In a new interview with Australia’s Jaimunji, DROWNING POOL guitarist C.J. Pierce was asked if there was ever a point where he thought that maybe the band was “done”. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Me personally, no. I mean, we’ve been hit with a lot of stuff, man. We’ve been hit with things — there’s been stuff that’s happened with us personally, within the band, that you read about, that has destroyed other bands for smaller things than that.”I feel like I have a very full life,” he continued. “I guess I should be appreciative of that. I’ve had a lot of life experiences — way more than I ever thought I would have. And it’s pretty wild, man. But I love music. I’m passionate about it. We are. And when we’re on that stage together, there’s nothing like that in the whole world. And having that connection with the fans — and I’m a fan of music. There’s been a lot of songs from a lot of other artists and bands that have gotten me through certain situations. And to hear that about your own songs from fans, it’s, like, that connection, there’s nothing like that in the whole world. So we do it for the right reasons.”It’s tough,” C.J. added. “You’ve gotta fight the music business and all these things that tear you down and rip away from that passion. But you’ve gotta focus on what’s real to you. And we love performing. We love playing. I love writing music.”DROWNING POOL’s latest single, “Revolution (The Final Amen)”, came out in September via SBG Records. It marks the first piece of music Pierce and his longtime bandmates — drummer Mike Luce and bassist Stevie Benton — have completed with singer Ryan McCombs in 13 years.Regarding why DROWNING POOL chose “Revolution (The Final Amen)” as the song with which to reintroduce McCombs to the band’s fans, Pierce told Australia’s Heavy: “Well, we had several songs that are on the plate that we’re working on together. This one just kind of gravitated towards being done first. I think all of us might have had a moment where [we thought] the eyes are gonna be on this, but at the end of the day, dude, it’s us writing music together and it’s not about the machine or about the industry. It’s about us writing songs and art together as a band. And when it’s ready to be out, that’s when it’s ready to go. All four of us sat down at a table with lyrics. We were all in a room together working on it. Musically, it’s completely DROWNING POOL as us four, and that’s the one that we finished first that we wanna get out to the world.”As for DROWNING POOL’s plans to release more new music in the coming months, Pierce said: “We’re hoping to get a few more songs recorded before the end of [2024] and a couple of more before we go to Australia in February [2025]. So, yeah, we’re working on a full-length record.”The original plan was to have a couple of reunion shows with Ryan, ’cause he still sings with SOIL… and then all of a sudden we just started writing songs together,” C.J. explained. “And then we were getting [phone calls saying], ‘Hey, come play some shows, play some shows.’ So we’ve been pretty much just playing shows the last year and a half, having a great time doing it, writing music in between from all the inspiration from all the amazing shows, from all the awesome rock fans.”On the topic of what DROWNING POOL fans can expect from the band’s upcoming material, C.J. said: “The next [song] coming up is even more jamming than [‘Revolution (The Final Amen)’]. I can’t let any cats out of the bag. We have a very super-deep song that’s coming out. I have a new tune that just came naturally that has a ‘Tear Away’ kind of vibe to it, that kind of chugging along feel that just came naturally again. And then we have some songs I got that [have] a lower tuning on it that’s very Ryan McCombs’s lower wheelhouse. I have some songs that are influenced by PANTERA. Who isn’t? We have a lot of stuff on the plate, man.”McCombs played his first shows back with DROWNING POOL in March 2023 at Club L.A. in Destin, Florida and at the inaugural Throwdown At The Campground festival in Fruitland Park, Florida.The longtime SOIL frontman, who has lived in Swindon, England since 2018, originally joined DROWNING POOL in 2005 and appeared on two of the band’s studio albums, “Full Circle” (2007) and “Drowning Pool” (2010),as well as a live album, 2009’s “Loudest Common Denominator”. He rejoined SOIL after exiting DROWNING POOL in 2011.McCombs is continuing to front SOIL and will carry on recording and performing with both bands.The “Revolution (The Final Amen)” video was filmed at El Paso, Texas’s Speaking Rock Entertainment Center and can be seen below.DROWNING POOL’s debut album, “Sinner”, was certified platinum within six weeks of its release in 2001, while the CD’s first single, “Bodies”, was one of the most frequently aired videos on MTV by a new band. DROWNING POOL reached out to an ever-greater audience with dynamic performances at Wrestlemania XVIII and Ozzfest during the summers of 2001 and 2002. Unfortunately, their streak of success was not to last. Shortly after rousing the crowd at Ozzfest in Indianapolis, Indiana, on August 3, 2002, vocalist Dave “Stage” Williams was found dead of natural causes on the tour bus.Photo courtesy of O’Donnell Media Group[embedded content][embedded content]