by Reggie Edwards
We’ve been waiting for it since 2008 and it’s finally here- the latest release from So-Cal rockers P.O.D, titled
Murdered Love.
This was one of the most anticipated albums of the year and it definitely lived up to its expectations. Wait, no, scratch that- it surpassed them.
I’ve loved P.O.D. since the days of
The Fundamental Elements of Southtown and I absolutely loved
Satellite. After that, they had some good songs and their releases weren’t bad by any stretch of the imagination but when guitarist Marcos left there’s no denying the band wasn’t the same.
Fast-forward to 2012 and the band is back in full-swing and the classic lineup is finally back together and it doesn’t look like they’ve missed a beat.
I absolutely loved the first track, “Eyez,” which opens with an unexpected fade
in. I wasn’t sure what to think at first but then…then that heavy P.O.D. metal rap hit and I was immediately thrust back into the old days of Payable on Death.
It doesn’t stop there, though. I hate it when I get a CD and the first song is good and it goes downhill from there but track two (also the title track), “Murdered Love,” takes it up a notch and takes the intensity to another level. I couldn’t have loved this one more.
One thing that I really liked about this record is the diversity. Sure, there are a lot of heavy songs but two songs that really stick out to me are “Beautiful” and “West Coast Rock Steady.”
“Beautiful” is like a diamond in the rough. No, I’m not saying it’s the only good part of the album or anything like that. I’m saying that the majority of the album is heavy and in-your-face and then you have a very beautiful ballad in “Beautiful” that really sticks out.
Then you have “West Coast Rock Steady,” a song that features a different sound from the rest of the record but still captures what P.O.D. is all about- more of a reggae rock-type sound.
The really cool thing about
Murdered Love is that “Eyez” features Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed and “West Coast Rock Steady” features Sen Dog of Cypress Hill. It’s not often you find a predominantly Christian band recording songs with notoriously non-christian artists, but I think this really sums up where P.O.D. are as a band and as Christians.
Overall, this is definitely in the top three P.O.D. albums of all time and you would be an idiot not to pick it up.
Rating: 9/10