Two months prior to the release of their sixth album, P.O.D. released The
Warriors EP Vol. 2 to give fans a glimpse at Testify before it hit stores. This EP features demos of two songs that would be on Testify, three that didn't make it, and two live tracks of older songs. Keep in mind that the overall rating I make for this is for an EP, not an album because it is so short that it cant be compared to an album and because it really doesn't have any kind of common feeling throughout the EP, rather it seems like more of a compilation. Anyways here?s the review.
P.O.D. is:
Sonny Sandoval - Vocals
Jason Truby - Guitar
Traa Daniels - Bass
Noah "Wuv" Bernardo - Drums
1. If It Wasn't For You
The song starts out with Sonny singing the title of the song by himself followed by all of the instruments joining him with the chorus riff. After the heavy segment the song slows down a lot. Sonny begins talking, rather than singing. I dont usually want to hear talking during my music, but these verses are enjoyable because of Jason's harmonics in the background and because Sonny says some things that really make you think. "Most people dont want to believe that they prejudice simply because their poor." In the chours sonny answers some of the questions he has in the veses with near-epic sounding statments of faith. Bridge doesn't offer anything special, just another heavy guitar riff similar to the one from the chorus. Overall good track 8/10.
2. Teachers (Palm Springs Demo)
A finished version of this song appears on Testify. This song kinda always reminded me of "Sleeping Awake", the song P.O.D. for The Matrix Reloaded soundtrack. Anyways the verses are decent, good bassline with drums backing it up. The chorus is great. While I don't particularly like what sounds like an echo effect on Sonny's voice, that heavy riff and the vocals sound great. The part of the song that starts with "I'm crawling through poison ivy..." sounds really huge and makes you feel like you need to hold on to your chair if your volume is up loud enough. The song ends after a final chorus and a few nice drumrolls from Wuv. 8.5/10
3. Ya Mama (Palm Springs Demo)
This song also is on Testify, but is called "Sounds Like War." Starts out with the verse guitar riff then Sonny and the boys join in. Apart, fast rapping and quick, distorted guitar sound good, but when they are put together they make a somewhat cluttered overall sound. Pretty basic chorus, keeps the same feel of the song flowing. When the song reaches the bridge it seems like it quiets down a lot, but then breaks into another heavy riff which resembles the chorus riff. After hearing the chorus again, the song finally fades out. 7/10
4. Why Wait?
While P.O.D. have incorperated reggae into thier songs before such as "Rediculous" and "Without Jah Nothin'" this is the first that is entirely reggae all the way through. This is an excellent song. It sounds like they've been playing reggae their whole careers. Throughout the song the guitar maintains the same syncopated riff which is almost inaudiable. But while the guitar is almost nonexistant, the bass thrives. It stands out and you can tell that Traa has a good sense of rhythm and timing with this song. Sonny does a good job maintaining a really happy feel to this one. The chorus really grabs you and makes you want to sing along. 10/10
5. Eyes of a Stranger
This one was actually written by Paul Hyde and Bob Rock. A really slow reggae sounding track. Not a lot going on during the verses, just a hint of bass and guitar with Sonny singing but taking pauses in between lines. One thing that really ties this song together is the bongos that are played throughout. They sound good and add to the dark, reggae feel of the track. The chorus picks up a bit. The vocals are good, but get really repetative by the time the song is done. Jason's guitar work during the outro sounds great, a bit of a solo, but not overdone so it fits well with the song. 7/10
6. Boom (Live at Cornerstone)
As I'm sure you know this was one of P.O.D.'s singles off Satellite. This is the starting of their set so they play a really this really rockin' heavy riff to get the crowd started. I remember hearing this when I saw them back in 2004. The bass in the intro and bridge sound good, but doesn't do justice to how savage it sounds if you are actually there live. Same goes for the main bassline in "Revolution." Anyways, the song sounds good live. Sonny shows some enthusiasm in this one. Unfortunately the backing vocals during the chorus sound like a backing track. 8.5/10
7. Wildfire (Live at Cornerstone)
Not one of my favorite P.O.D. tracks. Wildfire is really slow and lacks energy. With this in mind im not exactly sure why they put this song on here. Anyways, the chorus sounds really good live. Probably better than the album version. Nothing else special with this track. If you have heard this song off of Payable On Death then you know how the rest of this song goes. 7/10
So overall im giving P.O.D.'s
The Warriors EP Vol. 2 a 3.5/5 as far as EPs go. Because these are just demos, they can't be compared to an album. Overall I think that this is a good EP to listen to occasionally. I think that it really shows P.O.D.'s evolving sound, mostly due to the guitarist change. Even though they had Jason Truby for Payable On Death, the guitar still sounds different. maybe P.O.D. is still trying to find its sound, either that or they want to cover lots of of genres. If nothing else check out "Why Wait?" if you haven't, superb track.
