“Every day is a new day, I’m thankful for every breath I take.”
-P.O.D.. “Alive“
For the last 34 years, P.O.D. has navigated the music industry, life and faith to maintain relevance. With the recent resurgence of nu metal, the rock band cherishes the opportunity to play for new audiences.
“We love what we do. We’re so grateful that we still get to do this as a band,” lead vocalist Sonny Sandoval said.
P.O.D. currently consists of Sandoval, Marcos Curiel on guitar, bassist Traa Daniels and touring drummer Zachary Christopher. The band experienced massive mainstream success at the turn of the century when nu metal had emerged as one of the more popular genres of music at the time.
However, that success came with varying audience perceptions. The name Payable on Death is linked to the theological explanation that Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross to pay for Christians’ debts owed to God. Sandoval’s connection to Christianity somewhat contradicts the stereotypical rock and roll lifestyle, which he says was a battle to overcome.
“For me, it’s everything, and I speak for myself, I don’t speak for the entire band,” Sandoval explained about his faith. “But we made a decision to go more universal with it, because there is a stigma to that.”
He added, “People are like, I’m not a Christian, so I probably can’t mess with those guys, but it’s not like that. We make music for everybody.”
Such is proven through the band’s diverse composition, from rap-rock to nu metal to elements of reggae and electronic music.
P.O.D. first saw radio success with the releases of “Southtown” and “Rock The Party (Off The Hook)” in 1999, but it was the album “Satellite” that truly pushed P.O.D. into stardom in 2001.
Since their humble beginnings in California, which Sandoval said sometimes resorted to the band selling blood just to get new equipment, P.O.D. evolved into a Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum global sensation that continues to tour internationally. Hits such as “Alive,” “Youth of The Nation” and “Boom” remain popular to this day, each being streamed hundreds of millions of times on Spotify.
“We never thought we’d leave San Diego,” Sandoval shared. “How lucky are we to be still doing this. We’ve been to the mountaintop and back, and this industry changes, and, for us, we’ve stood our ground on the band we want to be.”
During their most successful era, “Youth of the Nation” peaked at No. 1 on Billboard’s U.S. Modern Rock Tracks and “Alive” reached No. 1 on MTV’s popular music video countdown show, “Total Request Live.”
“It was the best music. Everybody was themselves,” Sandoval said of the nu metal craze. “It was more of a lifestyle; we were trying to be original. We weren’t just trying to be trendy or popular.”
The nu metal sound has been somewhat rejuvenated as of late, as acts from the era have celebrated legacy releases with a slew of collaborative and co-headlining tours. P.O.D. was just recently on tour with Seether, Daughtry and Kami Kehoe this fall.
Yet, P.O.D. never seem to drop out of relevance the last three-plus decades, which is a testament to the band’s dedication to longevity in the ever-changing music industry.
Sandoval shared that though he sees aging fans in the crowd who may prefer seats rather than the pit, some have still never seen P.O.D. live, and the younger audience still get wild “because that’s what the music drives them to do.”
He said, “The fact that there are new audiences seeing us for the first time, it feels like we still got some more time in this game, so we’re going to take advantage of every minute that we get, every show that we get.”
Sandoval admitted that as the band’s career stretched, they faced plenty of obstacles that served as a deterrent, such as band members going on hiatus, life on the road taking a toll, and the business side of the industry dictating how to maintain a level of success. However, P.O.D. was still able to periodically put out music.
Last year, the band released its first full album in six years, “Veritas.” Driven by energetic tracks such as “Drop” and “I Won’t Bow Down” and the more melodic stylings of “Afraid To Die” and “Lies We Tell Ourselves,” the album got P.O.D. back into the mix.
“It’s been proven that people are digging it, and it’s still fresh, it’s still relevant, but I think that’s just a testimony to us loving the scene and the music that we’re into and always staying true to ourselves,” Sandoval said.
P.O.D. released its new single “Don’t Let Me Down” this year, and Sandoval said they have a few more tracks prepared before heading into scheduled studio sessions in 2026. However, their sound and past hits remain evergreen.
“These songs are anthems that have stood the test of time,” Sandoval explained. “Even if you don’t recognize P.O.D., all of a sudden ‘Youth of the Nation’ comes on or ‘Alive,’ and you’re like, I know this band, it’s in the back of your subconscious somewhere.”
Whether through perseverance, a rebirth or faith, P.O.D. never lost its sound. The band never lost their love of music and performing for audiences, old and young.
Carl Lawrence Knauf 