Drowning Pool
What's in a name? Rock is filled with goofy group names. So it's a good idea to find something that's been road tested. Several groups have taken their name from a novel or a film. The trick is, pick a name that has some relevance or personal meaning. Perhaps there's some cosmic message in a book or film the musicians relates to. Deeper meaning, and all that. Then there's Drowning Pool's Steve Benton. Turns out the film "Drowning Pool" was playing in the background when Steve lost his virginity. It worked out, Drowning Pool is a pretty good name. Good thing Benton didn't lose it while watching a 3 Stooges movie.
Drummer Mike Luce and guitarist C.J. Pierce were playing without a whole lot of success in their native New Orleans. They packed up and moved to the more Rock friendly Dallas and linked up with friend and bassist Benton. The trio Rocked the Dallas area but it became apparent that if they were going to go any further they needed a strong frontman. Enter Dallas music vet, power vocalist Dave Williams.
Touring with better known groups sharpened Drowning Pool's chops and led to the recording of a six-song demo. The demo landed at K-E-G-L in Dallas and the airplay resulted in a deal with Wind-Up Records.
Drowning Pool's Wind-Up debut "Sinner" contained the blisteringly intense "Let The Bodies Hit The Floor" (as in a mosh pit). Regarding the album's title Williams said, " I have nothing against religion, really, I just had organized religion shoved down my throat and I don't buy it."
"Sinner" was produced by Papa Roach vet Jay Baumgardner and recorded at Ocean Studios in lovely Burbank, CA. Following "Sinner's" completion Drowning Pool linked up with the Ozzfest Tour and that's when Williams was found dead (August 14th, '02) from apparent heart failure on the group's tour bus.
Jason 'Gong' Jones was selected to replace Williams but he left, due to "irreconcilable differences," a year after the release of '04's "Desensitized." The group launched another search for a singer with a number of notable names (including Damageplan's Pat Lachman and Pantera's Phil Anselmo) surfacing. But it was Ryan McCombs (formerly of SOiL) who got the nod in '06. One of McCombs' first efforts was the song "No More" which appeared on the Saw III soundtrack. The group had experience with soundtracks going back early in the decade when they worked with Rob Zombie on "The Man Without Fear" for the '03 Daredevil movie. Later that year, the group split with Wind-Up and jumped to Eleven Seven Music where they unfurled '07 effort, "Full Circle."
While on tour, Benton was hospitalized in Eau Claire, WI, after experiencing paralysis and was diagnosed with the neurological malady Bell's palsy, a condition that usually is temporary. The group was forced to cancel the remaining tour stops. "I'm really bummed that . . . we can't perform this last string of shows," said Benton. "We can't wait to come back and rock out with you all again soon."
It's never a good sign when a group has different vocalists on three consecutive albums. It's hard to maintain consistency, momentum or even credibility. That's the dilemma Drowning Pool faced.
When a group loses its lead vocalist/frontman, for whatever reason, it's a catastrophe. If the band decides to continue, the new frontman is put in a difficult, usually untenable position of being compared, often unfavorably, with his predecessor. Sometimes the replacement vocalist is good enough to have his own fan base. But it can turn divisive like the perpetual Bon Scott/Brian Johnson (AC/DC) debate. Of course, having to find a third frontman before the second one has even been broken-in short circuits that issue.
Drowning Pool employ tight, aggressive riffs driven by a propulsive rhythm section. But they are like a good team missing a key element that keeps them from becoming a champion.
"Sinner" features a thrashing title track and a Metal groove on "Bodies." "All Over Me" is another track worth checking out. Overall, it remains the group's premier effort.
"Desentized" keeps the group on track with "Step Up," the ominious "Killing Me," "Bringing Me Down" and the ballad "Love And War." To top it off, Pierce has some great guitar lines on "Numb" and rolls out majestic chords for "Nothingness."
With "No More" and "Duet," "Full Circle" shows they can still deliver. But there are more mid-tempo/down tempo tracks here than on other albums. McCombs vocals are clearer than Williams or Jones and he sounds closer to Hard Rock than hardcore. The acoustic/electric "Reborn," "Reason I'm Alive" and the Alice In Chains influenced "Paralyzed" give McCombs a chance to shine and he takes advantage of it. But Drowning Pool needs to deliver more "37 Stitches" and "Upside Down" to make this album work. The heavy ballads are great for the pop crowd but won't please the faithful. It's fairly easy to understand why some fans failed embrace this album and sales were off.