P.O.D. — P.O.D.

P.O.D. came out of San Diego in 1992 and became one of the biggest bands ever to come from Christian heavy music. Satellite went triple platinum. "Alive" and "Youth of the Nation" were all over MTV. They've earned three Grammy nominations and sold more than 12 million records worldwide. Through lineup changes, label moves and a long road back, they've never stopped making records, and a twelfth album is on the way.

Southtown roots

Before P.O.D., Sonny Sandoval fronted a rap group called Unlicensed Product, while drummer Wuv Bernardo, guitarist Marcos Curiel and bassist Gabe Portillo played thrash in a band called Eschatos. When Unlicensed Product split in 1992, the three brought Sandoval in on vocals. Bernardo's girlfriend worked at a bank and suggested the name Payable on Death. The band chose it as a direct link to the Christian belief that Jesus' death on the cross paid believers' debt to God. The name was soon shortened to P.O.D.

Bassist Traa Daniels joined in 1994. The band signed to Rescue Records, a label started by Bernardo's father, Noah Bernardo Sr., who was also their first manager. Between 1994 and 1997 they released Snuff the Punk, Brown and Payable on Death Live.

Tim Cook booked them at his club in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and later took over as manager. "I stood at the back of the venue with tears in my eyes," he said. "It was the greatest thing I had ever seen."

When Essential Records offered a $100,000 deal, Sandoval told Cook to turn it down because "God has a bigger plan for P.O.D." In 1998 Atlantic Records saw them play The Roxy on the Sunset Strip and signed them.

The Fundamental Elements of Southtown

The major-label debut, The Fundamental Elements of Southtown, came out in 1999. "Southtown" and "Rock the Party (Off the Hook)" became rock radio hits, and "Rock the Party" was their first video to reach No. 1 on MTV's Total Request Live. The album went platinum.

Satellite

Satellite came out on September 11, 2001. The first single, "Alive," became one of MTV's most-played videos of the year and was nominated for a Grammy. "Youth of the Nation," shaped in part by school shootings at Santana High, Columbine and Granite Hills, earned another Grammy nomination, and the closer "Portrait" a third. "Boom" and "Satellite" were hits too. The album went triple platinum. We reviewed it here.

The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music called P.O.D. "one of the biggest success stories in recent Christian music."

Changes

In February 2003, Curiel left. The band cited his side project and "spiritual differences," though Curiel said he was kicked out. Jason Truby, formerly of Living Sacrifice, replaced him. P.O.D. recorded "Sleeping Awake" for The Matrix Reloaded, then released Payable on Death in November 2003. Its darker, more melodic sound was a shift, and its cover drew complaints that it looked "occult." As many as 85 percent of Christian bookstores in the US reportedly refused to stock it. It still went gold.

Testify followed in January 2006. "Goodbye for Now," with a vocal tag from a then-unknown Katy Perry, became their fourth No. 1 video on TRL. They performed Rey Mysterio's theme "Booyaka 619" at WrestleMania 22, and took Pillar, The Chariot and Maylene and the Sons of Disaster out on the Warriors Tour 2. That August they left Atlantic.

At the end of 2006, Truby left on the same day Curiel asked to come back. The band said, "God worked it out."

When Angels & Serpents Dance and Murdered Love

They signed with INO Records and released When Angels & Serpents Dance in April 2008, a mix of alternative rock, reggae and Latin-influenced metal. They played Harvest Crusade at Angel Stadium in Anaheim in 2007 and 2008. In September 2008, P.O.D. toured Australia on the Music As a Weapon tour with Disturbed, Alter Bridge, Redline and Behind Crimson Eyes.

Murdered Love came out on Razor & Tie in July 2012, produced again by Howard Benson. Curiel called it "back to our roots." One song, "I Am," stirred controversy over a backmasked swear word. Sandoval explained, "I don't write music for Christians," and said the band was "trying to reach people fed up with religion."

Later years

An acoustic album, SoCal Sessions, came out in 2014. The Awakening followed in 2015, with guests including Maria Brink and Lou Koller, and Circles came out on Mascot Records in 2018.

In 2021 they toured for the twentieth anniversary of Satellite. During the European leg, Bernardo stepped away to "take care of business at home." Veritas, released on May 3, 2024, was their first album without him. Sandoval said Bernardo was "not out of the band." Bernardo said, "Being on tour for thirty years starts to take a toll on anybody," and added, "Whenever God wants me to come back, then that's what's up for me."

The Veritas tour in 2024 included Norma Jean. In December 2025 they played South America with Demon Hunter and Living Sacrifice. In April 2026 they started tracking their twelfth album with producer Will Yip in Pennsylvania, the first time they had recorded outside California. The first single, "Outbreak," came out in late September 2026 with guest vocals from Norma Jean's Cory Brandan. Zachary Christopherr, touring with them since 2024, is now their full-time drummer.

The sound and the message

P.O.D. moved from rap metal to the nu metal and reggae-tinged alternative metal they're best known for. Sandoval has said he doesn't care what people call it. "We just like making music, that's all," he said. Their influences run from Bad Brains, Santana and Bob Marley to Run-DMC, U2 and Metallica.

Rapzilla described their lyrics as a "no-bones-about-it Jesus message." But the band has been cautious about the Christian label, because they want to welcome listeners outside the church.

Why they matter

P.O.D. sang openly about faith over heavy guitars and took it to No. 1 on TRL more than once, in the middle of the nu metal boom. More than thirty years on, they're still touring with bands like Norma Jean and Demon Hunter, and Norma Jean's Cory Brandan sings on their newest single.