Experiencing The Sound of Silence - Disturbed
A man watches Disturbed in concert at a festival listening to "The Sound of Silence".
Oh, holy shitballs, I can feel my heart vibrating—no, like actually, fucking vibrating—and it’s not just the bass; it’s everything. Everything all at once, you know? Oh my god, the lights. The lights. Are they actually moving with the music or is that just my brain melting into glitter? Glitter, that’s what it is. Glitter in my veins, swirling in a vortex of fuck yeah. Disturbed is playing, and I swear David Draiman is a goddamn prophet. Or a demon? Nah, a prophet-demon. A... Promon. That’s it.
Wait, wait. “Hello darkness, my old friend.” Oh shit, here it comes. It’s this song. This fucking song. I wasn’t ready. I am not emotionally prepared. What the fuck, why is this... oh, my god, the guitar, the fucking acoustic start. It’s like Draiman is inside my soul, plucking at the strings like my heart’s a cheap-ass ukulele from Target, but somehow it sounds divine. Oh, fuck me, I’m crying. Yep. Yep. There it is. Tears, rolling down my face like tiny rivers of liquid shame and joy.
“Because a vision softly creeping…” Yeah, yeah, I feel that. It’s like, this creeping sense that something profound is happening but also like I might just be high as balls. But isn’t that the point? Isn’t that what festivals are for? To just dissolve into the moment and let it wreck you? Shit, I’m rambling. Shut up, brain. Listen.
Oh my god. That growl. That guttural, soul-piercing growl. David Draiman just growled the word “remains.” How can a human voice do that? Is this even legal? It’s not fair! IT’S NOT FAIR THAT MUSIC CAN FEEL LIKE THIS.
Jesus Christ, the lights just turned blue. Why blue? Blue’s sadness. Blue’s calm. Fucking perfect for “restless dreams” and “narrow streets of cobblestone.” I’m there. I’m in those streets, and it’s so real I can smell the damp stone. Fuck me sideways with a neon lamp, how is this song so fucking powerful? It’s like every note is a needle stitching the fabric of the universe back together, and I’m just... a thread. A dumb thread in Draiman’s cosmic tapestry.
Oh, the neon light part. Holy mother of god. “When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light…” It split the night, he says. It split me. My soul is cracked open, and all my stupid insecurities are spilling out. All my bad decisions, all my fears, all the times I didn’t speak up or love enough. They're all here, laid bare in front of me, and instead of feeling ashamed, I feel… fuck. I feel alive. Like, I’m part of something.
The crowd. Look at the crowd. Thousands of us. People talking without speaking. That’s us, isn’t it? We’re all here, packed together, and no one’s really saying anything. Just screaming and vibing and existing in this big collective blob of humanity. It’s beautiful. No, it’s tragic. No… both.
“Silence like a cancer grows.” Oh my god. Oh my fucking god. That’s the line. That’s the one. I’m wrecked. This song’s about humanity being too fucking stupid to communicate, isn’t it? It’s about us. Right now. All this tech and noise and neon bullshit and no one’s really listening. Christ, I sound like a pretentious asshole. But it’s true! It’s so goddamn true, YES, feel that truth, you dumb prick.
“Take my arms that I might reach you.” Oh fuck. Oh, FUCK. I want to reach everyone. Everyone here. Hug them. Squeeze them until they understand that life’s not just about money and memes and what filters make your face look less like a troll. Life’s this! THIS. Being here, together, in the sound of silence.
The drums. THE FUCKING DRUMS JUST CAME IN. Oh, holy shit, I wasn’t ready for that. It’s like Thor came down and decided to bang out the apocalypse on a drum kit. My chest is exploding. My arms are tingling. I can’t breathe, and I love it. I LOVE IT. Draiman’s screaming now. “And the sign flashed out its warning…” YES, IT DID, DAVID. Warn us. Warn us about everything we’re fucking up. Make us feel it.
And the climax. Oh god, the climax. Everyone’s screaming. I’m screaming. It’s primal. It’s spiritual. It’s like I’m standing on the edge of the universe, staring into the abyss, and the abyss is screaming back in harmony.
And then it ends. Just like that. Silence again. Holy fucking shitballs, I need to sit down. Where’s my water bottle? Why is my mouth so dry? Did I just have an existential crisis? A religious experience? Same thing, I guess. Oh man, I need a hug. Or nachos. Definitely both.