For a band that’s been beholden to a rotating cast of lead singers since the death of their original frontman Dave Williams in 2002,
Drowning Pool has remained remarkably consistent, churning out multiple slabs of slick and sordid, unapologetically shopworn hard rock that manages to retain the group's sonic fingerprints, despite all of the aberrations. 2013's
Resilience finds the hard-hitting Texans parting ways with
Ryan McCombs, the only singer to ever record more than one album with the group, and welcoming fellow Lone Star State denizen Jasen Moreno into the fold. Like
McCombs, Jason Jones, and even the aforementioned Williams, Moreno's vocal style utilizes the cool swagger of
Layne Staley as its foundation, though he takes on the role with a bit more gusto than the previous players. Fans who have stuck with the band through its myriad incarnations will find key cuts -- the anthemic, double kick drum-fueled opener "Anytime Anyplace," its blistering, like-minded counterpart "Die for Nothing," and the brooding and propulsive Drop-D-heavy "Broken Again" -- both familiar and welcome, if not a little bit predictable. Lighter on "Dudebro" party anthems than previous outings, outside of the sleazy "Saturday Night", with its refrain of "I'm gonna live my life like it's Saturday Night" and "One Finger and a Fist," the latter of which sounds tailor-made for a UFC takedown montage,
Resilience mostly lives up to the promise of its moniker, delivering another well-executed, purely fan-centric collection of testosterone-fueled, post-grunge/processed metal jams with a complete disregard for subtlety. ~ James Christopher Monger