Since their humble beginning in 1992, Payable On Death has gone on to rock the airwaves of mainstream radio and television. Their first appearances on the Jay Leno and David Letterman talk shows took place Fall 2000. Their videos: "Youth of the Nation" and "Alive" have dominated TRL, being in the top 10 for over 80 days combined. Some may think, after all these accolades, what else could a band earn? To top it all off, the band was nominated for a Grammy in the "Best Hard Rock Performance" in 2002. They they co-headlined the mainstage of Ozzfest with System of a Down and Ozzy Osbourne in the summer of 2002...
But how did this all begin? In 1992, Sonny's cousin Wuv invited him to join the hard rock band along with Marcos on guitar. The next year, the addition of Traa from Cleveland, Ohio made the band complete. After getting their stuff together, they began playing anywhere that would book them from coffee houses to auditoriums. After nearly 10 years of hard work, the word got around about this band and the rest is history.
1-Greetings- This is just an intro to the album. Nothing special at all. It has an interesting voice saying some words that I could not make out, which leads into Sonny basically introducing the band and the album. I think this is interesting but I would have preferred a song to open the album. 6/10
2-Hollywood- The first actual song on the album, the beginning of the song can turn some people away. It is has an interesting effect and then goes into the wiry distorted voice Sonny singing with a soft weird verse. But fear not, the chorus is nice and heavy and sings about the journey to hollywood. I don't think it is a story about the band, but for anyone who wants to become or has become famous. I like the drums in this song. There are some pretty good beats and lines he has got in that song, and it basically carries the rest of the song. The guitars are weird but good in a sense that you only really hear them in the chorus. 7/10
3- Southtown- This is in my opinion where the greatness of this album kicks off. A great slow clean guitar opening riff, that is joined by the drums a little, and then, rite when you dont expect it, bang, the heavy kicks in to a great riff and the song explodes. After a loud verse, it goes into a quiet pre-chorus for a few seconds, then explodes right into the chorus. This song is amazing and is one of my favourites of all time by POD. I really enjoy Sonnys voice in this one, I feel that if any other singer was singin this one, it wouldn't be as good cause he just has that emotion and strength in his voice. Amazing song. 10/10
4- Checkin Levels- an interlude of the band checking their recording levels. It has the band just playing some simple riffs and Sonny rapping along. Its short but it leads right into the next song, and I always play this to get that transition. simple but effective. 8/10
5- Rock The Party- The most popular song on the album. A great song, another favourite for me. The opening riff says it all. Heavy guitar with a delay effect, then a quick little turntable work, and the drums kick in, then the song takes off. Sonny begins singing, not his best work in this one but its still good, the guitar is still on delay, with the drums and bass going, then it hits the chorus. A great riff from the guitar gives this a fast grinding chorus that is nice and heavy. Repeat the verse and the chorus, and it brings you to the bridge. Interesting piece of work, has a bunch of effects from a turntable, and the drums with an interesting fill in there too. Back to the chorus which leads to what you think is the end of the song, but no. Another verse, and another chorus to finish off a great POD song. 10/10
6- Lie Down- A quick acoustic intro, Sonny yells "LIE DOWN!" and it hits a long and heavy riff with a distorted Sonny singin lie down a ton of times. The pre-chorus is quiet and leads up to the chorus, which explodes with the band going all out, and Sonny yelling. The next verse is interesting, its different from the rest of the song, but is good. Then after that, hits the quiet part, right back into the chorus. This song does not follow traditional song format, it jumps all over, and you can never really tell what is the chorus and what is the verse, but I still like this song. Not the best, but is still pretty good. 8/10
7- Set Your Eyes To Zion- The first slower song on the album. Is very blues driven, and could be almost considered a blues song. The intro is short with Sonny singing a line, then hitting the song. A delay effect guitar plays a simple riff, with a good drum fill. The chorus is good, very simple but good. It has an tribal influence in this one. Alot of people find this weird, but I still like it. The bridge has somewhat of a solo riff, not enough to be considered a solo, but it is good. The bridge goes back to the chorus, which goes to a finishing riff. 7/10
