"Inside the Fire" (alternatively known as "Devon") is a song by American heavy metal band Disturbed. The song was released as the lead single from the band's fourth studio album, '' Indestructible'' (2008), on March 25, 2008 as a digital download. The song features suicidal themes, and, in May 2008, a music video was unveiled for the song. However, due to the involvement of suicidal themes in the uncensored music video, an edited version of the song and music video was released, in which these themes are absent. On March 24, 2008, "Inside the Fire" debuted on more than sixty radio stations, quickly showing up on many significant music charts and reaching number 73 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and number one on the Hot Mainstream Rock Chart. The single became nominated for a Grammy Award in the " Best Hard Rock Performance" category. The song was featured in '' Madden NFL 09''.

Interpretation

According to vocalist David Draiman, the song is "a real racy song... about me standing over the body of my girlfriend, who just killed herself, and the Devil is standing over me, whispering in my ear to kill myself." Commenting further for The Pulse of Radio, Draiman stated, "it is based on a true story of my own where, when I was about 16 or so, I had a girlfriend of mine commit suicide," he said. "It was an unbelievably horrific and painful experience, and it was cathartic to make the song, and it really took me having a certain mindset to do it, and I had to wait 'til I was ready."

Music video

A music video for "Inside the Fire" premiered on May 2, 2008. A suicide hotline phone number appears before the video, due to its nature and content, along with a message from vocalist David Draiman regarding suicide. An "all-performance" version of the video premiered later, featuring no dark themes or messages. The video begins with a girl (assumed to be Draiman's girlfriend) hanging herself in her apartment. Draiman arrives at the apartment, only to find her dead. He cuts her down and places her body on a couch, taking in what has happened. He then cleans her in a bathtub. He goes back out to the room in which she hung herself, and looks out of the door, making sure no one is there. Mentally stricken, he takes a gun placed on the wall and aims the barrel into his own mouth and starts screaming. The camera then fades out and back in, showing Draiman restrained in a straitjacket, showing that he could not bring himself to commit suicide. The edited version of the music video, which does not feature any suicidal themes whatsoever, simply depicts Disturbed playing the song in a dark room, with the band members occasionally covered in blood.

Track listing

Compact disc 7" vinyl Digital download United Kingdom digital download

Personnel

* David Draiman – vocals, co-producer * Dan Donegan – guitars, electronics, producer * John Moyer – bass guitar * Mike Wengren –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, co-producer

Charts and certifications

On March 24, 2008, "Inside the Fire" debuted on more than sixty radio stations. The song peaked at number one on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart and number four on the

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart. It also peaked at number seventy-three on the ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

and number sixty-seven on the Pop 100. The song is Disturbed's sixth number-one hit on Mediabase's Active Rock charts.

Weekly charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control Disturbed (band) songs 2008 singles Commemoration songs Songs about suicide Songs written by Dan Donegan Reprise Records singles Songs written by David Draiman Songs written by Mike Wengren