As the saying goes, one person's loss is another person's gain.
So while there were many disappointed when CKY pulled out of their Australian tour with Alien Ant Farm, there was also plenty more elated when their replacement was named in quick succession.
It's not often a tour is strengthened by late adjustments, but from the moment Drowning Pool were named to fill the void, what was previously stifled enthusiasm quickly became cries of joy.
After a prolonged absence from these shores, hard rock/metal monsters Drowning Pool will be returning next February, at the peak of their musical power and looking to decimate fans on this side of the world. Since reuniting with vocal powerhouse Ryan McCombs, Drowning Pool have gone from strength to strength, blowing away audiences at some of the world's premier festivals - Aftershock, Nu Metal Revolution, Louder Than Life, Sonic Temple, Blue Ridge Rock many others.
They are a band who has seen as many downs as they have ups, but throughout all have remained committed to their craft and each other, powering through each obstacle and emerging triumphant. And now it looks like another prominent chapter is about to be written.
HEAVY sat down recently with guitarist CJ Pierce to fill in the blanks.
"For us, it's been all cool," he replied when I commended the band for stepping in at short notice. "There's no drama here with Drowning Pool. I'm not sure about the situation, but we've been friends with Alien Ant Farm since day one - 20 plus years- and we're just coming to rock out. We were already working on some shows in Australia anyway, which were gonna be later in the year, so we couldn't wait to get there. Right place, right time. We appreciate them for having us on. No disrespect to CKY fans. We probably could do a cover song of theirs but out of respect to them Drowning Pool's bringing a lot of metal to the show."
In the full interview, CJ spoke more about what fans can expect from Drowning Pool live, their latest single Revolution (The Final Amen), welcoming Ryan back to the fold, any difficulties in another transition of vocalists, the importance of having the right band's together as part of a tour, new music including an album, the decision to go Independent and what it means for the band, keeping motivated and more.


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