Genre: Rap Metal, Funk Metal, Christian Metal
I was surprised to hear how Funk Metal POD was in its
early days, drawing form Suicidal Tendencies funk metal era, old school
Chili Peppers, and obviously from Rage Against the Machine, but the band has a
long way to go in their song writing skills especial Sonny's rapping has further
way to go. These two old school production show the quantum leap the bands composition skills have come, and they are
for only super hardcore fans.
Overall: 39.2
The Fundamental Elements of South Town (1999)
Genre: Nu Metal, Rap Metal, Funk Metal
This album has a strong funk metal presence, a big hip
hop footprint, the metal aspect is raw and Sonny screams a lot on this album.
The band is still building up its own style you can still hear that bands
influences like 311, Rage Against the Machine, Bad Brains, Red Hot Chili
Peppers... but the tracks a very solid and in general it's a great album but
with room to improve, and its pretty ballsy cover U2's Bullet in a Blue Sky.Note Traa has an impresive slap bass line on one of the tracks.
Overall: 49.6
P.O.D
Satellite (2001)
Genre: Alternative Metal, Heavy Metal, Rap Metal, Nu Metal
When I first heard this band, I immediately thought to my self “here we go again another Nu Metalish Rage Against the Machine rip-off”,
these guys seemed to be posers that jump on the Nu Metal bandwagon. And boy I
was wrong about these guys, my father gave me this album as a present from one of his trips. It took
me about month to sit down and hear it, and I had no expectations whats so ever. I remember when I
stuck CD in my disc man, pressed play and being pleasantly surprised.
Vocals and lyrics: Sonny Sandoval, is very accomplished rapper and
singer, he delivers on both counts. And I got to note that he can write really
good optimistic lyrics, making social criticism here and there and have happy
feel good songs all on one album. Sonny actual pulls off a few songs that explicitly
talk about God without getting preachy. This sets this band apart from
its contemporaries that loved to wallow in their negative energy. 8.5
Instrumentation:
Guitars: Marcos chugges some top notch riffs on each track, but some of
the songs would have been ten times cooler if they had some kind of solo
them.
Bass: You can hear him rumbling in the back, but he doesn’t do anything
interesting.
Drum: Wuv is a killer drummer; he brings these songs to life. 6.6
Melody and Structure: P.O.D has unique ability that very few rap metal bands
can pull off, create memorable melodies, Sonny is a gifted singer he knows how
to make colossal choruses. 10
Sound, Production and Feeling: It’s mixed like a basic Nu Metal; album has
lots of bass in the sound and crisp drums.8
Songs: The band shows some of their versatility, they change mood and
speed a few times. There are no fillers on this album and the best track has to
be the one with H.R. In a way H.R. gives this band the credentials
that they are not just some Nu Metal knockoff. 14
The Bad: No guitar solos.
Originality: Great album, but not their best. 9
Overall: 56.1
Payable on Death (2003)
Genre: Rap Metal, Alternative Metal, Christian Metal
This is a transition album Marcos has gone and Jason Trudy has taken his place, and in general he does a good job, there is really nice instrumental track that showcases his style of playing guitar and his solo capacity, and it's probably the high point of the production. This album is pretty dark and angry in its feel and mood, but oddly it feels uninspired at moments and some of the material isn't up to par, it's like they rushed into the studio and didn't let the material mature. So as a listener you walk away from this production with a couple of good tracks for a killer POD playlist.
Overall: 48.9
Payable on Death (2003)
Genre: Rap Metal, Alternative Metal, Christian Metal
This is a transition album Marcos has gone and Jason Trudy has taken his place, and in general he does a good job, there is really nice instrumental track that showcases his style of playing guitar and his solo capacity, and it's probably the high point of the production. This album is pretty dark and angry in its feel and mood, but oddly it feels uninspired at moments and some of the material isn't up to par, it's like they rushed into the studio and didn't let the material mature. So as a listener you walk away from this production with a couple of good tracks for a killer POD playlist.
Overall: 48.9
P.O.D 2006
Testify
Genre: Alternative Metal, NU Metal, Rap Metal, Heavy
Metal
This album is probably P.O.D’s heaviest album in
general (I know satellite has the heaviest tracks in there catalogue). There are
out of their transition phase of having a new guitar player in the group and
they are working better together as a band, you can hear this in their final
product of this album, which surpasses their last album many times over. Personally
what I liked the most about this album is the fact it introduced me to
Matisyahu, this guy blew me away, I immediate after listening this album,
I obtained all of this guys material.
