P.O.D. - The Fundamental Elements of Southtown

With their aggro music, tattoos, piercings, and dreadlocks, P.O.D. (Payable on Death) might be conveniently filed next to Deftones or Rage Against the Machine. However, like U2, whose "Bullet the Blue Sky" they cover, P.O.D. are actually a Christian-based rock band, though not overtly religious enough to scare nonbelieving music fans away. This multiethnic quartet from the Southtown area of San Diego purveys an amalgam of modern music; elements of rap, metal, reggae, and hip-hop permeate this 16-track debut. P.O.D. doesn't bring much new to their hybrid style on The Fundamental Elements of Southtown, but what they do, they do well. From the gentle, reggae-tinged "Set Your Eyes to Zion" to the heavy grind of "Hollywood" and the rap-metal of "Lie Down," P.O.D.'s diverse and rockin' musical messages of positivism should make the foursome, already well known on the Christian rock circuit, a band to reckon with in secular circles. --Katherine Turman Amazon.com

Some thought provoking music here folks!

This is the album that got me into POD. The lyrics on this album are the most overt that I have heard from any band.
"Greetings" is simply an introduction to how confrontational this album would be. This album displays true feelings, not just appeasement for the casual rock fan. 5/5
"Hollywood" puts down the "money, power, and fame" ideology of current stars. POD makes a stand that they will not be corrupted. 5/5
"Southtown" is very rhythmic and memorable. It explains the humble beginnings of the band. 5/5
"Checkin' Levels"-The band pretty much messed around with the recording sound here. Sonny does a quick freestyle song.
"Rock the Party"-This song was big on MTV. I thought it may have been a little too self-absorbed, but the tempo changes are great. Plenty of disc scratching sounds in this song makes it sound like you're in a club. Pretty unique. 4/5
"Lie Down"-Heavy, heavy guitar here. Quite a bit of yelling. I didn't care for this one too much. 3/5
"Set Your Eyes to Zion"-This is a very frank song relaying the gospel message. It's a very contemplative song about Christ's forgiveness. It's soft, but there's a lot of excellent melody. 5/5
"Lo Siento"-Simply an instrumently interlude, quite short.
"Bullet the Blue Sky"-Very surreal remake of a U2 classic. Sonny is very emotional on this track as he should be. It's a very vivid portrayal of the crucifixion of Christ. 5/5
"Psalm 150"-A man reads the Psalm aloud in Hebrew.

The rest of the CD wasn't really that memorable, save "Freestlye" and "Outkast".

"Freestyle"-showed the band's reggae side a little bit. It was pretty good. 5/5
"Outkast"-This is a hard song, but I think it shows the band's frustration about being Christians while reaching the secular audience for Christ. This band gets bothered by the constant bashing it gets on both sides. I appreciate that honesty. 5/5.

I give this album a 4 1/2 because there were some very powerful songs in here. The end of the album has a lot of filler in my opinion, but the 5/5 songs are too good to pass up. Get this thing if you can. I haven't listened to the first 10 songs in a long time, yet the lyrics are still so clear in my mind.



July 24, 2006

how can i review an item that i never received????

i havent received the CD, how can you people in amazon expect me to review the product? i regularly received packages from out of the country to my address, recently was one from netherland. but i never received an item from amazon.com. i dont know where i must deliver my complaint for this, since your cust.service told me that the fist item has been lost and a replacement has been made. if you can not guarantee a shipment to be delivered in indonesia, so dont put indonesia on the list. i dont want to claim for a replacement anymore neither that i have the desire to shop at amazon.com. July 16, 2006

p.o.d.- but not at their finest

You would think that given the rip of this album that I gave Christian hardcore legends P.O.D. on my review of their album Satellite that my rating would be lower than this. However, the phrase "It'll grow on you." came true for me after I got this CD from a friend who really didn't like it. Though not as good as Satellite or their recent effort Testify, The Fundamental Elements of Southtown showcases much of what made P.O.D. great in the first place.

