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Best known for their raging nu-metal anthem 'Bodies', Texas thrashers Drowning Pool burst onto the US underground rock scene in the late 1990s making a noise so thunderous and abrasive that it was later used to interrogate prisoners at Guantanamo Bay detention centre.Formed by guitarist C.J. Pierce and drummer Mike Luce in Dallas, the band were initially an instrumental trio with bass player Stevie Benton and mixed a love of 1980s metal chaos and industrial doom with scorching riffs and slamming breakdowns. Things really took off when singer Dave Williams joined in 1999 and his wild, lust for life and no-nonsense energy turned the group into an explosive juggernaut that toured with Sevendust and released debut EP 'Pieces of Nothing' in 2000. Years of gigs built a loyal cult following, but when the WWE began using 'Bodies' as the theme to its 'Summerslam' event, the single became a hugely recognisable hard rock favourite that sent mosh pits wild and reached number 34 in the UK charts. Their debut album 'Sinner' went on to reach platinum status and was regarded as one of the great raucous nu-metal storms of the era and the band's reputation grew when they performed at Wrestlemania XVIII and stole the show at the Ozzfest tour. But tragedy struck when Williams died from heart failure after a show in 2002 aged only 30. Jason Jones replaced him on their second album 'Desensitized', which made the US top 20 in 2004, but Soil's Ryan McComb later took over lead vocals on the albums 'Full Circle' and 'Drowning Pool' and he toured with the band until 2011. Though they never repeated the commercial success of their early days, they remained a fireball of metal fury on stage and continued to generate angst-purging emotional energy with new front man Jasen Moreno on the albums 'Resilience' in 2013 and 'Hallelujah' in 2016.
Artist biography compiled by BDS/West 10. All rights reserved
