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Review: Drowning Pool Resilience

By: Tim Grzecki

Eleven Seven Music
Release Date: 4/9/13

Everyone knows a Drowning Pool song. Don't believe me? Tell me the words "Let the bodies hit the floor" don't ring a bell. Well that was 12 years and three singers ago. They are now back with their fourth singer for their fifth studio album Resilience.

There's just one glaring issue though with this fifth album: it doesn't sound like a Drowning Pool record. New singer Jason Moreno is by far the weakest vocalist to front the band to date. Sadly for him and the other members of the band, he doesn't measure up to the type of sound that Drowning Pool has established with their previous vocalists.

Resilience starts out hard and heavy with the high tempo riffing and double bass of opening track "Anytime Anyplace", but it all goes downhill from there. The songs are an uneven mix of bad attempts at party anthems and songs that aren't strong enough to live up to their testosterone-driven "tough guy image."

Like I mentioned, the problem with it all is Moreno. Lyrically he falls short, and at times his vocals sound so forced it leads one to wonder if he or the band set him up for failure with the sound he's trying to achieve. This is most evident when Moreno attempts melodic choruses or higher-pitched screams.

Unfortunately, some good music gets lost in the frustration of the fact that one cannot take Resilience seriously as a Drowning Pool record. The aforementioned "Anytime Anyplace" kicks ass. "Digging These Holes" is tailor made for moshing, as is "Understand". Hell, even the singles "One Finger and a Fist" and "Saturday Night" sport very catchy music even though the overall songs just sound awful.

There is however the actual long-term musicians in the band that make up the only viable elements to the album. The rhythm section of bassist Stevie Benton and drummer Mike Luce are on top of their game. Guitarist C.J. Pierce's riffs and solos are just as solid as always.

The time has come for the long term members of Drowning Pool to rebrand themselves and stop trying to ride the coat tails of a name they made famous with better front men. If Resilience wasn't branded a Drowning Pool record, I probably wouldn't hate it nearly as much. In fact, I can honestly say I would consider it a decent rock/metal record with vocals that need some work. Instead it's a failed attempt to keep a name going.

Final Grade: D

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