Disturbed’s alt-metal-sounding mayhem began a quarter of a century ago with the release of its definitive debut, “The Sickness.” To commemorate the anniversary, the platinum act is on its “The Sickness 25th Anniversary Tour,” which comes through Cleveland for a show on March 31 at Rocket A rena. Whether it’s the early days and playing terrible time slots at numerous Ozzest tours or headlining The Odeon and the House of Blues, Disturbed made visits to Northeast Ohio while quickly rising through the ranks.. “We’ve gained a lot of great fans coming through Cleveland,” said Disturbed guitarist Dan Donegan, calling from Chicago. “It’s been, obviously, a big market for us to come back to.” The past few decades have been a big blur for Disturbed, which has sales of more than 17 million units and 14 billion streams. However, it all began with the recording of the group’s first album, which boasts radio hits “Down With the Sickness,” “Stupify,” “Voices” and “The Game.” Most up-and-coming bands busy searching for their sound will take any signs of encouragement. For Disturbed, that, oddly enough, came just after the band covered Tears for Fears’ ’80s hit “Shout.” “We were in the studio doing the demo when we took a dinner break,” he said. “Coincidentally, at the table next to us is Curt Smith, the singer-bass player from Tears for Fears. After being introduced, we told him we were just this local band from Chicago that just happened to be doing one of his songs. We invited him up to the studio.” Despite being late at night, Smith followed the band and listened twice to what was going to be titled “Shout 2000.” “He made some kind of comment like we really brought out the angst of the lyrics — the way they were meant to be,” he said. “It was a very big compliment for us. We were blown away.” With Disturbed playing “The Sickness” in its entirety, Donegan has been revisiting some of the album’s deeper cuts, including “Shout 2000” and also “Violence Fetish.” The latter takes the guitarist back to a creative period when he was honoring his influences. “I had just got a DigiTech whammy pedal, so I’m doing, like, this high screeching thing — just being experimental with it,” he said. “I was probably channeling my inner Tom Morello. Also, I was big into Korn, so that was that headspace a little bit.” Naturally, when discussing a band’s 25th anniversary, the conversation turns to Rock & Roll Hall of Fame eligibility. The group emerged during the turn of the century’s nu-metal zeitgeist but over the years has found it’s place in heavy metal — a genre that rarely gets Rock Hall attention. Still, Donegan is hopeful, and you can’t blame him. After all, he watched Disturb go from an early ’00s novelty act into a platinum-selling giant. “It’s just amazing that here we are 25 years later (and) that’s even a discussion,” he said. “That would be the highest honor, of course. That’s the Super Bowl, right? Your life’s work being recognized? So that would be the dream to have the industry acknowledge our career accomplishments.” “It’s just amazing that here we are 25 years later (and) that’s even a discussion,” says Disturbed guitarist Dan Donegan, right, on the group being eligible for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. (Courtesy of Q Prime Management) Disturbed Openers: Daughtry and Nothing More. When: 6:30 p.m. March 31. Where: Rocket Arena, One Center Court, Cleveland. Tickets: $30 to $450. Info: Rocketarena.com. ...read more read less