Drowning Pool – Full Circle
Eleven Seven Music (8/7/07)
Hard rock / Metal
Three albums with three front men—it would seem like an uphill battle for any band to gain a foothold and start to grow into a more cohesive unit. That certainly was the problem with Drowning Pool’s last effort, Desensitized. Former lead singer Jason Jones had a great stage presence and a nice mixture of original lead singer Dave Williams’ tenacity and urgency with a subtle amount of soul, but ultimately, the album seemed rushed and somewhat off-target (especially with the marketing).
On Full Circle, Drowning Pool brought in a seasoned pro in Ryan McCombs, formerly of Soil. McCombs’ distinct, captivating voice melds well with the Drowning Pool sound. And for a band with an established fanbase, it didn’t hurt to bring in someone with a recognizable commodity.
Constant touring prior to any studio recording seems to have paid off for the band. Full Circle presents a tight, cohesive wall of sound, which is fairly important for a band essentially re-debuting for a third time. The album opens promisingly enough with the hard-hitting title track. Mike Luce has never sounded as ferocious as the final moments of the song, and bassist Stevie Benton seems particularly inspired.
C.J. Pierce’s classic Drowning Pool riff rears its head on “Enemy”, one of the album’s stronger tracks, and the driving guitar continues through songs like “Shame” and “Duet”. Lyrically, the band has never come across better than on “Reborn”, with great allusion to the band and McCombs’ pasts (comments about a halo — Soil’s first break; tear away — a Drowning Pool song; redefine — McCombs‘ last album with Soil), but some great acoustic guitar and drum work, too.
And the band, and particularly McCombs, is practically channeling Alice in Chains on “Upside Down”, which almost sounds like it has the late Layne Staley on guest vocals—and that’s a good thing (the Alice in Chains comparisons litter the latter half of the album).
But for all the promise, there are more than a few shallow moments. “Love” seems like a throwaway track with little to make it notable, and covering Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell” has BAD IDEA written all over it. The group tries to catch the lightning of “Bodies” with the sing-a-long anthem “Soldiers”, but it just seems to miss the mark. The message (supporting the troops) is admirable, but for some reason you want to chant along to “let the bodies hit the floor†as opposed to “(whoop, yeah) this is for the soldiers.â€
Then there’s the Nikki Sixx penned “Reason I’m Alive” which couldn’t sound more out of place. The pseudo-ballad seems forced and hollow, which is especially troubling as the band can and does do melancholic tracks extremely well when it wants to—”37 Stitches” and “Paralyzed” channel that great feel of the Drowning Pool classic “Tear Away” (not to mention McCombs once again channeling Staley on the latter).
What Drowning Pool really needs to do is keep a line-up in place for more than one album, and lord knows it wants to. The untimely death of Williams could have been a death knell, but the band soldiered on. Jones and the rest of the group just never meshed. McCombs seems like a perfect fit. The good on Full Circle really is good, and songs like “37 Stitches” and “Reborn” are great. That’s what makes the bad stuff stick out all the more. Drowning Pool can write good material, so it’s apropos that two of the weaker links are from outside sources. With more touring the band will only get better. Having McCombs stick around will show whether the band can write a follow-up without new blood in the mix. As of now, Full Circle stands as an above-average debut from a band that needs no introduction.
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