Disturbed: David Draiman (vocals); Dan Donegan (guitar); Fuzz (bass); Mike Wengren (drums, programming).

Additional personnel: Frank De Lamora, Enrique Santiago (programming).

Recorded at Groovemaster Studios, Chicago, Illinois.

This Japanese edition includes five live bonus tracks.

Disturbed's debut found the band crawling through the mire of contemporary metal staples for a cohesive direction. The staccato primal scream that became the band's trademark helped break the single, "Down With The Sickness," in tandem with the song's Tool-meets-Pantera rhythmic complexities. From the rap metal grooves of "Voices" and "Stupify" to the neo-reggae vibe of "Violence Fetish," THE SICKNESS was a musical forecast of things to come for Disturbed. "Numb" found the band making a foray into more melodic and progressive territory, an approach they would further develop with 2002's BELIEVE.

Rolling Stone (9/28/00, pp.53-4) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Follows the same trajectory of their 1st album [going from] tranquil emotional tenderness into fuzzed-out, white-knuckle anger....with banging beats..."

Alternative Press (5/00, pp.84-5) - 4 out of 5 - "...A resuscitating jolt of unwholesome tweaked soundage....This satisfying slab is just anthem after anthem of maximum decibels that -miraculously - never gets samey..."

CMJ (1/08/01, p.26) - Included in CMJ's "Best Loud Rock Albums" of 2000.

CMJ (3/27/00, p.28) - "...catchy, addictive, and ultimately forward-thinking...leaving a permanent impression..."

Melody Maker (7/4/00, p.65) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Rather entertaining in a turn-off-brain cheap-thrills kinda way....Absolute unreasoning misanthropy of a frankly adolescent nature."