Djabu

After re-naming the band, Disturbed went on to record two 3-track demo tapes, the first having the demos for "The Game", "Down with the Sickness", and "Meaning of life", with the second having the demos for "Want", "Stupify", and "Droppin' Plates". The artwork was composed of the band's recently created mascot, The Guy. The band eventually signed with Giant Records. In 2000, the band released its debut album, titled The Sickness, which launched the band into stardom.

The album peaked at number twenty-nine on the Billboard 200 and it has sold over four million copies in the United States since its release. Before joining Marilyn Manson's 2001 European tour, bassist Steve Kmak was unable to play with the band due to a shattered ankle, caused by falling out of a fire escape outside Disturbed's rehearsal hall in Chicago.

He took the fire escape to exit the building while the elevator was being used to move their equipment downstairs. After a successful operation, doctors highly recommended that Kmak skip the tour to avoid more severe damage to his foot. But he did perform with the band on January 11 and 12, 2001 at Disturbed's show in Chicago. During the European tour, Marty O'Brien replaced Kmak until he was able to tour again.