[2] "Down With the Sickness" is a nu metal song[3][4][5] that features an unusual "ooh-wah-ah-ah-ah" staccato noise from Disturbed's singer David Draiman at the end of the intro, which reappears before the last chorus.

[6] Draiman has stated the sound was made possible by effects on his vocal cords after receiving surgery for acid reflux, but he has dismissed the rumor the noise was actually caused by heartburn, further explaining, "I mean the song originally was written and just had a pause.

For example, Leor Galil of the Chicago Reader opined, "Yet I still find it hard to believe that the megasingle 'Down With the Sickness,' with its vocal breakdown in which front man David Draiman crudely describes being beaten by his mom (and vice versa), guided the band on to a path that's resulted in four albums topping the Billboard 200.

Lead singer David Draiman explained to the Phoenix New Times: ...the screamed psychodramas in metal hits like "Down With The Sickness" ... are merely inspired by personal history, not a literal journal of his own tortured upbringing.

The music video was recorded at the "Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre" (at the time the Tweeter Center) in Tinley Park, Illinois, during Q101's Jamboree 2001.