Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence ‘ is one of those tracks that you would think could not be altered in any way, but American heavy-metal band “Disturbed” have taken it to another level. Vocalist David Draiman has literally made the song his with his powerful delivery of the classic folk song.
Music to most of us can mean many things. It reminds you of your past, of good times and sometimes bad. It can conjure up memories of a lost love, or of a good time had. The sense of wellbeing that you had as a teenager can come rushing back to you at the first note of a familiar song. The warm feeling that rises up in your stomach when a piece of music seems to tell your life story. The lyrics that you can relate to filling your heart, all this in just three marvelous-minutes.
The Sound of Silence was written by Paul Simon over several months between 1963 and 1964. The song’s origins and basis have been debated many times over the years. Some say that it is a commentary about the Assassination of “John F Kennedy”, as it was released three months after his shooting in Texas. Simon himself has stated that he wrote the song when he was just 21-years-old which places the time-frame well before this world-shattering-event. He also said that the song was written in his bathroom where he turned off the lights to better concentrate. “Hello darkness my old friend, I’ve come to talk with you again”. Art Garfunkel once said that the song was about the inability of people to be able to communicate with each other, especially emotionally.
I guess it doesn’t really matter what the song is about, let’s face it, song lyrics are there for your own interpretation, they should mean whatever you want them to mean in relation to your life and how you are feeling when you first listen to them. For a band like Disturbed, who are famous for being very loud and heavy, to take hold of this classic and make it a masterpiece once again is a testament to the songs ability to be interpreted in many different ways.
The clip below shows Disturbed performing their version of the song on the “Conan O’Brien Show” in March 2016, some months after the band reformation from a nearly 4-year-hiatus. Their version of this classic went to number 1, not surprisingly, as they have made an incredibly powerful version of Paul Simons masterful composition. I suggest that you turn the volume up and click on the link below to be blown away by what in my opinion is the best version of this song you will ever have the pleasure to listen too.