Vocals: Like I’ve said in previous reviews about this
band, Sonny is an excellent vocalist and Rapper. But in this album as I said in
the introduction Matisyahu is guest on two tracks and he almost steals the
show, this guy is a really gifted vocalist, and his dance hall style of rapping
fit in just perfectly with P.O.D’s songs. They should add this guy to the band;
create a 311 type of band, just kidding. 10
Instrumentation:
Guitar: Jason Trudy finds his place in the band. His
riffs are as good as or even better than Marcos Curiel’s. Jason puts in tons of
nice arrangements and some short solos. And I must add he uses some interesting
pedals.
Bass: Traa actual play more on this album than on any other , he has a
few decent bass lines and he puts in a couple of arrangements.
Drums: Wuv, does a great job. 7
Melody
and Structure: Here we can here the beginning
of a band that is starting to mature in there song writing, it becomes
more
sophisticated, especially in their use of melody. The structure wise
it's basically monster riffs slabbed together, no problems here. 10
Sound, Production and Feeling: It’s there last album
with their Nu Metal sound. The production of this album is impeccable and there’s
a ton of nice production details, especial in the good use of pedal effects on guitar
and the use of Synths. 9
Songs: Except for “On the Grind” every other song is incredible.
12
The Bad: The Rap track “On the Grind” is a total waste
of time, one of the very few stinkers in the P.O.D catalogue.
Originality: It’s a more matured version of Satellite and
in a way and the end of a phase for the band. 9
Overall: 56
P.O.D
When
Angels and Serpents Dance (2008)
Genre:
Alternative Metal, Rap Metal, Alternative Rock, Reggae
P.O.D gets
their original guitarist Marcos Curiel back and the band makes a major shift to
their sound, they took some pretty major risks on this album. I remember really
not being too happy with this album the first time I heard it; and I had major
issues with the albums sound. But once I got over this, I discovered a band that
was able to reinvent themselves adding to their musical palette.
Vocals
and Lyrics: Sonny is a really gifted artist he gets better with each album, and
thanks to his versatility he gives the band the liberty to explore in new
directions. 9
Instrumentation:
Guitar:
Marcos Curiel is back and he’s out to prove himself. His work is splendid he
really pushes himself as a guitar player. And finally we get to hear guitar
solos from this guy; he really gets to stretch his legs on this album, he takes
his time with each note at moments pumping tons of feeling into his playing.
Bass:
To basic, Traa could put some nice arrangements, but he does very little.
Drums:
Wuv is little more laid back, plays little more like a rock drummer.7.3
Melody
and Structure: The band makes a trade off, less youthful energy and aggression,
for more focus on the songs, melody and harmony. The song writing is more mature,
sophisticated and laid back. But don’t worry there are a few rockers in this
production; the band hasn’t forgotten its roots. 10
Sound,
Production and Feeling: I’m pist the bass and the drums are low in the mix, its
mixed like a traditional rock album, the band looses a lot off its metal feeling.
I personally think that this change was an effort of the band trying to distance
itself from the corpse of the Nu Metal movement. 7
Songs:
Every song on this album is great, but the track with Mike Muir from Suicidal
Tendencies is the bomb, it kicks butt 12
Originality:
The band goes the extra mile to break new ground, but we got to wait one more
album for everything to really fall into place. 9
P.O.D
Murdered Love (2012)
Genre: Alternative Metal, Heavy Metal, Rap Metal, Alternative Rock, Funk
Pop/Rock
Here we have a great album, where we can find a band that‘s still progressing
in there song writing, searching actively for their own sound and style, trying
some new ideas and concepts. So here we go with my review:
Vocals and Lyrics: Sonny never lets you down; he maintains his high standard
of good lyrics, great singing and awesome rapping, never really repeating himself
on any song. This album like most P.O.D albums has guest vocalist. In this
particular production the band uses them really well, making a valuable
addition each song they are on, especial the track that Sen Dog, from Cypress
Hill is on. 9.5
Instrumentation:
Guitar: His playing is sort of a letdown in this album, he really raised
the bar on their previous production, but he doesn’t play as much on this
album, in the solo department. The rest of his guitar work is pretty good.
Bass: He does an Ok job, he’s a little less sedentary on this album, and
he’s also a bit higher in the mix, giving the album a better bottom end, a
thicker sound, something that really sucked in the last album.
