| ## Story behind the song | |
| "Down With the Sickness" was one of the first songs written after the band's formation in 1997. | |
| - | [[David Draiman]]'s skits during the bridge of the song created the misconception that "Down With the Sickness" is about child abuse. However, the band has denied that this song is about literal child abuse; it's about a metaphoric abuse. Dav |
| + | [[David Draiman]]'s skits during the bridge of the song created the misconception that "Down With the Sickness" is about child abuse. However, the band has denied that this song is about literal child abuse; it's about a metaphoric abuse. Dave Draiman explained that these screamed psychodramas are merely inspired by personal history, but they are not a literal record of his unhappy childhood. "I'm really talking about the conflict between the mother culture of society, who's beating down the child yearning for independence and individuality, and the submission of the child." <ref name="pnt1">{{cite PhoenixNewTimes.com|url="http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/music/disturbed-and-disturberer-6408263"|title="'Disturbed & Disturberer' by Jimmy Magahern"}}</ref> |
| He insisted, "'Down With The Sickness,' for instance, wasn't meant to be an indictment specifically against parents - certainly nothing specifically against my own. The record was an indictment of this whole way of life, this set of morals and ethics and rules, that was laid down by the norm in society." <ref name="pnt1"/> | |
| > It's kind of weird because I try to write these songs cryptically so that it's open to self-interpretation. But then, so many people take the songs literally. I mean, what do you do about all these kids who are thanking you for dealing with abuse in one of your songs, when that wasn't the point? <ref name="pnt1"/><br><br> | |
| The song starts with a series of [[dead note|muted]] strums; then it goes to the [[palm-muted]] single note intro riff. After the first staccato vocals of David Draiman, the main guitar starts playing [[power chords]]. | |
| For the [[verse|verses]], [[palm-muted]] [[power chords]] are used (in fact, there is only one power chord repeated). During the verses, the second guitar plays a line, which consists of single notes with several [[natural harmonics]]. | |
| - | In the [[pre- |
| + | In the [[pre-verse|pre-verses]], the main guitar plays a riff on the sixth string, while the second continues the lines from the verses. |
| In the [[chorus (song part)|choruses]], the main guitar performs a mix of [[power chords]] with [[natural harmonics]]. Also, take note of the long [[slide (technique)|slide]] with [[vibrato]] in the middle of the chorus. The transition between the first chorus and the second verse is created with a slide too. | |
| The [[bridge (song part)|bridge]] is performed with a lot of [[slide (technique)|slides]], [[vibrato|vibratos]], and [[dead note|dead notes]]. The second guitar plays simple single notes. | |