Drowning Pool

This article is about the band. For their self-titled, fourth album, see Drowning Pool (album). For the Ross Macdonald novel, see The Drowning Pool.

Drowning Pool
Drowning Pool's current lead singer Ryan McCombs
Background information
Origin	Dallas, Texas, United States
Genres	Alternative metal, heavy metal, post-grunge, nu metal
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Eleven Seven Music
Associated acts	Soil, AM Conspiracy
Website	drowningpool.com
Members
Ryan McCombs C.J. Pierce Stevie Benton Mike Luce
Past members
Dave Williams Jason Jones

Drowning Pool is a four-piece alternative metal band from Dallas, Texas.

History

Early days (1996–2002)

Drowning Pool rose to fame while playing along with Ozzy Osbourne during an Ozzfest tour. Their 2001 debut album, Sinner was certified platinum within six weeks. On August 14, 2002, the band's lead singer Dave Williams was found dead inside his tour bus.^[1] A spokesperson for the medical examiner from the Northern District of Virginia^{[clarification needed]} said he suffered from a form of heart disease.^[2] When asked if the band had any unreleased songs, according to a 2002 Blabbermouth article, drummer Mike Luce replied that "only 3–4 songs were done, including one called "Heroes," which is a tribute to dead rock musicians such as Layne Staley. I don't know if we will ever release them."

Jason Jones (2003–2004)

After Williams' death, the band tried to carry on and begin searching for a new singer.^[3] Many were considered, such as Ben Schigel of Switched, Vince Mullins of Haji's Kitchen, Robb Flynn of Machine Head and many others. But in 2003, the band decided on Jason 'Gong' Jones to replace Williams^[4] and released the album Desensitized in 2004. During this era, Drowning Pool also experienced a considerable shift in visual style: rather than the dark, grimacing, anti-social demeanor seen with Williams as the frontman, they shifted toward rock star vanity and sex appeal. Despite the success of the album's lead single, "Step Up," the album was not nearly as successful as Sinner.

Jones' departure from Drowning Pool was publicly announced on June 14, 2004, due to irreconcilable differences.^[5] Almost immediately, rumors started swirling concerning the new singer's identity, like Pat Lachman of Damageplan but the biggest buzz of the rumors was about former Soil singer Ryan McCombs.^{[citation needed]} Drowning Pool announced that the new singer would be formally announced at Ozzfest in Dallas, Texas, where Drowning Pool did a one-off performance on the main stage.

On July 20, 2005, the website SMNNews received word from close sources that McCombs was indeed the new singer. According to their manager, McCombs was "really good" and someone the band had wanted when they first set out to replace original vocalist Dave Williams nearly two years prior.^[6]

New beginning (2006–2007)

In spring of 2006, Drowning Pool announced that they had parted ways with Wind-up Records.^[7] In October 2006, the new song "No More" was announced to be released on the Saw III soundtrack, their first track (besides the second version of "Rise Up") with McCombs on vocals.

On February 26, 2007, the band announced it signed a new deal with Eleven Seven Music.^[8] It was also confirmed that Drowning Pool would have a new management company, Tenth Street Entertainment.

The band's third album, Full Circle, was released on August 7, 2007 and met with moderate success, though some fans pointed out that they favored McCombs' vocals over previous vocalist Jason Jones. Two songs on the album were produced by Funny Farm Records, owned by Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx and former Beautiful Creatures guitarist DJ Ashba. The remaining tracks have been recorded with producer Ben Schigel at the Ohio-based Spider Studios.

Loudest Common Denominator and Self-Titled Album (2008–present)

In January 2008, the band members announced that they would be touring North America as special guests of Saliva.^[9] On July 26, 2008, in Dubuque, Iowa, Drowning Pool played at the Dubuque County Fair alongside the bands Sick Puppies and Seether.

In September 2008, McCombs said in a statement that Drowning Pool will be recording its next album after it finishes touring with Saliva.^[10] According to an article from the El Paso Times, Drowning Pool has written material for its new album, and the band will be in the recording studio following the holidays.

On December 9, 2008, bassist Stevie Benton was quoted by the Associated Press as considering it an honor that the U.S. military was using Drowning Pool's music to bother captured prisoners. ^[11] On December 13, 2008, Stevie Benton issued an apology on Drowning Pool's MySpace page about his comment on musical torture, stating his comment had been "taken out of context".^[12]

On March 3, 2009, the band released its live album, Loudest Common Denominator, which featured two bonus tracks of acoustic versions of "Shame" and "37 Stitches".^[13]

According to a blog posted by the band members on the website SMNNEWS, they have hinted at having six songs already completed, and they just need to finish the other half of the album. McCombs dropped teasers of possible titles to two of the songs, "L.O.M.L" and "Regret".^[14] Guitarist C.J. Pierce also said he is bringing back some effects used on debut album Sinner, but not on the previous two albums.^[14]

Drowning Pool finished recording their latest album with Kato Khandwala producing at House of Loud in New Jersey, which will be the first album in the band's history featuring the same vocalist twice since Dave Williams, who recorded two pre-Sinner albums as well as Sinner itself.