Drums: Wuv, maintains his more relaxed playing just like in the last
album.7
Melody and Structure: There song writing is still maturing and growing,
becoming more sophisticated, especially in the way the fuse melody, rapping and
riffs. What is pretty relevant in this album is the fact that it has a couple
of really catchy tunes that you end up singing along too over time. 10
Sound, Production and Feeling: The sound of the band is much better on
this album, compared to their last; the bass and drums are more relevant in the
mix. Production wise there a lot of nice details on each tracks. And as usual
the band explores a large selection of moods and emotions; it’s sort of a trade
mark for these guys. 8 .5
Songs: Those catch tunes that I was talking about are “West Coast Rock Steady” and “Bad Boy”, these
two song are funk inflicted pop/rock songs that are incredible, they are the
most original P.O.D songs on their catalogue. 11
The Bad: Nothing
Originality: As I said in the introduction we can hear a group trying to
break new ground, pushing themselves with a great level of success. 10
Overall: 56.5
P.O.D
So-cal Session 2014
Genre: Acoustic Rock, Alternative Rock, Rap Rock, Reggae
I was wrapping up my reviews for this band to move on
to another group and this album just popped out of nowhere, much to my
surprise. So here we go with my brief review of this awesome acoustic production.
Vocals and Lyrics: Sonny sings really well on this
album, but he plays it safe, he’s not going for the high notes in some of the
songs. The good thing is that in the context of an acoustic song you can really
hear the lyrics, which in P.O.D’s case are really good. 8
Instrumentation:
Guitar: Marcos Curiel’s guitars are fantastic as usual,
he does an admirable job reworking the songs for an acoustic set and you get a
few of his Spanish style guitar solos.
Bass: Traa actually like playing the bass you can hear
him doing stuff (I’m being ironic), and his bass is has nice deep and thick
sound making this album stand out on a sonic level.
Drums: Wuv, gets pretty creative in the rhythm
section, incorporation some cool percussion, this guy shows off that he's the master of the rhythm section.7.5
Melody and Structure: P.O.D can write good songs with
great melodies, and making these songs acoustic helps underline that fact. 10
Sound, Production and Feeling: The album sounds nice,
warm and intimate like you where there. Everything sounds crisp and bright, but
with a very pleasant lower end, the bass fills up the emptiness nicely. The
band is pretty relaxed and has a more organic feel to their playing. 9
Songs: Some of the song really surprised me in how
well they were translated to an acoustic set, Youth of a Nation is incredible,
this song could have fallen flat on its face but they pull it off with flying colors.
Some of the songs are reworked adding some pleasant surprises. 12
The Bad: “Strength of my Life” only works with Matisyahu,
no replacements. (Just Joking)
Originality:
This
album reminds me a lot to Sevendust Southside Double-Wide: Acoustic,
especially the guitars with lower heavy metal tuning. But this album is
great highlight
in there catalogue, some of these songs should fall flat on it's faces
acoustically they shouldn't work but these guys pull it off. 10
Overall:
56.5
P.O.D.
The
Awakening (2015)
Genre: Rap
Metal, Alternative Metal, Christian Metal, Nu Metal, Hardcore Punk
Vocals and Lyrics: Sonny as usual does a fantastic job
but he lyrically revisits some thymes that he has already sung about in other albums,
but this happens because of the fact it’s a concept album and the story sort of
takes him in that direction 8.
Instrumentation:
Guitar: Marcos
does a good job, but he doesn’t push himself too much, the good thing is that he brings some heavy
pedals into his arsenal which are very welcomed, adding to the overall sound.
Bass: Traa is more active in this album, you can hear
him lumbering in the back landing a couple arrangements here and there, but the interesting
thing is his intelligent use of pedals specially a Godzilla sounding distortion
and Wha Wha.
Drums: Wuv is back, he has been laying low in the previous two albums;
not in this one he’s in a heavy drummer mode. 7.3
Melody and/or Structure: P.O.D. pretty much has a
formula in making songs that works for them, but they do try new stuff
like “Criminal Conversation” that on a
composition and melodic level is very interesting. 10
Sound, Production and Feeling: The first thing I
noticed about this album is the heavier sound and production, the band sounds
super muscular and has some nice and heavy distortions. 9
Songs: Solid album that doesn’t over stay its welcome.
10
Originality: It’s the first time these guys try to
make a concept album and they pull it off, and thinking about it
no other Rap Metal band has an concept album except for that one Limp Bizkit
album “The Unquestionable Truth part one” that as a concept album it pretty
much fall flat on its face. 10
Overall: 54.3
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