Since the early aughts,
Drowning Pool has seen their fair share of misfortune. After original vocalist Dave Williams passed away in 2002, the band cycled through a number of replacement vocalists over the course of four subsequent albums. On their sixth release, vocalist Jasen Moreno matches the record previously set by Ryan McCombs, appearing on more than one
Drowning Pool record. And he continues to do a fine job.
Hellelujah (eOne Records) furthers the
Drowning Pool tradition of big muscle via pummeling drums, raging vocals, beefy riffs, and threatening bravado. The song titles speak for themselves: "Hell to Pay," "We Are the Devil," "Goddamn Vultures," "Stomping Ground," and "Meet the Bullet," to name a few. There is a singular message and it is not subtle. Unlike previous vocalists, Moreno sounds eerily like the late Layne Staley at certain points, while evoking latter-day
Marilyn Manson when he's really pushing the higher limits of throat-shredding. Considering the genre, the songs on
Hellelujah are pleasing and fun, providing pounding, propulsive, no-frills, balls-to-the-wall mosh-pit metal. ~ Neil Z. Yeung