DISTURBED Drummer Says Artists Are To Blame For Public's Unwillingness To Pay For New Albums

Simon Milburn of Australia's The Metal Forge recently conducted an interview with DISTURBED drummer Mike Wengren. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow.

On the commercial success of the band's latest album, "Indestructible":

"We were fortunate enough to go to number one in Australia and New Zealand, the United States, and I wanna even say Canada. At the same time, since then, with the five weeks that the record has been out, we've already gone gold in the U.S., Canada, and we've gone gold in Australia and platinum in New Zealand, so we're very, very excited. At the same time, I think it's a testament to our fans. Y'know, our fans around the world, they stick by us, they support us, and we really wouldn't be able to achieve the success that we've had without them."

"We definitely had some doubt because of the state of the industry, y'know, with downloading so prevalent and sales down worldwide roughly twenty percent each year, it's definitely a concern of ours. But at the same time, we felt that we stepped up and delivered the record that the industry was desperately needing."

On illegal music downloading:

"Y'know, I think everyone is trying to point the finger — record labels are to blame and everyone else is to blame, but I personally feel that it's the artists that are to blame. If the artists put out great music and they put out great records instead of records that had maybe one or two good singles on it and the rest of the record is totally filler, then I think that would be a huge part of it. I think people would be willing to buy a good-quality record and I think that our fans prove that. We pride ourselves on taking the time on every single note, every single beat, and making sure that there are no fillers on our records, and our fans know it. They appreciate it, and they come out and they actually buy the records. The sales have definitely reflected that. Y'know, I don't want to sound conceited in any way. But we know that our fans work hard for their money and we don't want to cheat them. We wanna give them every penny worth."

On the press' reactions to the "Indestructible" album:

"Y'know, to be completely honest with you, I think that some of the reviews that I have heard of are pleasant ones, but to be completely honest with you, we don't really pay attention to the reviews. We kinda write the music for ourselves and for our fans. Again, by the record sales, the fans have turned out and they are buying the record and that means to us that they love it and we love it, and honestly, that's all that matters to us. I don't really care what some person in a suit and tie or whatever that sits behind a desk and a computer really has to say about our record, y'know?"

Read the entire interview from The Metal Forge.