Drowning Pool

Drowning Pool formed in Dallas, Texas, in 1996. Guitarist C.J. Pierce and drummer Mike Luce formed Drowning Pool after relocating from New Orleans, Louisiana, to Dallas. There, they found and recruited bassist Stevie Benton. For a few years they stuck to performing as an instrumental trio, but this all changed in 1999 with the arrival of vocalist Dave Williams.[3] After recording a demo, Drowning Pool hooked up with Sevendust which got Drowning Pool in touch with Hed PE and Kittie. After touring with these bands, Drowning Pool got their demos enough radio play to get signed by Wind-up Records. The band made music with producer Jay Baumgardner.[4]

Drowning Pool rose to fame with their debut album and played at the Ozzfest in 2001.[4] Their 2001 debut album Sinner was certified platinum within six weeks.[5] A number of songs from the album were featured at various WWE events that year, and three tracks would be included on the soundtrack for the Funimation dub of Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge in early 2002.

On August 14 that year, Dave Williams was found dead inside his tour bus.[1] He died from an undiagnosed heart condition, now known to be cardiomyopathy.[6][7][8] 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."[9]

In 2003, Jason 'Gong' Jones replaced Williams as Drowning Pool's vocalist[10] and the band released the album Desensitized in 2004. Despite the success of the album's lead single, "Step Up," the album was not nearly as successful as Sinner, and it was publicly announced on June 14, 2005, that Jones had departed from the band, due to "irreconcilable differences".[11]

Drowning Pool's third vocalist, Ryan McCombs, performing with the band in November 2010

The band announced that their replacement singer would be formally announced at Ozzfest in Dallas, where the band did a one-off performance on the main stage. On July 20, 2005, the website SMNNews[12] revealed that Ryan McCombs, then former singer of SOiL, was the new vocalist. The band initially wanted McCombs to join Drowning Pool as the replacement of Dave Williams, nearly two years prior.[13] In spring of 2006, the band announced that they had parted ways with Wind-up Records.[14] In October 2006, a new song "No More" was announced to be released on the Saw III soundtrack, their first song (besides a re-recorded version of "Rise Up") with McCombs. The bands recorded version of "Rise Up", was used as the theme song for WWE SmackDown from September 30, 2004 – September 26, 2008.[15] The band signed a new deal with Eleven Seven Music[16] and also announced a new management company, Tenth Street Entertainment.[17] The band's third album, Full Circle, was released on August 7, 2007. 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 songs were produced by Ben Schigel at the Ohio-based Spider Studios.[18] The band then toured with Saliva in North America and also Sick Puppies and Seether in support of the album.[19][20]

Later in the year, work on a fourth album was announced.[21] On March 3, 2009, the band released a live album, Loudest Common Denominator, which featured acoustic versions of "Shame" and "37 Stitches" from Full Circle.[22] The band finished recording their self-titled album with producer Kato Khandwala at House of Loud in New Jersey.[23] It was the first studio album in the band's history not to feature a change of vocalist from the preceding album. The album's first single "Feel Like I Do", was released as a free download on their official website, and the album was released on April 27, 2010.[24] On November 7, 2011, C.J. Pierce and Mike Luce announced a new project with former Nonpoint members Zach Broderick and Ken McMillan titled Voodoo Corps.[25] In November 2011, McCombs left the band to reunite with SOiL for touring and a new album. The band, now once again without a singer, began writing new material for a fifth studio album while holding vocalist auditions.[26]

Former vocalist Jasen Moreno performing with the band in 2013. Moreno released three studio albums with the band, until his departure in 2023.

In July 2012, Jasen Moreno, from The Suicide Hook, was announced to be the band's new vocalist.[27] On August 14, the 10th anniversary of Dave Williams' death, the band released a song in tribute of him, their first with Moreno titled "In Memory Of...".[28] Two further singles were released with Moreno, "Saturday Night" in November 2012,[29] and "One Finger and a Fist" in December 2012, before the band released their fifth album, Resilience, on April 9, 2013.[30] On September 10, the band announced that they would celebrate the thirteenth anniversary of Sinner with a U.S. tour starting from October 22, in which they plan to dig deep into the songs from their debut album.[31] Drowning Pool released a reissue of their album "Sinner" called the "Unlucky 13th Anniversary Edition" in 2014.[32]

The band signed to eOne Music in August 2015.[33] On October 13, it was announced the band's sixth album titled Hellelujah would be released January 22, 2016, via eOne Music with producer Jason Suecof;[34] the date was later postponed to February 5. "By the Blood" was released as the first single from the album.[35]

On May 17, 2016, the band announced that they would be taking part in the Make America Rock Again super tour on select dates throughout the summer and fall 2016. The tour featured other artists who had success throughout the 2000s, including Trapt, Saliva, Saving Abel, Crazy Town, 12 Stones and Tantric, Fuel, Puddle Of Mudd and P.O.D.[36]

In December 2017, it was reported that Drowning Pool had begun writing their seventh studio album. In an interview with 97.1 The Eagle, guitarist C.J. Pierce stated, "We're working on new songs right now, which is awesome. We're working on tunes for the next record. We have a bunch of stuff on the plate. Everybody's brought amazing stuff, material. The thing with this is just to try and go through and see what we're gonna do on the next record. So we'll hash out all the ideas and songs and then start narrowing it down. So it's nice to have more than enough to go through."[37] The band began recording their new album in February 2019.[38] Within the next three years, there had been no news regarding the state of the album. On February 16, 2022, Drowning Pool announced Strike a Nerve as the name of their seventh studio album, which had already been completed by early 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic meant that its release date was then postponed.[39]

Prior to the release of Strike a Nerve, Drowning Pool embarked on the North American tour Brothers in Arms with Ill Niño and (hed)p.e. in early 2022,[40] and during this tour, they played two tracks from the upcoming album: "Strike a Nerve" and "Hate Against Hate".[41] On August 5, 2022, the band announced the album would be released on September 30.[42]

On March 16, 2023, the band announced that Ryan McCombs (while continuing his vocal duties with SOiL) has rejoined, replacing Moreno. This marks his return to the band, since leaving in 2011. [43][44] The band also plans to release new music with McCombs before the end of 2023.[45]

• 
  Stevie Benton
• 
  C.J. Pierce
• 
  Ryan McCombs
• 
  Mike Luce