Ryan McCombs (born July 16, 1974) is an American musician best known for being the vocalist of

alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by ...

bands

Soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

and

Drowning Pool Drowning Pool is an American rock band formed in Dallas, Texas, in 1996. The band was named after the 1975 film '' The Drowning Pool''. Since its formation, the band has consisted of guitarist C.J. Pierce, drummer Mike Luce and bassist Stevie ...

Career

Soil (1997–2004, 2011–present)

McCombs was discovered by Soil through a compilation CD of unsigned bands. He joined the band as lead vocalist in mid-1997. Soil released three albums ('' Throttle Junkies'', '' Scars'' and '' Redefine)'' and two

EPs An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

( ''Soil'' and ''El Chupacabra'') during his time in the group. With heavy anthems like "

Halo HALO, halo, halos or haloes may refer to: Most common meanings * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head * ''Halo'' (franchise), a sci-fi video game series (2001–2021) Arts and en ...

" and "Unreal", the band gained commercial recognition and international status with their second album, ''Scars'', in 2001. Their 2004 follow-up would continue Soil's significant exposure. While touring for their latest album, McCombs suddenly decided to leave the band, which caused the cancelation of many scheduled performances alongside acts like

Sevendust Sevendust is an American Rock music, rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1994 by bassist Vinnie Hornsby, drummer Morgan Rose and guitarist John Connolly (musician), John Connolly. After their first demo, lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon an ...

and Damageplan. In 2011, McCombs rejoined Soil. The band played various venues throughout the UK including

Download Festival Download Festival is a rock festival created by Andy Copping, held annually at the Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire, England (since 2003); in Paris, France (since 2016); at Parramatta Park, Sydney (since 2019); Flemington ...

at which it played a live acoustic set for the first time. The band released their new album '' Whole'' on August 16, 2013 (worldwide) and August 20, 2013 (North America).

Drowning Pool (2005–2011, 2023–present)

After his departure, McCombs took a one-year hiatus from the music business. By the time he returned to music, Soil had already found a new lead singer, A.J. Cavalier. Around this time,

's second singer, Jason Jones, left to join A.M. Conspiracy. Amidst rumors spreading about who would be Drowning Pool's next singer, the band confirmed the new vocalist's identity at

Ozzfest Ozzfest was an annual music festival tour of the United States and sometimes Europe and later Japan, featuring performances by many heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Sharon Osbourne and her husband O ...

in Dallas, Texas on August 25, 2005, to be McCombs. The first Drowning Pool song released with McCombs as the singer was a remake of their song "Rise Up", originally performed with Jason Jones as lead singer. The song was titled "Rise Up 2006" and featured as a bonus downloadable track on '' WWE Wreckless Intent'', and was the theme for ''

WWE SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It airs Live television, live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Netwo ...

'' until 2008. The soundtrack to the film '' Saw III'' contains a demo version of "No More", the second track released with McCombs on vocals. Drowning Pool recorded their third studio album, '' Full Circle'', released on August 7, 2007. It featured the hit single " 37 Stitches". "

Shame Shame is an unpleasant self-conscious emotion often associated with negative self-evaluation; motivation to quit; and feelings of pain, exposure, distrust, powerlessness, and worthlessness. Definition Shame is a discrete, basic emotion, d ...

", which was released as the album's last single, was featured in the ''Saw IV'' soundtrack. Drowning Pool at Fort Wainwright 2010 Ryan McCombs 3

In 2010, the band released their self-titled fourth album. It once again featured McCombs as lead vocalist, making it the first album the band recorded that did not feature a new singer. In November 2011, it was announced that McCombs and Drowning Pool would be parting ways, and that he would once again front Soil. On March 16, 2023, Drowning Pool announced that McCombs (while continuing his vocal duties with Soil) had rejoined, replacing the previous vocalist Jasen Moreno. This marks his return to the band, since leaving in 2011.

Personal life

McCombs has three children. He married his second wife Chantale Coady in 2017. McCombs suffered a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

in 2014 a couple of days after playing at The Bierkeller in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

Discography

Soil

*''

'' (EP, 1997) *'' El Chupacabra!'' (EP, 1998) *'' Throttle Junkies'' (1999) *'' Scars'' (2001) *'' Redefine'' (2004) *'' Whole'' (2013) *''Play It Forward'' (2022) *''Restoration'' (2023)

Drowning Pool

*'' Full Circle'' (2007) *'' Loudest Common Denominator'' (live album, 2009) *''

'' (2010)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCombs, Ryan 1974 births American heavy metal guitarists American heavy metal singers American male singers Drowning Pool members Living people Singers from Indiana Nu metal singers Place of birth missing (living people) Guitarists from Indiana American male guitarists 21st-century American singers