Concert review: Disturbed w/ Sevendust and Three Days Grace | 03.02.25, Enterprise Center (with photo gallery)

Photo of David Draiman of Disturbed by Bryan J. Sutter

Boy, a lot of records seem to be turning 20 or 25 years old lately, and a lot of bands have been touring off of that fact. As much a nostalgia trip as it is a reminder of a place and time when the music industry hadn’t completely fucked artists, it’s been a recent vehicle for musicians to get back on the road and showcase, let’s be honest here, that which has often been their best work. The often-maligned genre of nu-metal produced few bands with staying power back in its heyday, and even fewer worth talking about in the present moment. Disturbed’s The Sickness, released on March 7th, 2000, stands as a high watermark from the genre’s peak popularity. You could do much worse than to throw them on a stadium tour with fellow Ozzfest vets Three Days Grace and Sevendust.

Atlanta’s Sevendust started out the evening at Enterprise Center with an impressive performance. Sevendust are no strangers to St. Louis, and I’ve seen them on more venue rosters than I can count, yet this was the first time I have seen them live or even photographed them. I was, apparently, missing out. While the music itself may have reminded me of some pretty cringy moments from middle school, the musicianship and energy (particularly from vocalist Lajon Witherspoon) on display had my full attention.

Three Days Grace have had some recent time back in the spotlight with original vocalist Adam Gontier rejoining the band on this tour. Adam left Three Days Grace in 2013 amid personal issues and bassist Brad Walst’s brother Matt soon became the group’s frontman. I was originally skeptical to see both vocalists performing on stage together sharing the role. However, watching Three Days Grace perform “Animal I Have Become” straight out of the gate displayed that this configuration works really fucking well. Adam looked like he was having a blast being back on stage, his voice sounded great, and the rest of the band were obviously stoked to have him back with them.

While Disturbed may get more attention at this moment for frontman David Draiman’s political views and social media interactions, their place in 2000s heavy music should not be disregarded. Once freed from his Hannibal Lecter-esque restraints, Draiman and his cohorts ripped into “The Sickness” and one could feel the whole stadium light up. Admittedly, I was an angry teenager when The Sickness came out and music like this really spoke to my undeveloped, painfully suburban brain, which isn’t to damn it with faint praise, as a quarter of a century later, in the photo pit, I still see the value of it. I would even go as far to say that with my own life experiences as an adult who is perhaps more than a little disappointed with the modern world, I may understand it even more than I did when I was younger.

When The Sickness was first released, it was at the beginning of a decade that had yet to sour. The dot-com bubble was just about to pop, sure, but it still seemed like Fujiyama might have been right about that whole “end of history” thing. Then we had 9/11, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the 2008 financial crisis. 25 years later, the world seems much more unbalanced and uncertain.

As Disturbed cruised through a spirited performance of “Stupify,” complete with towers of pyro, I couldn’t help but feel like there was a collective feeling of catharsis rippling through the Enterprise Center. Yes, there is a lot about nu-metal that is goofy and childishly individualistic, but taken in good faith is it perhaps more at home in the modern day. | Bryan J. Sutter