P.O.D.'s seventh studio album When Angels and Serpents Dance (WA&SD) debuted at No.9 in its first week in the billboard charts back in 2008 before slipping rapidly down the charts, unable to maintain its momentum selling a meagre 90,000 copies or so in its first year. However, is the album's poor sales a true reflection of its quality? I would argue no.
If there is one axiom that all P.O.D. fans have come to know it is that the band never release the same album twice and WA&SD is a great example of this mantra. WA&SD was released under some extraordinary circumstances - founding member Marcos Curiel returned to the band after a four year separation while the band signed a dual deal with Columbia/INO records for the distribution of their new album after the liquidation of Atlantic Records, their home since 1999's platinum selling F.E.O.S. WA&SD truly was a new chapter for the band who had come through some remarkably turbulent times.
The album met with muted praise and much dissatisfaction at being far more melodic than previous P.O.D. albums, seemingly lacking that energy that characterised P.O.D.'s unique take on nu-metal. Yet, diversification has always been a staple of P.O.D.'s sound and WA&SD is no exception. There is still aggression to be found on the album in the candid and heavy hitting Addicted, the Punk-Rock of Kali-forn-eye-a and the thunderous God Forbid; as well as P.O.D.'s penchant for infusing reggae into their kaleidoscopic sound sphere in I'll Be Ready. Conversely WA&SD showcases a more introspective, melodic and even political side to the band much more so than their previous six studio releases. Acoustic ballad Tell me Why? is a lament at the war on terror, a track that introduces Curiel's newly discovered passion for the glockenspiel, while closing track Rise Against sees the band at perhaps their most experimental electronically.
WA&SD may ultimately be remembered as the album that saw the return of Marcos Curiel but it deserves much more credit than that - Marcos' re initiation also brought with it a maturation and musical growth as well as the sorely missed latino sound of his Mexican heritage. WA&SD is one of the band's most sophisticated and ambitious musical endeavours to date juxtaposing the raucous and fun loving Kali-forn-eye-a with the poignant and powerful End of the World featuring a Gospel Choir and the gentle and heartfelt plea of Tell Me Why? Spiritually too the album contains hidden depths such as the title track WA&SD, which is an allegory for the struggle between good and evil within our consciences.
Perhaps WA&SD will sit a little more easily into P.O.D.'s discography in fans eyes with the imminent release of Murdered Love, the band's latest studio album and one which has seen the band return to its rap-metal roots. With all eyes and ears on Murdered Love (and deservedly so) WA&SD may well modestly shy into the background of many a fan's mind, but I believe it is certainly still worth listening to at the very least because it reveals a band not afraid of exploring every part of their musical spectrum. One might even make a case that the band had to 'lose' themselves to 'find' themselves again with Murdered Love being creatively born out of a hiatus following WA&SD.
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