Artist:
DROWNING POOL
Label:
ELEVEN SEVEN MUSIC
Video:
“SOLDIERS”
Director:
Alex Castino
Add Date:
August 21, 2007

Howdy there! It’s Andy Gesner and the staff from HIP Video Promo, back with a clip from a heavy band with a weighty story. The four members of Drowning Pool have faced their share of adversity over the years, including a controversial hit single (“Bodies”) and the untimely death of their original lead vocalist. But the Dallas-area quartet has battled back, and, as Full Circle is about to prove to the world, they’re tighter and more ferocious than ever. Now fronted by former SOiL member Ryan McCombs, Drowning Pool remains one of the biggest names in alternative metal, one of the most reliable draws on the festival circuit, and a heavy band capable of writing songs catchy enough to reach a mainstream audience.

Certainly, “Bodies” was such a song. The chanted chorus, thunderous drums, and gigantic guitar riffs made an indelible impression on music listeners in 2001. The WWE was certainly listening: the league has featured “Bodies” several times over the past five years, and spinoff operation Extreme Championship Wrestling has adopted it as its theme song. The track won a coveted spot on the EA Sports Arena Football soundtrack and an honor reserved for only the biggest and best hard rock songs: it’s played over the loudspeakers at Fenway Park when Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon enters the game.

We’re not saying that “Soldiers” is guaranteed to have the same impact, but surely it deserves to. Its chorus is as relentlessly catchy as “Bodies” was, and the musicians in Drowning Pool have only become tighter and tougher. What’s more “Soldiers” is about a serious subject: the condition of U.S. troops stationed around the world. Drowning Pool has toured military bases from Iraq to North Korea, and the members of the band have had the opportunity to interact with the men and women in the armed forces. The song is a reflection of those experiences: a channel for pride, precision, aggression, rage, and emotion.

The clip for “Soldiers” is comparably dramatic: it consists almost entirely of video footage of the band performing for the troops. And these are no small congregations either; on the contrary, the quartet roars out its songs to seas of uniformed personnel. “This is for the soldiers”, McCombs screams – and a feeling of catharsis ripples through the crowd. The film is raw, rough, direct; it’s got a you-are-there quality that perfectly suits Drowning Pool’s uncompromising style. The band plays with abandon and ferocity, and seems to echo and amplify the pride of their listeners. Add to this connection some extremely revealing shots of soldiers at war in the desert (the kind of stuff they don’t show on CNN), and you’ve got one of the most arresting and honest videos of 2007.

We’re pumped to be working with Jason Spies and Sam Alpert and their tenacious staff at Eleven Seven Music once again. We’ve got plenty of copies of Drowning Pool’s single, “Soldiers” from the upcoming album Full Circle, which will be in stores August 7th, so if you’re itching to get your hands on a copy, please don’t hesitate to let us know. Drowning Pool will also be playing tour dates all across the US for the rest of the summer, so if you’d like to make it out to a show to interview the band, please get in touch. If you need more info, call Andy Gesner at 732-613-1779 or e-mail us at info@HIPVideoPromo.com. You can also visit www.10thSt.com to find out more about Drowning Pool.

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