Review: Drowning Pool- Strike A Nerve

Drowning Pool laid dormant for six years after releasing Hellelujah and have since found a new label home in T-Boy/UMe Records and they’re off to a hell of a start with this label with new breath in their lungs. 

Long time Drowning Pool fans had high hopes with Hellelujah after the previous record- Resilience was a very strong record and had numerous high points. Unfortunately, their sole record on eOne fell short in every way. But with another new label home and a new sense of life, Drowning Pool were looking to really set the bar high going forward and to also find themselves as a band again and, god damn, did they ever. 

The band plays around with a few new sounds but still stays true to the “Drowning Pool sound” and make sure you can tell this is a Drowning Pool record. 

They come out of the gate swinging with an intro in “Doing Time In Hell” that captures your attention and keeps you listening with how well it builds up. From here they hit you in the gut with “Hate Against Hate” and then a kick to the nuts with “Stay and Bleed” just before switching it up with the next track. 

Title track “Strike A Nerve” has an old school western cinematic feel to it but also features the gritty Drowning Pool vibes we all know and love before “Racing To A Red Light” brings a cinematically-eerie vibe with “Tear Away” vibes and “Choke” has a Full Circle/Self-Titled-era feel. 

While “Everything But You” is a low point of the record and doesn’t really fit or make you want to listen to the whole song, it’s the only forgettable track on the record as songs like “Rope,” “Mind Right” and “Down in the Dirt” are strong tracks.

In the end, Strike A Nerve is the record Drowning Pool needed to write and put out right now. With singer Jasen Moreno only having two tracks under his belt and only one being strong, he needed a powerful record to make sure his legacy is right up there with original singer Dave Williams. 

With Strike A Nerve, Drowning Pool make damn sure we all remember who they are and what they’re all about and, if after listening to this record, you don’t consider them as one of the long-standing rock veterans that can still bring it at an elite level, you’re fucking deaf. 

Rating: 8/10

-Reggie Edwards