Dave Williams

Dave Williams, the lead singer of the up-and-coming rock band Drowning Pool, was found dead Wednesday in the group's tour bus in Manassas, Va., An investigation was under way Thursday into the cause of death. He was 30.

Williams and his bandmates in the Dallas quartet were on the Ozzfest tour, a popular traveling festival of hard-rock groups that last year helped propel Drowning Pool to success. Its debut album, "Sinner," has sold 1.2 million copies since its release in June 2001. The group's biggest hit, "Bodies," has enjoyed great radio exposure and exemplifies the band's sound, which is darkly ominous in lyrics and aggressive in performance.

The death of the charismatic frontman - his nickname, "Stage," was a nod to his performance presence - leaves the band's future uncertain. The Ozzfest tour

will continue, but it was not clear Thursday whether the remaining members of Drowning Pool will participate.

Drummer Mike Luce, bassist Stevie Benton and guitarist C.J. Pierce had been a band for several years in east Texas before bringing in Williams, who grew up in Dallas, as lead singer, and they began their ascent. The band had gone from a minor player at the start of Ozzfest last year to, by the end, a periodic main-stage performer. On this year's edition of the tour, which also includes Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Zombie and P.O.D., the band was clearly a fan favorite.

Williams was described by friends as a kind soul with a Texas drawl and a love of heavy music. Tattooed, pierced and beefy, he was an intense-looking figure on and off stage. He expressed his music genre's requisite iconoclastic streak with his favorite T-shirt, "Worship Satan and Smoke Crack," and with lyrics that taunted organized religion - a nod, he told interviewers, to his Dallas childhood, when his family's pious expression caused him to chafe.

In an interview with Revolver magazine, Williams said he idolized David Lee Roth and Vince Neil as a youngster, two rock figures famous for showmanship and living the rock party life.

"All Dave really wanted to do in this life was to be in a platinum-selling band and tour the world, but not because he wanted to be the rock star," said John Connolly, a close friend of Williams and a member of the band Sevendust. "He (wanted it because he) got to hang out with the people he considered his heroes and in turn became one of the best frontmen I've ever seen."

- Los Angeles Times