P.O.D. – Payable on Death

Nu Metal’s Otherside

In a genre filled to the brim with lyrics representing painful and tumultuous childhoods, dismal hatred and crippling depression, P.O.D. provide a refreshing breath of uplifting subject matter with positively charged lyrics. However, the band walks a very delicate line, straggling a fan base that includes many fundamentalist Christians mixed with those who could be described as anti-religious. Nevertheless, P.O.D. wear the neo-religious flag with pride and thus suffer the consequences of being alienated from a large group of consumers who might have otherwise taken to the band’s sound. That being said, the band lets their music speak for itself while still blending in their beliefs, as presented in Payable on Death, the follow up their multi-platinum CD, Awake.Fusing elements of hip hop and rock, P.O.D. also add an element of freshness to their music, attempting to mix things up by implementing catchy melodies and instrumental experimentation. On Payable on Death, the band, like every other in the genre, guarantees to get back to their heavier roots. However, they only manage to marginally succeed. Repetitive, crunchy riffs set the tone for most of P.O.D.’s songs, with an uneasy flow of rhyming vocals that seem to grasp the listener’s interest as we eagerly wait for something to fully drive us over the edge. Well, it never comes, as we are left in limbo and consequently P.O.D.’s positive songwriting is ultimately offset by their relative inability to bring anything new, musically, to the nu-metal genre.