Dave Draiman should be relaxed.

After all, he's calling from sunny San Francisco, where he's enjoying a beautiful summer day with his girlfriend before he embarks on a yearlong tour with his band, Disturbed. The group's last three albums have all debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and unless Susan Boyle drops a surprise last-minute record Aug. 31, its fifth album, "Asylum" (Reprise), will probably do the same. 

Disturbed has sold 9 million albums domestically in the last 10 years, and almost half that number can be attributed to its breakthrough record, 2000's "The Sickness," which has sold 4.2 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. But the band has been remarkably consistent, even as sales have trended downward: 2002's "Believe" sold 1.8 million, 2005's "Ten Thousand Fists" sold 1.9 million, and 2008's "Indestructible" sold 1.1 million. 

The act has built a solid tour following during its long career, and has a fan base renowned for its loyalty and longevity. Disturbed fans are known for not only sticking with the band, but for passing fan-dom along, as evidenced by the crowd-surfing elementary schoolers who attend shows with their parents and appear in the forthcoming DVD, "Decade of Disturbed."

But despite all of this, Draiman is not mellow. "I'm always worried," he says. "About everything."

Part of this neurosis could just be his natural state. While he's funny and friendly on the phone, a quick read of his lyrics reveals that his band's name is appropriate. Topics tackled on the new record include "being trapped in the prison of your own mind," losing a lover, religion serving as a catalyst for war and the Holocaust. The album's lightest track -- if you can call it that -- "The Animal," is about becoming a werewolf, though don't expect it to show up in any "Twilight" fan videos anytime soon. 

Worrywart nature aside, though, Draiman has a right to be concerned. While metal is considered one of the last genres not beset by fair-weather fans and an over-before-it-begins blog hype cycle, that doesn't mean it's not without its fair share of problems. For an astute businessman and long-timer like Draiman, the challenges are very real. 

FLYOVER ZONES

Disturbed manager Jeff Battaglia still believes in the power of the transistor. "Radio is still the single most important driver for a band like this," he says. "And the changes at alternative radio have impacted us in a real way."

According to Mike Rittberg, senior VP of promotion at Reprise, "In the early part of the decade, the alternative format played more rock, but recently we've seen a shift, and there is less crossover between the active rock format and alternative." For a band like Disturbed, "this has resulted in lost exposure and less audience reach."

The band is still a monster presence at active rock radio. It has lodged seven No. 1s, the same as Metallica, and only Linkin Park and Creed have topped the chart more times (nine and eight, respectively). Disturbed has also had 15 tracks in the top 10, tying with the Foo Fighters and Nickelback, and trailing only Godsmack (which has 18). 

But the shift in programming at alternative has hurt the band, according to Battaglia. "When we started, there were more opportunities at radio," he says. "There were more opportunities in general -- MTV still played videos by hard rock bands, there were more magazines that would cover a band like Disturbed. It still takes radio support to get people to come out in many markets."

Battaglia won't name specific markets where lack of radio has hurt, but says it's a concern. "When we do package tours, like Ozzfest or this summer's Uproar tour, radio will talk about it and that'll get people out," he says. But Battaglia is also concerned that touring is no longer the sure bet it once was.

"There is too much traffic right now," he says. "More bands are depending on touring and merch to make all their money, and this summer has been tough for a lot of people."

Because the band still has relatively strong album sales, Battaglia says its revenue tends to be split fairly equally among record sales, touring and merchandise. 

"Disturbed's base is everything between New York and Los Angeles," Reprise senior VP of marketing Rob Gordon says, and he's only half-kidding. "Minneapolis is a huge town for us, as is most of the Midwest. Seattle and Boston are both great rock markets, too. This is definitely a band for the masses."

Gordon says markets like New York and L.A. are harder for the band to crack. "They'll come to the New York area and play Jones Beach or Saratoga or Buffalo," he says. "They'll play Irvine rather than Los Angeles and Sacramento rather than the Bay Area."

NEXT: Disturbed Gives Its Fans 'All Killer, No Filler'