P.O.D

They’ve been a band — and a vital one at that — for more than 30 years. But ask rock icons P.O.D. what still inspires them after all this time, and they’ll tell you they still operate as if they’re perpetual underdogs. Yes, with every new album they release, with every show they play, these musical lifers still feel they have something to prove. “We’re still here and we’re still creating some of the best music we’ve ever made,” says guitarist Marcos Curiel. “When it comes to heart, grit and soul, P.O.D. is your band.” Adds vocalist Sonny Sandoval: “We’re always still proving who we are — always having that punk-rock mentality.” 

It’s this mindset, this unrelenting grit that has long defined the platinum-selling P.O.D. and continues to do so as they march proudly into the next era of their long-winding journey of a career. Now, nearly five years removed from their previous studio album, Circles, which to date has been streamed more than 50 million times and spawned the Top 25 hit “Listening to Silence,” the band returns in a major way with Veritas, the eleventh P.O.D. LP and arguably their hardest-hitting record yet. 

Lovers of all forms of music, P.O.D. have forever incorporated everything from rock to reggae, hip-hop to punk in their art. “We flirt with so many different styles,” offers Curiel.This go-round, however, P.O.D. decided to get back to the basics. “We made a conscious decision to keep it in the rock zone this time,” says Sandoval adding that there’s “a certain bounce and a certain two-step” to the 11 tracks that comprise the album. “These songs are a throwback to me and remind me of the raw unbridled energy of classic South San Diego P.O.D.,” offers bassist Traa Daniels. 

 “We’re always going to be that raw energetic band no matter how old we are,” adds Curiel.  “We decided, ‘Let’s just do us and just write something that’s heavy and something that rocks.’ It’s another painting at another point in our lives that we want to showcase and hang up on the wall for people to experience.  We’re always going to be P.O.D.. We’re never trying to be anybody else.  We felt like we had a lot of angst and a lot of energy that we needed to put forth and let people know: “We’re a band to still be reckoned with!””

Written over the course of several years, with the band typically writing a tune or two at a time in L.A. with The Heavy, Veritas is a cannon-shot of adrenaline to the ear drums. And for a band that has never shied away from wearing their heart on their sleeve, it’s also one of the most emotionally inspired albums of the band’s career. “I don’t think we’d be able to live with ourselves if we were just copying everybody else and following the memo of Rock n’ Roll 101,” says Sandoval. “We operate with no regrets. That’s because we’ve always been into the rebels and the punkers and the hardcore guys that said. “We’re going to do it our way and we have something to say.””

The word Veritas — which translates to ’Truth’ in Latin — defined the emotional core of the album, and the album art further encapsulates that message: to Curiel, the Veritas album cover, which pictures a child with its eyes blacked out, signifies “a culmination of innnocence & dark hidden truths. The innocence of a child, yet empty,” he says. “On the constant search for a spark to fire up the soul.”