Drowning Pool is a four-piece Nu Metal Hard Rock/Alternative Metal band from Dallas, Texas. Formed in 1996, the founding members were vocalist Dave Williams, guitarist C.J. Pierce, bassist Stevie Benton, and drummer Mike Luce. To date, they have released seven albums.
If you've spent time on the internet, you may have come across a song featuring the opening lines: "Let the bodies hit the floor, let the bodies hit the floor, let the bodies hit the floor, let the bodies hit the *tss tss* FLOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRR!!!". Well, that was these guys.
Dave Williams died in his sleep on his tour bus in 2002. The autopsy results revealed that he had cardiomyopathy, a heart disease. He was initially replaced by Jason Jones, who left in 2005 to be replaced by Ryan McCombs. McCombs, in turn, left in 2011 for a reformation of his old band SOiL. Jasen Moreno would serve as the band's frontman from 2012 to 2023, when McCombs returned.
Drowning Pool is one of a very, very small number of groups in any genre to A) continue after the death of a singer and B) continue on with not one, but two replacement singers, which means a different vocalist for each of their first three albums.
Let the Tropes hit the floor, let the tropes hit the floor, let the tropes hit the... :
- Animated Music Video: "Enemy."
- Careful with That Axe: "Let the bodies hit the... FLOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRR!"
- Metal Scream: The chorus of "Bodies."
- New Sound Album: The sophomore album Desensitized, where the band switched from Nu Metal to straight up Hard Rock, and Full Circle, which incorporated influences from Post-Grunge. Perhaps this has something to do with the revolving cast of vocalists.
- Obsession Song: "Turn So Cold" from their fourth album is an example of the passive type.
- Overshadowed by Awesome: Jason Jones and Ryan McCombs.
- Perishing Alt-Rock Voice: Dave Williams sang in this style.
- Religion Rant Song:
- "Sermon." It refers to religion as a joke and "the great deception," and suggests that God does not exist.
- And in case that song doesn't make it clear enough, they later released "Hate".
- "Sinner" sort of counts as one, as it deals with religious hypocrisy. A line like "Look at all this useless talk upon the cross" is hard to ignore, though.
- Self-Titled Album: Released in 2010.
- Suddenly Shouting: FLOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRR
- Surprisingly Gentle Song: "37 Stitches," which was a surprise hit on rock radio at the time of release.
- Take That!: "Enemy" is one at Ryan McCombs' former band SOiL, who mocked him when he left them to spend more time with his family.
- Title-Only Chorus: "All Over Me."
