When Angels and Serpents Dance (CD - 2008)

Additional personnel: The Marley Sisters, Mike Muir, Page Hamilton.

P.O.D. were perhaps unfairly lumped in with the "rap-rock" pack prevalent on the radio and MTV at the dawn of the millennium. While the group certainly didn't avoid the occasional hip-hop or funk influence, their sound tended to hew closer to the kind of spiritually infused, reggae-tinge hardcore of Bad Brains. WHEN ANGELS AND SERPENTS DANCE finds the Christian warriors reunited with their founding guitarist and still standing when many of their multi-platinum contemporaries have fallen away. The band's melodic side continues to encroach on the heaviness, most notably on the power ballad "This Ain't No Ordinary Love Song," the delicate "Roman Empire," and the lilting, Rastafarian "I'll Be Ready." But they still drop the hammer when necessary. "God Forbid" slams home with stuttering drums and guitar and singer Sonny Sandoval's most aggressive vocals on the record, and "Condescending" is classic, driving metallic haze.

P.O.D.'s lineup may have returned to 2001, but thankfully its sound did not. Guitarist Marcos Curiel came back to the SoCal band for the first time since Satellite, bringing his underrated talent and looming presence that had been missing on the band's subsequent releases (2003's Payable on Death and 2006's Testify). The synergy of his reappearance was obvious, even if longtime fans may have been flattened a bit to hear the band's new sound lacking the edge of earlier releases. To their credit, the new sound worked in P.O.D.'s favor since modern rock fans seemed to have left nu-metal in their wake. Indeed, Limp Bizkit and Korn fans were few and far between. No longer shouldering the nu-metal mantle, P.O.D. were free to reacquaint listeners with their versatility. The straight reggae of "I'll Be Ready," the bluesy rhythm of "It Can't Rain Everyday," and the (gasp!) acoustic ballad "Tell Me Why" show that this is not a memory piece or a tribute to harder days. When Angels and Serpents Dance represents the strength of one of Christian rock's greatest assets. Guest artists include the Marley Sisters, Mike Muir of Suicidal Tendencies, and Page Hamilton of Helmet. ~ Jared Johnson minimize