Drowning Pool -- 'Full Circle' [review]

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."

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.

Soil -- 'Redefine' [review]

Soil
"Redefine"
J Records


Released Sept. 11, 2001, Soil's major-label debut album, "Scars," was a brutal, fast-paced hard-rock/metal amalgam that was hailed by some as one of the year's best offerings riding high off the success of the band's single "Halo."

The band -- vocalist Ryan McCombs, guitarists Adam Zadel and Shaun Glass, bassist Tim King and drummer Tom Schofield -- toured relentlessly for "Scars," hitting the road with everyone from Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Zombie and Mudvayne to Static-X and Sevendust. Soil was also one of the featured acts on the second stage of Ozzfest.

The pressure was on to deliver a follow-up that would exceed the foundation the band had forged and, with its new album, "Redefine," Soil takes aim and hits one right out of the park.

As King points out on the band's home page, Soil took everything fans came to expect from the first album and turned it up a notch. "We were on the road for 13 months, and we learned a lot about ourselves. ... When we sat down to do the new record, we wanted to stay true to our sound. We took that energy and passion and brought it into the music."

Kicking off with the explosive "Pride," the band immediately shows that when it comes to rocking out on this latest offering, there's no screwing around. The songs plays out like a faster-paced "Halo" with McCombs tearing through his intentionally-paced lyrics. The dueling guitar work sounds more frenzied this time around, with Schofield and King laying down a nice back-beat.

The beauty of Soil's sound is that as much as the band can simply throw it down and rock out, they play tight enough to really explore the melody they create and add depth to the music's flow. This is especially evident in a song like "Redefine" where the initial riff is reminiscent of Drowning Pool's "Pity Me," yet as soon as the band is able to establish the song's groundwork, the guitarists lay down some thick, catchy riffs and the chorus sounds like something completely out of place yet exactly what you would expect. And the band is able to throw in a mellow breakdown mid-way through a song like "Redefine" -- with McCombs singing "Somebody to make me feel whole again" -- and gradually pick the pace back up without any of it coming off forced.

"We like songs that grab you, hook you, and don't f*ck around, but at the same time, we love melody," Glass states in the band's official biography.

"Can You Heal Me" has an old Alice in Chains feel to it, from the vocals to the down-tuned guitar riffing. And the band even experiments with Middle Eastern flavor on "Deny Me."

The album's best track has to be the closer "Obsession." The song unfolds like an epic starting out melodic and slow with a steady backbeat and subtle cymbal-work before exploding at the chorus. As McCombs strains out "You are my everything," it adds that extra sense of urgency in the song. The song progresses in alternating slow and fast tempos and, just when you think it can't get any more intense, the closing moments flourish like a Tool song with insane drumming and thunderous riffs before shuddering to a halt.

"Lyrically, these songs are our children, and they've all got their special places to us," McCombs points out. "No matter what your position in life -- whether you're married or not, a dad or not, or what you do for a living -- you keep having trials and tribulations, moral dilemmas, and confrontations you need to face, and whether it was on the road, or at home with my family, I've had my eyes opened up to a whole new realm of experiences. A lot of people have their 'Halos,' it doesn't matter what mine was when I wrote the song."

Overall, "Redefine" is a welcome relief as fans have been anticipating its release since "Scars" hit shelves. Given what the band delivers, two years was hardly long to wait. Simply put -- a great album.