8- Lo Siento- Another interlude. One thing about POD is that they always throw in little interludes and whatnot. Its allright, the album could have done without it in my opinion. 4/10
9- Bullet The Blue Sky- Well in case you didnt know, this is a cover of a U2 song. I like it, not nearly as good as the original, which covers can never be as good as the original, but I enjoy listening to it. The intro is kind of annoying, but good. It has a very high pitched squealing thing going on, and it kind of hurts your ears, but then hits a quick riff, and into the verse. Simple verse, but effective. The squealing effect is still in there but quiter. The chorus is good. Its heavy and has some of the best vocals Ive ever heard from this band. The drums are nothing special but nonetheless are good. You hear the verse and chorus again, then you hear a bit of breathing, which explodes into a scream from Sonny, then a interesting riff from the guitar. Another verse brings you to the great bridge, a simple but cool solo from the guitar, and then leads rite back into a heavy chorus. This song is an amazing version of a great U2 song, but again not as good as the original. If you like metal and U2, you just might love this song. 9/10(only because it is a cover)
10- Psalm 150- Yet another interlude, but this time with a man singing in hebrew I think it is. He is singing psalm 150 from the bible. In case you haven't noticed yet, POD is a christian band, and this song is basically a interlude for God. I like it, i like the tune and the man singing hebrew is very good. In my opinion the best interlude from POD. 9/10
11- Image- This song just jumps around. Its weird and doesn't really have a main beat to it. Having said that, I like the guitar work in it, the verses are jumping around, but the chorus is good. Its nice and heavy and has a beat to it. This song is very short, all you get is verse chorus verse. I didnt really like this song overall. 5/10
12- Shouts- Yes, another interlude. This is just a weird one. You get words from Sonny basically talking to all the fans in the world, but I dont like the music or whatever you would call it thats going on. I skip this one every time. 2/10
13- Tribal Warriors- Great song. Two words to describe it. I love it. Intro is slow and gearing up, then it explodes to the chorus, which I absolutely love. Great guitar work and vocals, drums and bass are on top of their game. Makes for an amazing chorus. The verse is quite slow, but very good and soothing. It is also amazing. Very melodic and the drums are great as well. Hit another verse and chorus, then you hit a bridge. This is good. Its got a good riff, then slows down a bit, but kicks in again after a bit. After the bridge, you hear a bass line, then explodes right back into the chorus. I absolutely love this song, one of my all time favourites from POD. Finishes off with clean acoustic effect guitar. 10/10
14- Freestyle- A weird intro. Guitar work mixed with screwed up carnival music, anyways once your past this, a good quiet verse. Its not slow, but its quiet, then a short quiet pre-chorus, and bang a heavy chorus. Once again good guitar work, drums are probably at their best in this one. It goes back to the verse, pre-chorus, and the chorus, then it hits the bridge. A good riff, with Sonny singing "Its been a long time" over and over. After that the songs goes right into another verse, gives you a longer version of the pre-chorus, you then get a instrumental break with just Sonny singing, then explodes into the chorus. You get one more bridge and then the song finishes. Only an average song for me. 7/10
15- Follow Me- A great heavy riff for the intro, gets the song moving right off the bat. Goes straight into the chorus, a nice and heavy with Sonny somewhat shouting, then a whisper from the backroung vocals. The verse is good. You hear a bass line at the beginning, then the guitar kicks in, and the vocals, and this verse fits perfectly with the rest of the song. The pre-chorus is quick and effective. Leads into the chorus which is as I said before, nice and heavy. Another verse, with another pre-chorus, but this time another longer riff in between that and the chorus. Yet another chorus, and you hit the pre-chorus to finish. 8/10
16- Outkast- Weird intro. Just drums and Sonny singing with a creepy backround singer. Guitar joins in, then it explodes. Same riff and whatnot as the intro, but with distortion. Then you hit a good riff. Its good and heavy for a verse, then you hit a great pre-chorus. Sonny does a great job on vocals, then you hit the chorus. Which is the same as the intro. Then you hit the intro again, followed by a bit of the verse, and then the chorus again. They basically go crazy to finish this song, which I dont mind, amazing drumming, and it just gets faster and faster...then stops. I enjoy this as the finisher to PODs record label debut. 8/10
POD is on this album:
Sonny- Vocals
Marcos- Guitars, backup vocals
Traa- Bass, backup vocals
Wuv- Drums- backup vocals
