DISTURBED Vocalist Calls NEIL PEART's Passing 'A Tremendous Loss', Says JUDAS PRIEST's ROCK HALL Exclusion Is 'Just Not Right'

During a recent conversation with Brent Porche of the Philadelphia radio station 93.3 WMMR, DISTURBED vocalist David Draiman was asked if he thinks the band — which will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of its debut album, "The Sickness", in 2020 — will merit consideration for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame when it becomes eligible in five years.

"I can't even put that in context," Draiman said. "It's every musician's honor and dream to be included. Who knows? Maybe one day, we'll be blessed with such a gift. If not, we've already been given so many gifts from the fans on a daily basis. You get to a point where you feel bad asking for more. It's all good. Whatever comes in the future, we're more than happy to entertain and to roll with it. I don't think we can hinge our hopes on something like that. When you have bands like [JUDAS] PRIEST still not in there, it's just not right."

Draiman was also asked to comment on the passing of RUSH drummer Neil Peart, who died from glioblastoma (an aggressive form of brain cancer) on January 7. "There's no way to overestimate the impact of the loss of such an individual," the vocalist said. "RUSH was so seminal on so many levels to so much of the rock community. It wasn't just a prog thing — it was an everybody thing. Everybody who was a musician that appreciated where music could be taken, and the creativity and the possibilities that came along with it. Just the sheer level of pure musicianship that each member alone had, but you couldn't talk about the best of the best of the world of drumming without mentioning Neil Peart — how brilliant of a player he was, how gifted, how fundamental a lot of what he created and passed down to people. Even as a lyricist — just a tremendous loss."

DISTURBED — whose latest album, "Evolution", was released via Reprise in October of 2018 — recently released a music video for the song "Hold On To Memories". The clip was directed by Matt Mahurin, who previously helmed the video for the band's cover of SIMON & GARFUNKEL's "The Sound Of Silence".

In September, DISTURBED's song "No More" reached No. 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Songs airplay chart. The track marked the group's seventh straight No. 1 on the chart, and tenth overall. Each of DISTURBED's last seven singles has reached No. 1 on Mainstream Rock Songs, a feat unmatched by any other artist.