David Draiman - Biography

David Michael Draiman (born March 13, 1973) is an American songwriter and the lead singer for the metal band Disturbed. Draiman is known for his distorted voice and rhythmic singing style. In November 2006, Draiman was voted number 42 on the Hit Parader’s "Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time".

Early influences

Draiman is quoted as saying, "the first record I ever bought was Kiss’ Destroyer. And those classic bands like Black Sabbath were my first loves...I focused on the seminal metal bands like Metallica, Iron Maiden, Pantera and Queensrÿche."

Draiman continues, "But I could also appreciate the hair metal bands – When you hear Whitesnake, you can’t deny their greatness. Then I went in the direction of punk and new wave, groups like the Sex Pistols, The Ramones, The Misfits and later The Smiths and The Cure – that was my ’80s."

"And then when the grunge revolution happened, it was like a wakeup call. I’ll never forget getting my first Nirvana, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains records."

Draiman has cited James Hetfield of Metallica, Rob Halford of Judas Priest, and Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden as the three biggest influences on his singing.

Personal life

Draiman is Jewish, though not religious - observant of orthodox law and custom. David Brinn, writing in the Jerusalem Post calls Draiman "defiantly Jewish."

Draiman formed his first band when he was going to Valley Torah high school in Los Angeles.

Draiman was a health care administrator for five years, before joining Disturbed.

He has many relatives who live in Israel, including his brother Ben Draiman whose musical style is more folk rock and ambient and who performs in Jerusalem, as well as his grandmother. Draiman has expressed dissatisfaction with those rock musicians who collect Nazi memorabilia saying, "I don't give a fuck who you are. If you're going to brandish Nazi symbolism, I'm going to have a problem with you because I don't understand how anybody could think it's OK to wear something on their body that symbolizes the annihilation and genocide of my people. I'm not OK with that and there is no excuse and there is no explanation". Draiman wrote the song "Never Again" (on the album Asylum) "about the Holocaust and the people who deny it, like Ahmadinejad. And part of our live show includes a video presentation depicting him as the new Hitler. Draiman also has a reference to God, from the Jewish prayer, saying "Elo-hai, bury me tonight" in the song 'Pain Redefined', in the album 'Ten Thousand Fists'. 'Elo-hai' is one of the sacred names of God, in Hebrew, meaning "My God", said during prayer."

In an interview with Playboy UK, Draiman revealed that he lost his virginity when he was 12 years old. When Draiman was 16 years old, his girlfriend committed suicide. Draiman later wrote a song about the experience, titled "Inside the Fire", which appeared on the 2008 album Indestructible.

Draiman politically identifies as a libertarian.

Draiman's father "YJ Draiman" is a candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles

Draiman married ex-WWE Diva Lena Yada on September 25, 2011.