P.O.D.
's 2001 release
Satellite
made the born-again Christian rap-metalists stars as they racked up hits with
"Alive,"
"Boom,"
and the post-Columbine anthem
"Youth of the Nation."
It was clear that any follow-up would be hotly anticipated, but no one could have predicted the departure of guitarist
Marcos
at the height of the band's success. A crucial part of
's sound,
seemed to combine the epic
metal
of
Sepultura
with the organic
punk
energy of
Bad Brains
and the searching spirituality of
Carlos Santana
. It was also unclear as to why he actually left, with both
and the band issuing contradictory explanations that brought into question both parties' spiritual and musical convictions. One thing was clear though, it was going to take a strong creative force to make up for the loss: enter ex-
Living Sacrifice
fret-man
Jason Truby
, who joined the band just in time to record its single for the
Matrix Reloaded
soundtrack
as well as the 2003 full-length
Payable on Death
. A darker album than its predecessor,
Payable
is built largely around
Truby
's precise slabs of distorted guitar. More quintessentially "
" in his approach -- think
Metallica
-- and more of a conscientious technician than
,
unfortunately lacks some of the unexpected spark that
brought to
. Fans of the band shouldn't find much to complain about here though, even if the overall sound doesn't stand out as distinctly from the
nu-metal
pack as
did. Nevertheless, vocalist
Sonny
hasn't lost any of his
Tom Morello
meets
H.R.
attitude, and for the most part the songs are there. Notably,
"Change the World"
is a catchy and upbeat celebration of truth through the eyes of a child, and the darkly sanguine leadoff track,
"Wildfire,"
finds
proclaiming, "Me want uncultivated Jah glow." In the end though,
is a declaration of a band reborn in a new, more polished image, and it is no small gesture that the last track,
"Eternal,"
goes solely instrumental with
's guitar leading the way. [
was also released with a bonus disc featuring the video game
Amplitude
that the band developed for the
PlayStation 2
system, as well as a 50-minute film,
Inside P.O.D. Culture
.] ~ Matt Collar