of the set. The hit ‘Holy Wars... The Punishment Due’ brought the 60-minute appearance to an end, and the whiff of farewell lingered through the air.
Disturbed
Tonight’s headliner, American Heavy Metal band DISTURBED formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1994. Emerging during the Nu-Metal era, their early sound was defined by the aggressive rhythms and unique vocalizations of frontman David Draiman, which evolved into a more dynamic and Progressive Hard Rock style. Their discography features eight studio albums, including the quadruple-platinum ‘The Sickness’ (2000) and the Grammy-nominated cover of ‘The Sound of Silence.’ They are known for their signature rhythmic, Groove-oriented Metal, mixing Hard Rock intensity with melodic elements and themes often touching on social commentary and mental health. https://www.disturbed1.com
Music & Performance
Lo and behold, DISTURBED went full theatrics mode for their entry in front of 14,000 people in the PSD Arena. At first, a video intro was projected onto a large white screen, shielding the stage. Then, this screen became semi-transparent, and was lifted slowly, while a fully mummified David Draiman was wheeled onto the stage in a cart in true Hannibal lector fashion.
After being unshackled and stripped out of his straitjacket, David unleashed the sickness with the opening track ‘Voices’. DISTURBED only knew one trajectory from there: upwards: With ‘Stupify’ and ‘Down with the Sickness’, the band fired their best shots to work up the crowd, and it worked flawlessly. The band’s performance, as well a certain gimmicks like fireworks, lasers, and huge columns of fire emanating from the large scaffolding structure in the back of the stage kept the audience engaged for the duration of the anniversary album.
The TEARS FOR FEARS song ‘Shout’ was a nice break from the mayhem and showed DISTURBED’s prowess apart from shredding. The first part of the gig came to an end after 60 minutes with a mock execution of David Drainer via electric chair for the song ‘Meaning of Life’. This was followed by - what normally occurs during classical music concerts - a twenty-minute break, which a big chunk of the audience used to reload at the beer bars.
The concert commenced with a “greatest hits” compilation, offering highlights from the other creative eras of DISTURBED, apart from ‘The Sickness’. For ‘Ten Thousand Fists’, an enormous statue of “The Guy” (DISTURBED’s rendition of their proprietary monster - similar to IRON Maiden’s Eddie) was inflated to the cheers of the audience and loomed large behind the drum riser. Kudos to the stage engineers, that “The Guy” did not go up in flames during the following inferno.
Especially during ‘Indestructible’, the amount of gasoline burned would make each member of RAMMSTEIN blush. But also, in this section DISTURBED demonstrated that they work in lower gear, too. For the SIMON & GARFUNKEL cover ‘The Sound of Silence’, the curtain in front of the stage came down again, serving as a projection surface for the interior of a cathedral with burning chandeliers. Also, a large piano appeared on the tip of the catwalk, where guitarist Dan Donegan showed his skills.
The following rendition of the decade old classic was simply goosebump-inducing. While David might not hit every difficult note with 100% precision, the overall performance was simply breath-taking, as only live music can. The evening was closed out with two more songs, and after 120 minutes of playtime, thousands of happy fans went home with the blessed feeling of having witnessed their idols up close.
Setlist
01. The Sickness
02. Voices
03. The Game
04. Stupify
05. Down With the Sickness
06. Violence Fetish
07. Fear
08. Numb
09. Want
10. Conflict
11. Shout (Tears for Fears cover)
12. Droppin’ Plates
13. Meaning of Life
---Greatest Hits---
14. I Will Not Break
15. Ten Thousand Fists
16. Bad Man
17. Land of Confusion (Genesis cover)
18. Indestructible
19. The Sound of Silence (Simon & Garfunkel cover)
20. The Light
21. Inside the Fire
All Pictures by Dietmar Seifer
