Disturbed has scheduled a new album for release in 2027, guitarist Dan Donegan told The Rockpit. The band wanted to have a clear timeline and announcement plan in place before returning to perform.
Donegan explained that the band has material ready and has been working on the timing for the release. The guitarist also discussed his method for staying creatively inspired as he works on new music.
“We definitely have a lot of material in the vault,” Donegan said. “We have an album sitting there that we’re trying to figure the timeframe. And that was part of the discussion. So once we realized we wanted to come back into your part of the world, we wanted to also have a game plan and an announcement of the release of an album. So sometime in ’27 is the game plan.”
Donegan emphasized that he focuses on finding inspiration that excites the band rather than worrying about external factors. “I don’t care about the outside world as much as I care about the guys I’m writing with,” he said. “I wanna bring in something that’s gonna be inspiring to them, of course.”
He added that he continues to feel creatively energized. “Musically, I still feel like there’s a lot left in the tank. I go to enough concerts, I’m constantly at shows when I’m back home. I’m just looking for inspiration all the time. I just went to see Metallica at the Sphere in Las Vegas last weekend.”
Donegan described spending much of the summer attending live shows in his area. “This whole summer — I live about 25 minutes away from our outdoor amphitheater out here. I was living up there all summer long. I’ve seen everything from, Creed to Limp Bizkit to Breaking Benjamin, Chevelle, Megadeth — god, everything that came through, everything from John Mellencamp to Train to everything in between.”
He stressed that he watches performances as a regular audience member rather than from a privileged vantage point. “So I’m very much in my element when I’m in the crowd and I feel like that kid again. I mean, I don’t need to stand on side stage to watch bands. I’ll go out in the crowd and I’ll watch it like everybody else, and I’m there all the time. So I’m very much looking for that push and that inspiration.”
Donegan’s comments came as the band prepares to return to performing and work toward their 2027 album release. His approach reflects his commitment to drawing fresh creative energy from live music.
The new album will follow Disturbed’s work on material recorded in Los Angeles in fall 2024. In February 2025, the band released the single “I Will Not Break” through their independent label Mother Culture Records, and the song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay chart in April 2025. The Mother Culture Records launch marks the band’s departure from Warner Bros. Records, their label home for their entire career.
Frontman David Draiman revisited material written for the follow-up in May 2026, calling the songs “diverse, fresh, and powerful” and saying he had “fell in love with them all over again”. Donegan described plans to meet Draiman and drummer Mike Wengren in Los Angeles for a final look at the material and any possible adjustments before the 2027 release.
Disturbed will return to Australia and New Zealand in 2027 for their first headline tour of those regions in more than a decade. The tour, called “The Sickness & Greatest Hits,” will visit seven cities across April and May 2027, with the first show at Auckland’s Spark Arena on April 22nd. The return to performing comes after the band announced an extended break from touring following the conclusion of their 25th anniversary The Sickness tour.