The first single off the band's upcoming self-titled album, titled "Feel Like I Do", is available as a free download on their official website, and the album will be released on April 27, 2010.^[15] Also as free downloads on their official website are "37 Stitches" and "Enemy" (link is not currently shown, but the song queues after 37 Stitches). On April 12, 2010, the band began pre-sale of the album on their official website alongside exclusive packages featuring autographed guitars and a military-based package. They are currently on tour, in support of the upcoming album, with Sevendust and Digital Summer.

Drowning pool played at the Washington county Fairplex in Hillsboro, Oregon at Rock Fest 14 sponsored by Portland rock station 101 KUFO on Aug 29, 2010, alongside Godsmack, Shinedown, Puddle of Mudd, Sevendust, My Darkest Days, and 10 Years.

Tours

• Ozzfest 2001 and 2002 Tour
• Music as a Weapon 1 Tour
• Sinner Tour
• Desensitized Tour
• Full Circle Tour
• This Is For The Soldiers Tour 2007
• Know Your Enemy Tour 2008
• Ozzfest 2008
• 2008 World Tour
• Escape From the Studio Tour (opening for Korn)
• Spring/Summer Tour 2009
• Crue Fest 2
• Ozzfest 2010
• Liver Die Tour 2010 (with Sevendust)
• Opening for Godsmack and Five Finger Death Punch from September 28, 2010 to November 4, 2010
• JJO Band Camp, Madison, WI with Dope, Sevendust, Red, etc

Members

• Ryan McCombs – lead vocals (2005–present)
• C.J. Pierce – guitar, backing vocals (1996–present)
• Stevie Benton – bass, backing vocals (1996–present)
• Mike Luce – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1996–present)

Former members

• Dave Williams: lead vocals (1996–2002)
• Jason Jones: lead vocals (2003–2005)

Discography

For a more comprehensive list, see Drowning Pool discography.

• Sinner (2001)
• Desensitized (2004)
• Full Circle (2007)
• Drowning Pool (2010)

References

1. ^ "Blabbermouth.Net – Drowning Pool Singer Found Dead". Roadrunnerrecords.com. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=5440. Retrieved March 14, 2010. 
2. ^ "BLABBERMOUTH.NET – UPDATE: DROWNING POOL Frontman Died From Heart Disease". Roadrunnerrecords.com. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=6407. Retrieved March 14, 2010. 
3. ^ "BLABBERMOUTH.NET – DROWNING POOL Begin Singer Search, Cite AC/DC Inspiration". Roadrunnerrecords.com. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=8766. Retrieved March 14, 2010. 
4. ^ "BLABBERMOUTH.NET – DROWNING POOL Announce New Singer, Audio Clip Posted Online". Roadrunnerrecords.com. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=18470. Retrieved March 14, 2010. 
5. ^ "Drowning Pool Singer Quits | News @". Ultimate-guitar.com. June 15, 2005. http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/drowning_pool_singer_quits.html. Retrieved March 14, 2010. 
6. ^ "BLABBERMOUTH.NET – Manager: DROWNING POOL Have New Singer Lined Up". Roadrunnerrecords.com. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=38066. Retrieved March 14, 2010. 
7. ^ "Blabbermouth.Net – Drowning Pool Part Ways With Wind-Up Records". Roadrunnerrecords.com. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=53031. Retrieved March 14, 2010. 
8. ^ DROWNING POOL Confirms New Album Title – Feb. 26, 2007 Posted 26 February 2007
9. ^ "Drowning Pool Announce Tour With Saliva". Komodo Rock. http://www.komodorock.com/tour-news/tour-dates/drowning-pool-announce-tour-with-saliva-200801163493. 
10. ^ "Saliva, Drowning Pool together again". Livedaily.com. http://www.livedaily.com/news/14948.html. Retrieved 2011-10-21. 
11. ^ Andrew Selsky (December 9, 2008). "Musicians protest use of songs by US jailers". Associated Press. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g64EuoVhuWIkenJw0OsqodF-EbnwD94VDHPG0. Retrieved December 9, 2008. 
12. ^ "Drowning Pool official MySpace blog(Stevie Bentons Apology". Blogs.myspace.com. 2008-12-14. http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=4989818&blogID=456111734. Retrieved 2011-10-21. 
13. ^ 1:53 PM. "Drowning Pool Announces Live Album Release Date – in Metal News". Metal Underground.com. http://www.metalunderground.com/news/details.cfm?newsid=41402. Retrieved March 14, 2010. 
14. ^ ^{a b} "Drowning Pool Blog in From the Studio". SMNnews.com. February 2, 2008. http://www.smnnews.com/drowning-pool-blog-in-from-the-studio/. Retrieved March 14, 2010. 
15. ^ "Drowning Pool Set Release Date – TuneLab Music – Everything Rock". Tunelab.com. February 24, 2010. http://tunelab.com/2010/02/24/drowning-pool-set-release-date/. Retrieved March 14, 2010. 

External links

• Official website
• Drowning Pool on Myspace
• Interview with Drowning Pool on ARTISTdirect.com