Drowning Pool

Drowning Pool is a four-piece alternative metal band that formed in 1996 in Dallas, Texas, United States. They are currently signed to Eleven Seven Music and have released three albums, their most recent being Full Circle which was released on August 7, 2007.

History
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 months and the video for its first single "Bodies" was frequently aired on various music video channels. After the September 11th attacks, "Bodies" was infrequently heard on many radio stations as there were concerns regarding its appropriateness in light of the 9/11 victims who had jumped from the towers. On August 14, 2002, the band's lead singer Dave Williams was found dead inside his tour bus. The autopsy concluded that he suffered from a form of heart disease.

When asked if the band has any unreleased new material, Benton commented that "There are none. All the unreleased songs are out in either some soundtracks or compilations. We didn't get a chance to record any new songs before Dave's death". After Williams' death, the band decided to carry on and begin searching for a new singer. In 2003, the band found Williams' replacement in Jason 'Gong' Jones, and released the album Desensitized in 2004. The album was not as successful as Sinner, and most fans complained about the absence of Willams' vocal style, which apparently was not present with Jones'.

Jones' departure from Drowning Pool was publicly announced on June 14, 2005, due to irreconcilable differences. Jones would later join the Alternative Metal band AM Conspiracy. Almost immediately, rumours started swirling concerning the new singer's identity, ranging from Pat Lachman of Damageplan to Phil Anselmo of Pantera, but the biggest buzz of the rumors was to former SOiL singer Ryan McCombs. Drowning Pool announced that the singer would be formally announced August 25 at the Ozzfest date in Dallas, Texas, where Drowning Pool would do a one off performance on the main stage. On July 20, website SMNNews received word from close sources that McCombs was indeed the new singer, and that fact was confirmed by McCombs and Drowning Pool alike the next week. According to their manager, McCombs was the band's top, if not only, choice to be the lead singer.

In spring of 2006, Drowning Pool announced that they had parted ways with Wind-up Records. Wind-up's website confirmed this in June 2006. In October 2006, a new track titled "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, it was announced that the band has signed a new deal with Eleven Seven Music. It was also confirmed that Drowning Pool will have a new management company, Tenth Street Entertainment, following the group's departure with Paul Bassman of Bass Management.

The band's newest album Full Circle was released on August 7, 2007 nationwide and was met with little 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 Dallas-based January Sound Studio.

In January 2008, the band announced that they would be heading out on a North American tour as special guests of Saliva.

Members

 * Ryan McCombs - Vocals
 * C.J. Pierce - Guitar, Vocals
 * Stevie Benton - Bass, Vocals
 * Mike Luce - Drums, Vocals

Former members

 * Dave Williams - Vocals
 * Jason Jones - Vocals

Video Discography

 * 1) Sinema, released 2002