SOiL

[CH David]

So from what I have gathered on here, not too many people know of the band SOiL, from Chicago, Illinois. So I am going to ****e them out a little bit.

The band formed in 1997, originally as a side project for the guys to break from their original bands. Then it became a full on project, with the band including Ryan McCombs at lead singer, Shaun Glass and Adam Zadel on guitar, with Zadel also doing back-up vocals, Tim King on bass, and Tom Schofield on drums. They released their debut album Throttle Junkies in 1999, didn't get them into mainstream success, but that didn't stop them. They then received their highest success with their next album Scars, featuring such hits as Halo, and Unreal.



Due to their success, they toured with Ozzfest, playing the second stages. It was during this time that a rift had started between SOiL and Drowning Pool. Both were fairly good friends, and during Ozzfest, Drowning Pool lead singer Dave Williams died of a heart condition. In search of assistance for the rest of the tour, they asked Ryan if he would help them out. Ryan said that their music was shit and he wouldn't do it. This pissed many people off, and started said rift.

So after this, SOiL came back in 2004 with another album entitled Re.de.fine. There was only one single, which was Redefine.


It didn't sell as well as Scars, and it marked a few lasts for SOiL. It was the last album SOiL would produce while under J Records, and it was the last album with Ryan McCombs as lead singer. Ryan left during SOiL's tour in 2004, and again pissed a lot of people off. The band had to cancel the rest of the shows on the tour, and future shows with Sevendust, and Damageplan, which was canceled due to the death of Dimebag Darrell.

So after Ryan left, the group was pretty pissed, but said that while they had musical magic on stage, and that Ryan's voice was awesome, everything else about him sucked. So the band brought in AJ Cavalier as lead singer. And in 2005, Ryan decided he wanted to get back to singing, but was too late for SOiL, and he got a call from Drowning Pool and decided to join. He then would deny how he talked shit about the band, while Tim King would say that Ryan is now singing the shit he denounced years prior.

In 2006, the band then released their 4th album, True Self by way of DRT Entertainment. It didn't have much success due to the album being leaked to the internet and people downloading via BitTorrent and P2P sites. It was also criticized for having more of a Melodic Metalcore/Nu-Metal feel to it. Just a few songs to show the difference between Ryan McCombs and AJ Cavalier. Pick Me Up and The Last Chance, just to name two. The album is pretty solid.



Now the band has signed with Driven Records, and are going to release their 5th album on October 20th in the US and Canada, and the 23rd to the rest of the world. We shall see how the album sells, and I'm obviously hoping it does very well.

I hope you enjoyed this, and I look forward to your thoughts on SOiL.

 

[Stormtrooper]

Man, great post.

I first was exposed to SOiL by Madden 2004, which featured the song Pride. The song was awesome, and I remember making sure I had it on my computer. Unfortunately, I never looked into their music any deeper, and by 2006 or so I forgot about them completely. Thanks for reminding me about this sick band.

 

[NSL]

You did post in my thread about the Kittie and Soil tour, did you not?

I love SOiL. I've been a big fan since around the time Scars came out. The entire album just rocks out loud, and Ryan does some amazing vocals, and wrote some great lyrics. My favorite song from them is Unreal, followed by My Own. While Ryan leaving was a big blow to the band, I still think AJ is a great singer, and he did great live. I can't wait to see them again.

As far as Ryan, he really is a dick, but he's still a good singer. I just saw him with Drowning Pool on Friday, and he was great on the original DP songs, and talked about the band and Dave like they were best friends. It kind of made me sick...

 

[CH David]

You did post in my thread about the Kittie and Soil tour, did you not?

I love SOiL. I've been a big fan since around the time Scars came out. The entire album just rocks out loud, and Ryan does some amazing vocals, and wrote some great lyrics. My favorite song from them is Unreal, followed by My Own. While Ryan leaving was a big blow to the band, I still think AJ is a great singer, and he did great live. I can't wait to see them again.

As far as Ryan, he really is a dick, but he's still a good singer. I just saw him with Drowning Pool on Friday, and he was great on the original DP songs, and talked about the band and Dave like they were best friends. It kind of made me sick...

I did post in there, and it got me thinking on the actual story of SOiL as a result. I should have added, "except perhaps NSL", to the beginning. And you are right, Scars blew them up pretty big, and was seriously awesome. Personally, I love Breaking Me Down, Halo, and Unreal from Scars. I was supposed to see them a few months ago, but the person I was going to go with had the tickets and bailed. I was bummed.

And also you are spot on about Ryan. His voice is awesome, but he is just a total dick. I haven't heard him do Drowning Pool that much, perhaps I'll give them a listen to their newer or more recent stuff. But him talking about being best friends with DP while with SOiL, just hearing you say that pisses me off and I like to think of him as a crock of shit that is a gifted singer.

