Drowning Pool preview

Drowning Pool
Pearl Room, Mokena
Thursday, December 8, 2005

Drowning Pool are currently in the studio working on a new album, their third since joining Wind-Up in the early 2000s. That really isn’t news. But what is newsworthy is that the as-yet-untitled release will be their third . . . with as many singers.

It hasn’t been an easy road for this Texas metal act. At the height of nu metal’s popularity Drowning Pool struck big with their 2001 debut Sinner, which peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Charts, selling more than a million copies thanks in large part to the huge success of lead single,”Bodies.” The band played the second stage of Ozzfest in 2001 and just a year later were in the midst of a headlining jaunt on the seminal metal tour when disaster struck. Frontman Dave Williams was found dead (of natural causes) on the band’s tour bus before a show in Indianapolis.

The remaining members, drummer Mike Luce, guitarist C.J. Pierce, and bassist Steve Benton, returned to Dallas and regrouped before deciding to continue as a band. Jason “Gong” Jones was hired in early 2004 and Drowning Pool mounted a comeback with Desensitized. But unfortunately for the band, the combination of nu metal’s fall from favor and the lost momentum following Williams’ death meant little commercial success for the album. Jones left the band for “personal reasons” in June of this year, after only a year and a half with the band.

Enter singer number three and Chicago connection Ryan McCombs, former Soil frontman. McCombs exited Soil in September 2004 to spend more time with his family, but resurfaced when Drowning Pool announced in late July he would fill Jones’ spot. The band plans to hire a producer by January and release their first McCombs-era record by mid-summer.

If you plan on attending the show, make sure you bring a toy along; Drowning Pool, the Pearl Room, and Toys For Tots are giving concert goers $5 off admission for those who donate an unwrapped toy.

— Trevor Fisher

Click here to listen to Drowning Pool’s “Think.”

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly