The line-up that took P.O.D. to multiple platinum success with The Fundamental Elements Of Southtown and Satellite (featuring “Youth of a Nation”, “Alive”, “Boom”, and “Satellite”) is back to reclaim their place atop the rock scene with their INO/Columbia Records debut, When Angels And Serpents Dance on April 8th.

“Our fans are excited and we’re having a lot of fun,” says vocalist Sonny Sandoval. “After four years Marcos is back in the band and we’ve got new music. Things are exciting again. When the four of us are in a room making music it’s definitely right and Marcos brings that passion for music into the band.”

The quartet’s renewed vigour is evident throughout When Angels and Serpents Dance from the searing guitar which kicks off the hard-rocking first single, “Addicted” and the striking and poignant, “End Of The World” (complete with gospel choir); to the album’s most ferocious track, the savage “Like Old Times”. “Like Old Times” was the first song written by the reunited incarnation of the quartet. “I think that was the first riff Marcos showed us,” Sonny says of the song.

“It’s just great to get back to basics and give it another whirl & tap into our souls.” says an inspired Marcos. “This band is a supernatural experience to me! It has literally surpassed many of my vivid dreams… I’m blessed and excited to reconnect with family & friends. I hope to pursue & establish the passion that began in 1992 with four brothers who just followed God, dreams & our music.”

But as Sonny pointed out earlier, this is P.O.D. four years later; and more for the classic line-up. The band that recorded 1999’s platinum The Fundamental Elements Of Southtown and 2001’s triple-platinum Satellite has changed. “Age has a lot to do with it, getting older. I’m married with kids now and we’re not 18 in the garage anymore playing hardcore punk. We don’t sound like those guys down in the garage,” he says.

Does this mean that P.O.D. has gone soft? Hardly. P.O.D. is just showing its range. There is a slightly softer side which comes through in the album’s versatility. From the politically charged ballad “Tell Me Why”, (a poignant track in which Sonny asks in the chorus, “Why must we fight, why must we kill in the name of what we think is right?” ); to the bluesy hard rock feel at the outset of “Rain Everyday”, through to the pop-awareness in the chorus in the infectious “Shine With Me”, the band is finding that fans are responding positively to the different sound, which Sonny believes will give P.O.D. a chance to expand their already diverse live concerts.

As has always been the case with P.O.D. the band looked to those that inspired them rather than the hot artist of the moment for guests on the album. “That’s what we do on our records, we bring in people that influenced us.” Joining in the fun was Mike Muir of Suicidal Tendencies, who guests on the track “Kaliforn-Eye-A”, and The Marley Sisters (the daughters of Bob Marley), who lend their vocal prowess to what Sonny calls “our reggae track”, “I’ll Be Ready”, Helmet’s Paige Hamilton sings on “God Forbid”, which Sonny calls “probably our heaviest song.”

When Angels and Serpents Dance (produced by Jay Baumgardner: Evanescence, etc.) is ultimately a record of P.O.D. in 2008. “As far as P.O.D. goes it’s always for the moment,” Sonny says. “I just kind of go through it and whatever the song brings out in us that’s it. There’s a lot of passion on this record.”

Indeed, When Angels and Serpents Dance is the sound of a rejuvenated band: passionate, aggressive and with a message for our times.

This is P.O.D. in 2008:

• Wuv (Drums)
• Sonny (Vocals)
• Traa (Bass)
• Marcos (Guitar)

A national tour will follow the release of When Angels and Serpents Dance. Cities and Dates to be announced soon www.payableondeath.com. YMZ will have more on the album in the upcoming weeks.

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