# And now for my good deed for the day, may I present Sound of Silence by...Disturbed **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 22, 2016, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-for-my-good-deed-for-the-day-may-i-present-sound-of-silence-by-disturbed/746771 "2016-02-22T05:16:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-for-my-good-deed-for-the-day-may-i-present-sound-of-silence-by-disturbed/746771/1 "2016-02-22T05:16:11Z")
Heard this on the radio last night and had no idea who it was. So I looked it up when I got home and discovered it was by _Disturbed_. Soft in the beginning and metal-y during the second half, it’s powerful and totally awesome. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZDqVdGGrjE) ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-for-my-good-deed-for-the-day-may-i-present-sound-of-silence-by-disturbed/746771/2 "2016-02-22T07:05:12Z")
Thank you that for that. I was skeptical because it’s by _Disturbed_, who are a hard core metal band with the emphasis on the metal. Not my thing, and wouldn’t be my favorite even if that was my thing. But they did “Sounds of Silence” just straight up acoustic and slow. And it was ANGRY! Which, oddly enough fits. I’m used to hearing it done by Simon and Garfunkel with peaceful and dulcet vocals. But I never realized that the lyrics are angry. “Fools said I you do not know, Silence like a cancer grows” is not a peaceful lyric. That’s why I have to give a nod to _Disturbed_ on this cover. They didn’t make the song metal. Kept it slow and melodic. But they show you the anger behind the lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-for-my-good-deed-for-the-day-may-i-present-sound-of-silence-by-disturbed/746771/3 "2016-02-22T12:44:40Z")
There’s an official video for it, [which is interesting.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Dg-g7t2l4) I kept waiting for it to pick up, and it did that bit, but I expected full on rock. I always liked the song, never fully understood what it was about, this defiantly different. ---
**Author:** ![Arizona\_Mike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Arizona\_Mike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arizona_Mike)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-for-my-good-deed-for-the-day-may-i-present-sound-of-silence-by-disturbed/746771/4 "2016-02-22T15:21:14Z")
Thanks for posting that, Starving Artist. I like that version quite a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-for-my-good-deed-for-the-day-may-i-present-sound-of-silence-by-disturbed/746771/5 "2016-02-22T16:33:32Z")
Awesome, thanks. Always loved Draiman’s vocals. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-for-my-good-deed-for-the-day-may-i-present-sound-of-silence-by-disturbed/746771/6 "2016-02-22T16:34:44Z")
This made the rounds on my FB feeds a few weeks ago, and I’ve been listening to it ever since. Fantastic cover, a great re-interpretation of a classic. I was also skeptical about a metal band covering it, but Disturbed did a fantastic job bringing out the rage against alienation and dehumanization in Paul Simon’s lyrics. Great song. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-for-my-good-deed-for-the-day-may-i-present-sound-of-silence-by-disturbed/746771/7 "2016-02-22T16:44:44Z")
I have a bad habit of underestimating David Draiman’s vocal talents, but he owns this one. (Leaving aside that bad moment at the beginning of the second verse when he starts channeling his inner Ivan Moody. :dubious: But he powers through it, and all’s well as it ends well.) This rendition strikes me as consistent with the spirit of the original, but far more intense. A worthwhile listen, IMHO. And the video is impressive. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-for-my-good-deed-for-the-day-may-i-present-sound-of-silence-by-disturbed/746771/8 "2016-02-22T17:24:52Z")
I’ve always known that the original was an angry song, but different people express anger in different ways, and this was a good depiction of that. Even in the early verses before the “pick up”, it sounds angry. My one criticism would be that they should have taken the little instrumental sting at the end and stuck it between two of the verses instead, and then end with the unaccompanied vocals fading out to about five or ten seconds of dead air. ---
**Author:** ![somepumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@somepumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/somepumpkin)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-for-my-good-deed-for-the-day-may-i-present-sound-of-silence-by-disturbed/746771/9 "2016-02-22T17:25:52Z")
While not unpleasant, I just don’t hear much there. Sure, I understand he’s covering a S&G song, but I (personally) don’t see/hear anything worthy of note. I was gonna keep my damn mouth shut, but You Tube eventually played this video of the OP’s song. I didn’t realize this was a thing (making videos of this sort). It’s only, barely, marginally SFW (couldn’t watch it all), so click w/ caution. But keep on rockin’. [- YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evrcCP1mRXU) ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-for-my-good-deed-for-the-day-may-i-present-sound-of-silence-by-disturbed/746771/10 "2016-02-22T20:32:21Z")
Yeah my brother pointed this out to me not that long ago, and I was amazed by how much I loved it. Disturbed is not usually my cup of tea, but IMHO this is the best S&G cover I ever heard… and I say that as a hardcore S&G fan… it’s beautiful! ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-for-my-good-deed-for-the-day-may-i-present-sound-of-silence-by-disturbed/746771/11 "2016-02-22T20:49:54Z")
