The band was formed in 1996 by guitarist C. J. Pierce and drummer Mike Luce, who were later joined by bassist Stevie Benton. Citing a range of influences on their music, including Metallica, Anthrax, Slipknot, Alice in Chains, SOil, AC/DC and Pantera, Drowning Pool performed as an instrumental trio until 1999 when they recruited vocalist Dave Williams. The band quickly found fame after playing with Ozzy Osbourne during Ozzfest and released their debut album “Sinner” in June 2001, which features the band’s most well-known song, “Bodies”.
The album went platinum within an astonishing six weeks, however their fortune took a retrograde turn when singer Williams was found dead inside his tour bus. He sadly died from a heart condition which had been undiagnosed until after his death. The band decided to continue after William’s death and recruited Jason Jones in 2003. The vocalist recorded just one album “Desensitized” (2004) then subsequently left the band in 2005, due to “musical differences”.
In 2005, Ryan McCombs, formerly of metal band SOil was announced as Drowning Pool’s new vocalist. The band had originally wanted him to replace Dave Williams. Their third album, “Full Circle” was released in August 2007, after signing a new record deal with Eleven Seven Music and changing to a new management company. They toured with Sick Puppies and Seether in support of the album. A self-titled fourth album was also released in April 2010. Unfortunately, McCombs announced that he was leaving the band to rejoin his previous band SOil for a tour and new album, again leaving Drowning Pool without a singer.
Undeterred, the band continued writing for their fifth album and began auditioning for a new vocalist. Current vocalist Jasen Moreno, from The Suicide Hook, joined the band in 2012 and made his debut in 2013 on “Resilience” – an apt title for a band that has battled through misfortune and remained together despite it all. On the 10th anniversary of Dave Williams’ death, the band released a song in tribute of him titled “In Memory Of…”, the first to feature Moreno’s vocals.
I became a fan of Drowning Pool because a friend of mine suggested them to me for a playlist I was putting together to hype me up for a martial arts tournament. I typically find it hard to listen to it for a long period of time because it starts to overlap and become tedious. Drowning Pool had somehow become the exception because I found myself listening to their “Sinner” album on repeat, even when I didn’t have a martial arts tournament. However, I don’t quite remember how I ended up going to one of their live shows.
Because metal is not exactly my normal type of music, it was a little awkward for me being there; that is, until they started to play. Unfortunately by the time I saw them, the original singer Dave Williams had passed away, and was replaced by Jasen Moreno. While it was not exactly the same as the album that I knew and loved, Jasen did such a good job on vocals. It helps that they have so much raw energy! The entire crowd started to push forward and then eventually, as expected, a mosh started up. I did not participate, but it was really great to be hearing all that raw energy live.
In a weird way, the show was almost relaxing because it was a sort of release. You left the show completely deaf and half beaten up by getting caught by part of the mosh, and completely loved every moment of the show.
Southern California punks have had a troubled history, releasing only 1 album with original vocalist Lynn Straight, before his tragic death in a car accident. In their new form, a second reunion, following one in 2008, they still pack an impact live. While punk music doesn’t pride itself in a particular ‘skill’ at music, it is clear the members of Snot know what they can play and know how to play it well. New vocalist Tommy ”Vext” Cummings does a good job filling in for Straight, instead of trying to imitate Straight exactly, he brings his own style and experience to it, while still making the songs sounds unmistakably like Snot. This current reunion is also evidence that while haven’t got ‘better’ with age – their sound needs a certain youthful energy – they haven’t by any means got any worse, with all members of the band constantly moving throughout the set, keeping the live energy, while still playing their songs with ease and skill. Their brand of aggressive hard core punk and metal most definitely isn’t for everyone, but if you are looking for a band you can jump around and mosh to, Snot are ones you should definitely check out.