Drowning Pool at the Rust Belt -- July 21.
Sunday, July 21, 7 p.m.
The Rust Belt, 533 12th Avenue, East Moline IL
Touring nationally in support of their seventh album and 2022 release Strike a Nerve, an 11-track recording that Music Matters deemed “an adrenaline rush,” the hard rockers and alternative-metal artists of Drowning Pool headline a July 21 concert at East Moline venue The Rust Belt, their latest work inspiring Loud Hailer magazine to rave, "From start to finish, fans are sure to appreciate the unsettling comfort of this new but familiar album."
With the group originating in Dallas, Texas, in 1996, guitarist C.J. Pierce and drummer Mike Luce formed Drowning Pool after relocating from New Orleans. They subsequently recruited bassist Stevie Benton, and for a few years, the outfit stuck to performing as an instrumental trio. This changed in 1999, however, with the arrival of vocalist Dave Williams, and after recording a demo, Drowning Pool hooked up with Sevendust, which led to the musicians coming in touch with Hed PE and Kittie. After touring with these bands, Drowning Pool got their demos enough radio play to be signed by Wind-up Records, and the band consequently made music with producer Jay Baumgardner. Drowning Pool rose to fame with their 2001 debut album Sinner and played at the annual Ozzfest that same year. Sinner was certified platinum within six weeks, a number of songs from the album were featured at various WWE events in 2001, and three tracks would be included on the soundtrack for the Funimation dub of Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge in early 2002.
Following Williams' 2002 passing from an undiagnosed heart condition, Jason "Gong" Jones eventually replaced him as Drowning Pool's vocalist, and the band released their sophomore album Desensitized in 2004. The album spawned a top-10 Billboard single in "Step Up," and with numerous additional changes made to the group's lineup since then, the Drowning Pool album repertoire has gone on to include 2007's Full Circle, 2010's Drowning Pool, 2013's Resilience, 2016's Hallelujah – all of them top-10 on Billboard's U.S. Hard Rock Chart – and 2022's Strike a Nerve, which marked the first time in the band's history that they had recorded three studio albums with the same singer: Jasen Moreno. Regarding the lauded album's lead single "Mind Right," Chad Childers of Loudwire stated, "The band comes out of the gate swinging with a full throttle rocker, featuring a prominent low groove, aggressive drumming and singer Jasen Moreno's in-your-face vocal about making sure you're all squared away."
The musicians of Drowning Pool play their July 21 engagement with an additional set by A Killer's Confession, admission to the 7 p.m. concert begins at $22.75, and more information and tickets are available by visiting TheRustBeltQC.com.
