Disturbed Show in Belgium Reportedly Canceled by Local Mayor

A Disturbed concert originally scheduled for Oct. 15 in Brussels, Belgium will reportedly no longer take place due to concerns from the mayor and local police.

Reason For Disturbed Concert Cancelation

Less than a week before Disturbed was set to play the Forest National (also known as Vorst Nationaal) concert hall, it was reported by Belgian publication De Standaard that the show would not happen.

According to the newspaper, Forest mayor Charles Spapens used a police order to prohibit the American metal band from performing after "the show had become controversial because singer David Draiman is a strong supporter of the Israeli military."

Draiman, who is Jewish, shared a photo in 2024 that showed him at an Israeli Defense Forces base where he signed artillery shells and along with writing "fuck Hamas" on them. The photo and his visit created controversy amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Draiman later reshared the photos while addressing the response to his initial post.

"Yes, I signed ONE artillery shell at an IDF base on the #Gaza border," Draiman wrote. "I wrote FUCK #HAMAS on it. I meant it, and I'd do it again. The insinuation that the one shell I signed had to have 'killed children' or 'killed innocents/non combatants' is absolutlty [sic] asinine."

According to De Standaard, various unions were expected to protest the Oct. 15 concert due to Draiman's stance, which raised concerns about "security risks."

What the Mayor Said Prior to Concert Cancelation

The Brussels Times reported last month that Spapens had been working with Forest National in an attempt to shut the concert down, calling it "a moral problem."

"This is about a man who signed a bomb that was dropped on Gaza," Spapens told The Brussels Times. "We do not support the presence of this artist and even less so his position on Gaza."

At that time, it seemed as though the city was unable to take any action to cancel the show. The outlet reported that the decision would allegedly need to be made by Forest National and show promoter Live Nation.

That allegedly changed less than a month later following the police order "citing fears of escalating protests."

As of Friday afternoon, tickets were still being sold for the Brussels show on Live Nation's website. The show was also still listed on Disturbed's official website.

Disturbed is currently celebrating the 25th anniversary of the their 2000 album, The Sickness, with a European tour. Megadeth are opening during most of the stops.

The Sickness 25th Anniversary Tour was in Krakow, Poland on Friday before heading to Paris, France on Sunday.