What did you think of Re.de.fine and True Self, NSL?

 

[NSL]

Re.de.fi.ne was a solid album. It was produced to be a "big" album, and sell millions and millions, and obviously didn't. It just had too different of a sound from Scars.

I was/am a really big fan of True Self though. The album has a great sound, and really gets back to their roots, without being a rip-off of anything they did with Ryan. One Last Song is incredible live, and is probably 3rd on my list of songs from them. Honestly, I'd have to say this album transfers to a live set better than the other ones.

Have you ever heard the very first CD, Throttle Junkies? Great stuff...Find it cheap on eBay...

 

[CH David]

Re.de.fi.ne was a solid album. It was produced to be a "big" album, and sell millions and millions, and obviously didn't. It just had too different of a sound from Scars.

It really was a different sound. I never really thought about it, but having listened to them both a lot recently, it now dawns on me. Scars had a harder feel to it than Re.de.fine did. But obviously both still rocked. Just sucks that Re.de.fine wasn't a bigger breakout than Scars. The music itself was really good.

I was/am a really big fan of True Self though. The album has a great sound, and really gets back to their roots, without being a rip-off of anything they did with Ryan. One Last Song is incredible live, and is probably 3rd on my list of songs from them. Honestly, I'd have to say this album transfers to a live set better than the other ones.

True Self is awesome in its. If it hadn't leaked out, I wonder how well it actually could have done. I don't get why a lot of people ended up calling it Methodic Metalcore, or only AJ I suppose, and the rest more Nu-Metal style. It sounded a lot more like a hard rock album, or alternative rock, whatever genre you really want to go with.

One Last Song is one of my favorite songs on my long list of ever. I now have to see them in concert when they are stopping in the Chicago or Northwest Suburban area of Chicago. I know I have to see them anyways, but the fact of how good they are live, always a plus.

I could rave about True Self for a while. To me it is just a great album, and like you said, gets back to their roots and doesn't do anything really with Ryan. AJ did a phenomenal job in replacing Ryan.

Have you ever heard the very first CD, Throttle Junkies? Great stuff...Find it cheap on eBay...

I have heard a few songs of Throttle Junkies, nothing to really gauge how they started for me. Once I can get it in my possession then I will be happy though.

And I am psyched for the new album next month.

 

[NSL]

And I am psyched for the new album next month.

I plan on just buying it at the concert, so I'll have it a little late, but at least it'll have an autograph on it. I don't recall which magazine it was in (maybe AP), but there was a small ad for the new album, with the date it was coming out. I was browsing the periodicals section at the bookstore, so I didn't buy it, but I did see it. Hopefully it's just a small sample of things to come, and we'll get some SOiL on the radio. It'd be nice to throw them in there...

 

[Dave]

I have never been a fan of SOiL, mainly because I am not really a fan of anything that heavy in reality. Halo is the song that I think has become renowned with SOiL and is basically the only song I had listened to before I clicked on this thread. I have heard of them prior to this thread and I must say that I think they are better than what I gave them credit for. In saying that, I am not really a ig lover of anything that heavy. System of a Down is probably the closest I come to anything as heavy and even at that, I am not the biggest fan.

Good thread though, Dave. I am going to go download some SOiL and give them an unbiased listen.

 

[CH David]

I have never been a fan of SOiL, mainly because I am not really a fan of anything that heavy in reality. Halo is the song that I think has become renowned with SOiL and is basically the only song I had listened to before I clicked on this thread. I have heard of them prior to this thread and I must say that I think they are better than what I gave them credit for. In saying that, I am not really a ig lover of anything that heavy. System of a Down is probably the closest I come to anything as heavy and even at that, I am not the biggest fan.

Good thread though, Dave. I am going to go download some SOiL and give them an unbiased listen.

Dave, I have already told you how happy I am to have gotten you to give them another listen. That in itself is a win for me.

As me and NSL have stated, their best work to date is most likely Scars. The whole album is pretty hard, and a little different than their last few albums. Their other albums have also been very good and stellar work, but Scars just had that it factor that got them noticed. True Self has a different sound, mostly because it is AJ as the lead, obviously since Ryan had departed.

Like I've said, I can advocate and ****e them out as much as possible, but only if people are willing to give it a shot. So thank you Dave.

 

[NSL]

Dave, to touch on what CH said, Scars is probably SOiL's best work, but your tastes might be a little more in line with their album re.de.fi.ne. It's not as hard/heavy as the rest of their stuff, and was made with the purpose of being a little more radio-friendly, and to get them a larger audience. Since it wasn't as "good" to fans that had ben there a while, it tanked. That doesn't mean it sucked, it was just different. Might be worth giving a listen.