In 2016, following a four-year hiatus and a triumphant return with the album Immortalized, which debuted atop the Billboard 200 and sold over 3 million copies, Chicago nu-metal act Disturbed headlined the first day of Rock am Ring—one of Europe's largest rock festivals, relocated that year to Mendig Air Base due to Nürburgring renovations. The hour-long set on June 3, rife with snarling riffs and pounding percussion, opened with the anthemic "Ten Thousand Fists," segueing into staples like "The Vengeful One" and their cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence," a Top 40 breakthrough for a hard rock outfit, plus a medley incorporating Rage Against the Machine, U2, and The Who snippets in "Stupify." The climax arrived with "Down With the Sickness" amid crowd moshing, undeterred by encroaching storms that canceled the third day and caused lightning injuries. All Things Loud reviewers spotlighted the "dirty rhythms and pummeling percussion" as a zenith of the band's resurgence, highlighting their knack for blending aggression and melody amid vocalist David Draiman's personal trials.