POD - The Awakening

For a band that has been on the scene for over 20+ years, I got to hand it to P.O.D. and their consistency.  The So-Cal four piece have been delivering single and single since the early days of Snuff The Punk, and Brown.  While their message in the lyrics is neither here nor there for myself, I have found Sonny's vocals to be very consistent (adding that word in here again)throughout the albums, the music has been spot on, and the style has not deviated from that original hard rock sound that saw major popularity in 2001's Satellite.



So the band has continued on that path with the upcoming release of The Awakening, which will mark their tenth studio album together.  The band worked with longtime producer Howard Benson, who was also responsible for many of their previous albums like Murdered Love, Payable on Death, and Satellite.  I guess that also ties in with the notion of consistency.  It only makes sense that a string of successful albums should be a going forward formula.  The Awakening will be released on August 21st, 2015 via Universal Records.

(Album artwork courtesy of P.O.D. and Universal Music)

1. Am I Awake
2. This Goes Out to You
3. Rise of NWO
4. Criminal Conversations (feat. Maria Brink)
5. Somebody's Trying to Kill Me
6. Get Down
7. Speed Demon
8. Want It All
9. Revolución (feat. Lou Koller)
10. The Awakening

"Some bands sound like one song the whole album through. We’ve been all over the place because we are punk, hardcore, rock ‘n’ roll, metal, reggae and I think sometimes it might be too much diversity and kids are lost. It’s too big of a buffet for them to go for and they want three chords sometimes. We’re never going to do that. We’re putting something together that tells a story. Maybe it’s just for us, maybe it’s not for your average listener but it’s something we’re having a lot of fun doing. We’re excited." -Sonny Sandoval



Being a longtime fan of P.O.D., I am pretty excited for them to add another chapter to their music history.  Earlier bands such as Rage Against The Machine paved the way for rap-rock to be considered more mainstream acceptable.  P.O.D. are simply continuing that tradition, especially in a music world where rap-rock isn't at the forefront.  The tracks that have been released so far (aka the ones in this article, plus others on PODVEVO) have been very welcoming thus far.  It's nice to see that after all these years, the guys still have a great formula, and a dedicated fan base.

"The Awakening is definitely an evolution from where we've come from. It's this amazing piece of art that we've been able to put together as four guys who are like brothers; this is really special." -Traa Daniels

So stay tuned, follow some social media pages, and always remind that "this one goes out to you, for all the things you do" as fans.