C.J. PIERCE Explains DROWNING POOL's Split With Longtime Singer JASEN MORENO

In a new interview with "The Logan Show", DROWNING POOL guitarist C.J. Pierce discussed the departure of the band's longtime singer Jasen Moreno. Jasen, who joined DROWNING POOL in 2012, exited the group earlier this year, making way for the return of Ryan McCombs.

"Yeah, [Jasen] was in [DROWNING POOL] for 10 years and we did three amazing records with him," Pierce said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "And a lot of great times and great songs with Jasen. He's like a higher-register stuff, where he sings. It's still us in DROWNING POOL doing our thing. Yeah, man, especially the last record, [2022's] 'Strike A Nerve', I'm really proud of that record. That's just the way of the earth, man — music business, managers and all that fun stuff. But here we are now in 2023 with Ryan, so I guess all things are meant to be, for whatever reasons."

Asked if Moreno's departure is something that C.J. and his bandmates saw coming for a while or if it was a sudden development, Pierce said: "Yeah, we felt it coming for a while. I'll let Jasen speak for himself. It's a lot of different factors involved in it, but just to sum up real quick, I think part of it, him being home — a lot of people were home during COVID with the family — he does have a big family, and I think a big part of it [was that he felt] that's where he needs to be, with family right now. So I totally understand that. And also, he got pretty — all of us got pretty burned by the music business constantly, beyond burned, and it's frustrating as well. So I think with those two factors, he was, like, 'All right. I'm not gonna do this right now.' And understandably so. But here we are, like I said, with Ryan McCombs back in the fold."

McCombs played his first shows back with DROWNING POOL on March 17 at Club L.A. in Destin, Florida and on March 18, headlining 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.

DROWNING POOL's first new record since 2016, "Strike A Nerve", came out via T-Boy/UMe. It marked the band's third album with Moreno.

DROWNING POOL addressed Moreno's departure in a social media post on March 16, writing: "We appreciate everyone asking about Jasen. We can't speak for him but we believe he was just ready to move on to other things in life. Maybe he will make a statement. Maybe he won't. Regardless, we wish him the best."

DROWNING POOL's U.S. tour with SALIVA kicked off on September 10 in Norfolk, Virginia and is scheduled to run through the end of October.

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.