Review Summary: I never had so much fun letting the bodies hit the floor
Let’s begin the new year with some nu metal. According to my Sputnik statistics, it’s 20% of my reviews, but really, those are just my Evanescence and Nemesea reviews. I’ve never reviewed a “pure” nu metal album (if there’s such a thing) on this site. That’s probably because I got into nu metal later, after I got into symphonic, heavy and black metal. But there are a few nu metal albums that have left their mark on me, and I’d like to review them, to show how varied and impactful that subgenre can be.
Drowning Pool’s first album is an oddity in the already odd nu metal scene. They didn’t rap, though they did a lot of speak-singing and screaming, didn’t use turntables and electronics, didn’t tune their guitars as low as Korn’s. The band itself didn’t wear masks, didn’t look particularly flashy. They weren’t the heaviest, most complex nu metal band out there, but not the most commercial-leaning either. They just made some simple but efficient angry rock/metal album. The goal of this album was to express some kind of unease and unhinged rage, which it did so well I remember getting a really strange feeling the first time I heard it.
We have to talk about the band’s biggest song, “Bodies”. Not only is it a good representation of their overall sound, but it’s also one of the many highlights of the album. Dave Williams whispering then screaming “Let the bodies hit the… FLOOR!”, its similar chorus, the threatening but punchy riff, infectious energy and wild, aggressive feel… it’s all part of my memories now. The lyrics seem to be about going on a killing spree, but they’re actually about being in a really rowdy mosh pit, and they kind of make more sense that way. I guess in general, it’s about releasing all your inner violence and savagery. And having the most fun ever. It’s the kind of song that awakens my violent, primal instincts.
The rest of the album has the same “letting it all out as messily as possible” vibe. Like in the title track, about defying people who judge you and call you a sinner. The song’s energetic drums and guitars, Dave Williams’s frantic vocal delivery and overall presence, make you really want to, as the last line says, “Raise your hands, you’re a sinner”. Or in “Follow”, about finding your own truth, rather than do as you’re told, with Dave often repeating, hopefully, that there’s “a better way to follow through” and that “the truth is right here in front of you”.
His singing style involves a lot of repeating sentences increasingly loudly until he screams. From anyone else, so much repetition would get really annoying, but here, it just fits the angry, out of control tone of the album. The chorus of “All Over Me”, which repeats the title, isn’t the most interesting, but the song has some punch, and its most memorable lyric is the less repeated “There’s something changing in me”. Indeed, there’s something weird in this album. “Reminded” has a chorus that similarly just yells “Reminded of you”, but wow, there’s so much rage and wild energy on this song. And of course, the “Pity me, pity me, don’t you pity me” chorus of “Pity” always cuts really deep. It’s always what I think in reaction to a display of condescending pity. But 1 have 2 favorite fast songs with a repetitive chorus: “I am”, with its screamed “I could have been, I am” chorus, punchy and choppy rhythm and hair-raising energy. And “Told You So”, which is the same but even faster and wilder with the angriest speak-singing and screaming, and even more abrasive lyrics, like “A penny from your thoughts would make me sick” and many repeated “Shut up!”.
Even when he’s singing more melodically, there’s something “off”, almost eerie about it. Like on “Tear Away”, where his voice is at its quietest and yet feels the most unhinged, as he repeats “I don’t care about anyone else but me”, over eerie bass lines. It took me a while to get into this song, but once I did, it’s pretty good, especially its guitar solo. Or “Mute”, where he sings in a cold, jaded tone, before exploding with lines like “It seems the dream is impossible” and “someday, I will be a better man”, often repeated to really show the hopelessness of it all. Of course, the best example of his vocal abilities would be the last track, “Sermon”, with its dark, heavy riff and muted scream on the intro, and lyrics about all the lies and pointlessness of organized religion, continuing the theme established on the title track. Dave doesn’t scream the loudest on that song, but he sounds his most desperate and disgusted. The true highlight, however, is the outro, where he sings the last chorus “Tell me what you believe, I’ll tell you what you should see”, accompanied by his eerie vocalizations, like a sort of demented preacher (this album is like a nu metal Monotheist), and then concluded by his last lyrics played backwards. You’re not the same after this conclusion.
This is an album that appeals to my darker nature, my fascination for everything dark and twisted. And yet, it makes it feel so catchy, almost radio-friendly, without dumbing anything down. But it has so much personality. That’s what makes this album so great, and so unique. Drowning Pool themselves were never able to replicate this. Every album they released after Dave died was much more inconsistent, with some good songs here and there but nowhere near as good as anything from “Sinner”. It certainly never had the same darkness and twistedness. It was just ordinary, while this album had something truly special. Though he only made one album, we’ll remember Dave Williams forever, thanks to his amazing performance. This is an album you really should try if you want a more rock-leaning but really well-made nu metal album, or if just like me, you want your nu metal to sound eerie and give you a strange visceral reaction. And it’s not the only interesting nu metal album I plan to review.
