Live Review: Drowning Pool w/Spineshank and (hed)p.e. at the 1865 in Southampton!

The final night of a largely sold out sixteen date UK and Ireland co-headlining tour finds Drowning Pool, Spineshank and (hed)p.e. to the 1865 in Southampton for a Nu-Metal headrush the night after Nonpoint and Lacuna Coil have wrecked the place. Is tonight’s show going to be the tidal wave after the earthquake or simply a tremor? Given what we’ve heard about the other shows, including the delayed start in Bradford due to a rough ferry crossing back from Ireland that resulted in being forced to change destination port, it’s going to be wild! It’s time to party!

The thing about (hed)p.e. [10/10] is that they’re a phenomenal live band. Their musicianship is impeccable and they mix it up, playing alternative versions of their songs with tweaks and additions to inject more energy and keep the crowd entertained. Still riding high on the success of their last album “Detox” they treat us to “No Way Out” and “Rat Race” straight out of the gate before the quick fire Hardcore Punk of “Peer Pressure” sets the mosh pit ablaze. The five string bass cuts deep and means “Killing Time” has more spice to it before “Blackout” gets the sing-a-long treatment. A career spanning set means we get the call and response of “Raise Hell” with the crowd chanting “Get the f*** out!” at the top of their lungs. The energy is electric and even though frontman Jared Gomes calls Southampton “Northampton” during the first few songs, all is forgiven by the time “Bartender” hits. Everyone knows every word and even though the melodica isn’t working tonight, the quartet hit this one out of the park for another home run. A monster rendition of the underdog story that is “Renegade” brings the house down with a wall of death. Did we mention Drowning Pool guitarist C.J. Pierce bringing the band a round of Jagermeister shots mid set?

Having tried to come back unsuccessfully once, there might have been nerves about what was going to happen for Spineshank [8/10] but this incarnation of the Industrial Nu-Metal outfit feels different. It’s the 25th Anniversary of the bands seminal sophomore album “The Height Of Callousness” so original vocalist Jonny Santos, bassist Robert Garcia and drummer Tommy Decker, Sr. are joined by new guitarist pairing of Tommy Decker, Jr. and Jason Hager who some may recognise as an original member of Chimaira take to the stage to perform it in full plus a few more. It’s a nostalgic celebration of their rich past and a Nu-Metal classic from the punchy “Synthetic” to the triumphantly brutal “The Height of Callousness” with everyone singing every word of each angry anthem. The pit goes wild, the crowd surfers keep coming and it’s all about the blood, the sweat and the beers. “(Can’t Be) Fixed” is a pile driver, Garcia’s harsh backing vocals giving it another dimension, the hummable melody of “Play God” there underneath its crushing weight and “Transparent” slaps harder than an MMA champion. They squeeze another five percent more energy out of every song, somehow managing to dial the intensity up a couple of notches at the same time, the issue being that because they haven’t toured in thirteen years, they’re not as tight as they could be. What they’ve done is trade atmosphere for energy, so you don’t get all the raw darkness of the studio renditions. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, it’s just a different approach, a style choice if you will. The biggest roar of the night comes as the band reach the “New Disease“, Santos telling fans that if they don’t know it they’re at the wrong show. He goes on to mention new material for next year, an appearance at Download Festival next summer and shows around that before an encore of four songs from their 2003 “Self Destructive Pattern” album. It’s the final show of the run and the clean vocals from Santos on “Smothered” are a little strained but the harsh ones on “Violent Mood Swings” are nailed and a wall of death during the final chorus of “Dead to Me” is absolute bedlam.

The final set of this co-headlining tour finds Drowning Pool [9/10] in the mood to have some fun and with half the set, six songs, from their 2001 debut album “Sinner” that is exactly what transpires. They start with an anthemic rendition of the title track which demonstrates that Ryan McCombs vocals are back to their best after the lack of power we witnessed during his performance on the 25th anniversary of “Scars” by Soil this time last year at this very same venue. “Step Up” has always been big dumb made for WWE fun before “37 Stitches” brings the temperature down mid set so that guitarist C.J. Pierce can get in a virtuoso solo at the crescendo of the glorious melody. Billy Idol cover “Rebel Yell” gets everyone back in the mood as the beefed up cover is an instant sing-a-long before five back to back cuts from the bands debut album. That means there is no room for either of their last two singles in 2025’s “Madness” or 2024’s “Revolution (The Final Amen)” or indeed anything newer than 2010. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing as the older songs sound just as fresh now during the current Nu-Metal resurgence. “Pity” and “Tearing Away” are revitalised with a satisfying crunch, drummer Mike Luce impressing with his backing vocals. “Reminded” is particularly heavy hitting, the four piece reaching critical mass with their live energy. McCombs comes across as a truly humble individual and a charismatic frontman, taking time before the final song to thank the fans, the crew by name), the staff and the other bands for making this tour happen. Everyone knows what’s going to happen next but nothing can prepare us for Jared Gomes from (hed)p.e. and Jonny Santos from Spineshank to return to the stage to provide backing vocals as the crowd goes wild for “Bodies“. Tonight feels like a wonderful guilty pleasure that leaves us wanting more.