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By GREG MAKI
It’s amazing how much damage one song can do. Full Circle, Drowning Pool’s first album with former Soil singer Ryan McCombs, ends with a cover of the Billy Idol classic “Rebel Yell.” If you have to cover an ‘80s song, must it be one so obvious? And can you do something new with it, twist and warp it to make it your own? There’s nothing really wrong with Drowning Pool’s “Rebel Yell” and it is more aggressive than the original. But other than that, it’s faithful to Billy Idol right down to the keyboards. What’s the point? It gives an otherwise solid recording a sour aftertaste.
McCombs’ booming voice dominates the first 12 tracks. Soil’s loss is Drowning Pool’s gain. He was the guy the other three members wanted to recruit following the death of their original singer, Dave Williams, in 2002. With McCombs unavailable then, they settled for the unknown Jason “Gong” Jones. Luckily for them, McCombs was a free man by the time they parted ways with Jones in 2005.
While Desensitized (2004) saw the band still finding its footing after Williams’ passing and essentially treading water stylistically, Full Circle begins to move them away from their comfort zone. There are a handful of the standard, up-temp Drowning Pool rockers (“Full Circle,” “Enemy,” “Shame,” “Soldiers”), but a number of songs show an emotional side and give off an Alice in Chains vibe (“Reborn,” “Reason I’m Alive,” “Paralyzed,” “37 Stitches”). McCombs’ versatility makes the shifts possible. Drummer Mike Luce, guitarist C.J. Pierce and bassist Stevie Benton are still getting to know their new singer musically, so I feel like the best is yet to come. Full Circle, which feels a lot closer in spirit to the Dave Williams-fronted Drowning Pool than the Gong Jones version ever did, is a good start. It would be a lot better if it ended after track 12 instead of 13.
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