P.O.D.'s Rastafarian-lookalike singer Sonny Sandoval and the rest of the P.O.D. crew (including the now-gone guitarist Traa Daniels, replaced by Jason Truby, formerly of another Christian hardcore band called Living Sacrifice) break it down with the CD's highlight track, Southtown. Rock the Party is another standout track, with its odd music video and riffs that only a pro could play right. Other than that, though, there really wasn't much greatness. Now, don't interpret that as a statement that the rest of the CD sucked, because it didn't; the other tracks were awesome, just not so much as Southtown and Rock the Party.

For those of y'all who actually care, this is P.O.D., and I end my review with this:

Sonny Sandoval- vocals
Traa Daniels- guitar
Marcos Curiel- bass
Wuv Anderson- drums April 10, 2006

For Ms. Rich

The reconstruction commences; the soldiers equip for the lessons
My life, a sacrifice is made new through these confessions
Manifested, this joy is my desire
Light this fire to flames; praise the name, Jehovah Jireh
Is my provider, the truth that lives inside of this fighter?
Take me higher, Master, Sire makes me a good rider
I'm gonna ride on down til I break through the front lines
And ain't going home until I gets mines.

This is "Tribal Warriors" from the "Fundemental Elements of Southtown" Album.

I'll have you know that Jehovah Jireh is a name for God and just because they use "Jah" instead of God does not make them a non christian band. Why would Family Christian Bookstores carry their music? The reason they use "Jah" is so they can draw people in because once people hear Jesus or Christ or God they turn from it because they have been hurt by a so called CHRISTian or have been hurt in a church or whatever the story may be people aren't so willing anymore to even hear the gospel.

Ozzfest, yes they do play at that.......BUT they go out into the crowds and WITNESS to people that is why they are there. Whether you want to accept that or not that is up to you. They may have said that they aren't a Christian band but that doesn't make them as people not christians. They have said many times that they are in the business for giving the fans a positive message to let them know that whatever they're going through there is something they can turn to with that problem. If my band was big like that then I would do the same, you don't want people running from you before they even hear your message. This is what P.O.D. has done they have made it so they can draw people in with a positive message and tell them the truth. So whatever you HEARD their religion is, is not true and thats a fact if you want to email me about this I can show you other songs that prove them to be christians.

Sincerely,
Josh

jsunderland86@gmail.com

P.S.
For the Review part of it this cd is great and most of their cd's are and don't forget to pick up the new album too. "Testify" is the name of the new album P.O.D. has a great purpose in the music industry and if you study up on them you will see why I say that. But if you want great rapcore with a positive message this is what you want to buy. January 20, 2006

I really give Zero stars....

I know some of you will not agree with me on this but..I feel this needs to be said. I don't beileve that POD is in fact a Christian band. Listen to the lyrics is there any mention of Jesus at all? YOu may hear "JAH" or "I and I" which is the beliefs of Rastafarianism.

Rastafarians believe that Haile Selassie, emperor of Ethiopia, (also named Ras Tafari), who died in 1975, was Almighty God in the flesh. Rastafarians worship Haile Selassie, or Ras Tafari, as God.

"The Rastafarians reject Christianity and firmly believe in Haile Selassie as the returned Messiah and Ethiopia as the promised land of all Black people."

They also appear on the "Blair Witch 2" soundtrack with Marilyn Manson and others like him. WHY...would any believer want to be on the same CD as MANSON? Don't you think that it's a bit hypocritical?
Marilyn Manson, proudly boasts:
"Hopefully, I'll be remembered as the person who brought an end to Christianity." (Spin, August 1996, p. 34)

And what about our youth that follow them... A band who calls themselves Christian but then goes on the OZZFEST Tour. What's up with that?

When P.O.D. is asked the logical and honest question - isn't their a conflict of interest when a so-called Christian band performs with the hellions and wickedness at Ozzfest. And Marcos, of P.O.D. replies "we're not necessarily a Christian band"!

You might want to research the bands that you are listening to. I use to listen to POD when they first came out..but I felt something was missing in their music. So I did a lot of research and found a lot of information that was troubling to me to say the least.

Here is a web site if you would like to see for yourself:
http://www.av1611.org/index.html

January 5, 2006

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