Released by: Mascot Label Group
Release Date: Out Now!!!
Genre: Rock
Links: http://www.payableondeath.com/
Line Up:
Sonny Sandoval
Wuv Bernardo
Traa Daniels
Marcos Curiel
Tracklist:
“Rockin’ with the Best”
“Always Southern California”
“Circles”
“Panic Attack”
“On the Radio”
“Fly Away”
“Listening for the Silence”
“Dreaming”
“Domino”
“Soundboy Killa”
“Home”
Anyone who hit their teens in Europe or the U.S in the late 90’s or early 2000’s and were avidly listening to metal will have fond memories of T.R.L, MTV2, Scuzz TV and Kerrang TV. One of the mainstays on those channels back then were P.O.D (Payable on Death). Their fourth album Satellite, released on September 11th 2001, went multi-platinum and spawned the singles ‘Alive’, ‘Boom’ and ‘Youth of the Nation’. The bands blend of rap, metal and reggae provided another option beside the heavyweights of Korn and Limp Bizkit in the so-called Nu-Metal genre.
They have remained a consistent presence since and have appeared on the festival bills for Download, Hellfest and Rock On The Range in recent years. Heading towards their 30th anniversary, with 12 million records sold worldwide and 3 Grammy nominations under their belt, P.O.D have released their 10th studio album, Circles. It is their first for Mascot Records and the follow up to 2015’s The Awakening. The possibility of a new album had been teased as far back as August 2017, when the single ‘Soundboy Killa’ was unleashed followed by a U.S promo tour and now we have the final product. Singer Sonny Sandoval has described the album as wanting “to play and write songs that we hope are relevant and catchy to a new audience- while, at the same time, still being true to ourselves.”
Clocking in at 37 minutes, the 11 tracks on the album are everything you would come to expect from the band. Opening with the bass heavy ‘Rockin’ With The Best’, it immediately reminds the listener of what made P.O.D so popular in the first place and will, no doubt, be a future live staple. The album continues to meld all of their influences together, lyrically dealing with the difficulties surrounding addiction on the title track ‘Circles’ alongside Sandoval’s search for the path through life on ‘Fly Away’ and ‘Dreaming’ while musically, a support slot for Prophets of Rage in 2017 directly gave rise to the one of the strongest songs on the album ‘Panic Attack’. Other tracks such as ‘Listening For The Silence’ and ‘Home’ have elements of Incubus and Deftones, with the reggae melodies slotted in to ‘Always Southern California’ and ‘On The Radio’.
All in, Circles is a solid album that sits well within the catalogue for P.O.D and is a must for all die-hard fans of the band. It is a much more laid-back album compared to what they have produced before but should still have enough bite for the older fans. If you want to check out the new songs live, P.O.D are currently on the ‘Full Circle’ European Tour with support from Alien Ant Farm and ‘68. The final 3 dates are in Ireland taking in Dolans of Limerick, The Limelight in Belfast and The Button Factory in Dublin between March 12th-14th.
Written by: Brendan O’Mahony
Ratings: 7/10
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