Drowning Pool and Eye Empire Impact Kokomo with Resilient show

Ever since Drowning Pool released their latest record, Resilience, in April, it’s been a nonstop trek of promoting and concerts for the veteran rock outfit. Earlier this spring they toured with Flyleaf, who were in the same boat with a new singer and new album. Currently they can be seen on the road with Eye Empire, Exilia, Even the Dead Love a Parade and Beyond Threshold, a bill full of stellar national acts. The Kokomo, Ind. stop of the tour was the epitome of a rock show and Drowning Pool brought the album title of Resilience to life on a night of technical difficulties. After local act A World Apart opened the night, Beyond Threshold took the stage to continue the party. With a set that sonically resembled Lamb of God mixed in with some Hatebreed, Beyond Threshold were a perfect fit for the opening slot of the show, getting the crowd on the verge of losing their minds. Following was Even The Dead Love a Parade with Stevie Benton of Drowning Pool on bass. ETDPA took the energy from Beyond Threshold and beat the shit out of it. Their high-energy set was just what the crowd needed before the next band, Exilia, took the stage. Now, Exilia, straight out of Milan, Italy, were a complete change of pace from the rest of the bands up to that point. Exilia were more melodic and artistic than any of the other bands and, with frontwoman Masha Mysmane at the helm, they were definitely the pleasant surprise of the night. Imagine the vocals of Flyleaf meeting the artistic quality of Otep with the Italian hypnotic rock of Lacuna Coil in the mix and you almost have what Exilia are- but not quite. They have what it takes to really make an impact in America if they continue what they’re doing. It’s hard to believe this is their first time in the States. After Exilia had the crowd speechless and made pretty much everyone Exilia fans, it was time for Eye Empire to take the stage and they absolutely rocked the house. Eye Empire have been on a tear for the last year or two, with Moment of Impact hitting the public in 2010 and then Impact, re-release with some extra tracks thrown in, fans have flocked to the band, embracing them for their honest lyrics and dynamic performances with constant respect poured out to the fans from the band. Kokomo was no different with not just frontman Donald Carpenter rapidly thanking the fans for being there but the entire band had fun on stage and showed their gratitude to the fans, putting their slogan of “Love, Respect, Support” into action. Eye Empire are on the rise and quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with in the rock community. Their next record, which Carpenter says is over 90% done should put them close to the top. Finally, after a night of nonstop rock and metal, Drowning Pool took the stage to a house of fans who were ready to let go of what little energy they may have had left. The set was unfortunately plagued with technical difficulties- frontman Jasen Moreno’s mic cut in and out for most of the night and when that wasn’t going on there was an insurmountable amount of static. The band pressed on, though with Moreno using other mics and really putting Resilience into practice. Aside from all the technical glitches and problems, Drowning Pool were in rare form, sounding better than ever. The crowd may not have been huge, but the band played their hearts out and gave the crowd a kickass show. They played for over an hour with tracks from Sinner to their self-titled record to many songs from Resilience hitting the speakers. After seeing the band live, there’s no doubt they have found their frontman in Jasen Moren. The band’s chemistry on and off the stage is the best it’s been in some time. Drowning Pool are back and not going anywhere. Look for them to take the rock world by storm in the near future. -Reggie Edwards       Pre-show interview with Eye Empire singer Donald Carpenter   Pre-show interview with Drowning Pool bassist Stevie Benton