Disturbed’s “The Sound of Silence” Video Has Been Endured Over 1 Billion Times on YouTube

Love it or hate it, Disturbed’s cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence” remains one of the more controversial tracks in the history of metal. Depending on who you ask, it’s either the best cover ever recorded, or a painful experience that nobody should have to endure. Then there’s the video, which is equally polarizing, with some people finding it emotionally satisfying and others thinking there are far too many close-ups of David Draiman looking overly serious. Even Paul Simon seems to have come down on the “Love it” side of the debate, which is, frankly, mind-boggling. If you enjoy this song and video, then more power to you, but I can’t imagine being happy to hear this song even if I just spent a decade on a deserted island cut off from music entirely.

Well, it seems that regardless of where you stand on this issue, a lot of people have watched this video. The video was posted about eight and a half years ago, and it just recently reached 1 billion views on YouTube, the first video from Disturbed to ever rack up that many views. Are these 1 billion views mostly from people who love the video? Are they from people hate watching the video? How many of the views are from David Draiman himself watching his own video and going “Damn, I look good”? Much like the mysteries of the Tootsie Roll Pop, the world may never know.

Regardless, it’s a big milestone for the band to hit, and if you want to celebrate with Disturbed, the only tour dates they have scheduled for the rest of the year are festivals, but here’s where you can catch them:

Aug 31 – Rocklahoma Festival – Pryor, OK
Sep 28 – Louder Than Life Festival – Louisville, KY
Oct 13 – Aftershock Festival – Sacramento CA