“Payable on Death” Rocks GameZone; New P.O.D. Album Includes Exclusive PS2 Content

by Louis Bedigian

If you can’t remember feeling alive for the very first time, Payable on Death will take you back.

It seems like with every CD, rock band P.O.D. gets a little bit better.  They had their catchiest, most mainstream single of all with "Youth of the Nation."  The song was so good that it led other bands – even bands who had previously done their own unique thing – to copy.  I don't want to name names, but let's just say that one of the biggest knock-offs was written by an artist that is anything but innocent. 

This year the trend has been to forget about having a song that has the potential to be a hit single.  Instead, rock bands have tried to make the whole album great.  The result has been mixed, with some artists having a good album with no hit singles.  Others failed miserably by releasing an album without a song that's worth being a hit single.

Fortunately, P.O.D. is not in that group.  In fact, they are one of the few who may just end up topping themselves – again.

Kicking off P.O.D.'s latest CD (titled Playable on Death, which, as you may have gathered, is what P.O.D. stands for) to radio listeners was a song called "Will You."  Fast and catchy, "Will You" will surely bring back the legions of P.O.D. fans.  It doesn't have the mainstream appeal that "Youth of the Nation" had – but then again, not many songs do.

Sticking with tradition, the Payable on Death does not begin with the album's first single.  I have yet to figure out why this has become a tradition, but the reason doesn't really matter.  Payable's beginning track, "Wildfire," is harder and more involved than the single.  It starts things off right by instantly grabbing the listener's attention.  I like P.O.D. a lot, but I've never been compelled to buy their CDs when I can watch their videos a million times a day on MTV.  After hearing what we don't normally hear – the songs that aren't singles – I realize that P.O.D. is much more than a singles band.  There's a lot of great content that only the real fans have gotten to hear.  I'm happy to be one of those fans now, and look forward to their hearing their earlier offerings.

"Change the World" is the third track on the CD.  It starts with a great guitar riff and turns into an excellent plea for a better life.  Lyrics like "Imagine a place only your eyes can vision / The heart of a child who looks, sees and listens" and its chorus, "One word, a voice unheard / You can change the world," P.O.D. involves the listener with more than a collection of phat beats.  There are real meanings in their lyrics.

"Execute the Sounds" is the closest P.O.D. gets to having a rap song.  It's not as deep as the other tracks, but is still a pretty decent song.  "Find My Way" is more my style.  This one is open to more than one interpretation, but appears to be about a failed relationship.  He's waiting for his lost love to come back to him, and he feels that in time everything will work out for the better.

The rest of the tracks are very impressive.  This is one great, well-rounded, pure-P.O.D. record.  In an industry that's increasingly difficult to succeed in due to our increasing expectations, P.O.D. has found a way to live up to their standards and has surpassed them in many ways.  I don't think I need to convince a single P.O.D. fan of this album's greatness, and music is much harder to recommend than a game or movie.  But if you liked their previous stuff – even only a little – you'll dig this one as well.  It's on sale for only $9.99 at Best Buy this week, half the price of the MSRP!  It's well worth the price, so don't miss out on this steal of a deal.

Bonus Content for PlayStation 2

For a limited time, Payable on Death includes a bonus disc with exclusive PS2 content.  The content includes an exclusive demo of Amplitude and four features on the band.  Watch P.O.D. live life outside of being a rockstar.  Watch them buy meat...and grill it!  It's the kind of stuff that obsessed fans will love, while the rest of us will be left scratching our heads.  Some music videos would have been nice, but I guess that's what their other DVDs are for.