> [@somepumpkin](#): > > While not unpleasant, I just don’t hear much there. Sure, I understand he’s covering a S&G song, but I (personally) don’t see/hear anything worthy of note. > > I was gonna keep my damn mouth shut, but You Tube eventually played this video of the OP’s song. I didn’t realize this was a thing (making videos of this sort). It’s only, barely, marginally SFW (couldn’t watch it all), so click w/ caution. But keep on rockin’. > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evrcCP1mRXU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evrcCP1mRXU) Yeah, I’m kinda meh on it too. They made it a power ballad. I was bored of power ballads by the early 90’s. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-for-my-good-deed-for-the-day-may-i-present-sound-of-silence-by-disturbed/746771/12 "2016-02-22T21:09:40Z")
> [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > Yeah, I’m kinda meh on it too. They made it a power ballad. I was bored of power ballads by the early 90’s. No, they didn’t make it a “power ballad”. Listen to the song again. There is not a single power chord in there. What they did do is play the melody straight up - only in a key about two octaves lower. The simplicity of the adaptation is what’s kinda impressive about it. You take the exact same song, drop it two octaves, and it sounds different. ---
**Author:** ![Kiros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/439d5e/32.png) [@Kiros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiros)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-for-my-good-deed-for-the-day-may-i-present-sound-of-silence-by-disturbed/746771/13 "2016-02-22T21:27:00Z")
Disturbed tends to do about one cover an album, and they’re all at a minimum interesting. I listened to this CD when it came out (… at least partially because Prime had it right away), and this one jumped out, so I’m not surprised that it’s been bumping around social media the last few weeks. (Yes, I like Disturbed. Quite a bit, actually - enough to notice when they have a new CD out and then listen to it in its entirety. No apologies!) ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-for-my-good-deed-for-the-day-may-i-present-sound-of-silence-by-disturbed/746771/14 "2016-02-22T21:27:53Z")
I didn’t even know this album existed and I very much like Disturbed. Thanks for this! (Although their rendition of Shout by Tears for Fears is still their best cover) ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2016, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-for-my-good-deed-for-the-day-may-i-present-sound-of-silence-by-disturbed/746771/15 "2016-02-22T23:34:16Z")
To everyone who said thanks for the posting, you are more than welcome. I’ve been a fan of _Disturbed_ for quite a while and was just blown away to find out this beautiful and powerful song I heard on the radio was by them. Another advantage to having heard it is that I’ve now become aware of their new album which I didn’t know about before. In listening to some of _Disturbed’s_ songs today I was reminded of a young woman who does drum covers of tons of metal songs with Youtube views in the millions. Her name, almost prophetically, is Meytal Cohen. I’ll post a couple of her _Disturbed_ covers below. They’re enjoyable to watch because she has so much fun with them herself. But be forewarned, watching her play is not a dark experience. _[Down With The Sickness](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaX7I45_c-I)_ _[Stupify](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3Ya1AMHwiM)_ ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-for-my-good-deed-for-the-day-may-i-present-sound-of-silence-by-disturbed/746771/16 "2016-02-23T16:04:22Z")
Spooky! This played on the radio about 10 minutes ago. I’ve only recently discovered Disturbed and like them quite a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-for-my-good-deed-for-the-day-may-i-present-sound-of-silence-by-disturbed/746771/17 "2016-02-23T23:15:35Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > (Although their rendition of Shout by Tears for Fears is still their best cover) And far superior to the original, IMO. I always hated the original. Most boring hit song of the 1980s. Disturbed made me like it. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-for-my-good-deed-for-the-day-may-i-present-sound-of-silence-by-disturbed/746771/18 "2016-02-24T02:25:55Z")
I learned about this song [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=18989138&postcount=15) in this post by WhyNot. Great cover. Check out that thread for more great music. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-for-my-good-deed-for-the-day-may-i-present-sound-of-silence-by-disturbed/746771/19 "2016-02-24T02:58:24Z")
I can’t think of Disturbed at all or listen to any of their music without hearing and vocalizing that thing from the beginning of “Down with the Sickness.” I think if anyone does a karaoke of the Disturbed covers, that should be a mandatory addition. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2016, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-for-my-good-deed-for-the-day-may-i-present-sound-of-silence-by-disturbed/746771/20 "2016-02-24T03:35:24Z")
Wow. Thanks. That was great. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-now-for-my-good-deed-for-the-day-may-i-present-sound-of-silence-by-disturbed/746771.md?page=2)