P.O.D. - Veritas (2024)^{Release ID: 51857}

Starting my time with a band's material via their new album isn't always a conventional way to begin, but I'm fine with Veritas being my first P.O.D. full-album experience. At this point, the band has moved quite far from their rap/nu metal roots while throwing back to them every now and then. Veritas is all about heavy aggression and anthemic power to stay true to what they are...

After releasing many albums in 3-year intervals (on average), they left a 6-year gap since their 10th album Circles. Now their true side is back on board in Veritas (Truth). While P.O.D. still have a bit of their earlier rap/reggae, they have some heavier riff fire here to please the fans.

Straight out of the opening "Drop", the drama bomb explodes with the vicious rapping of Sonny Sandoval and aptly used bass drops. Lamb of God's Randy Blythe unleashes his growling thunder, "Set fire to the system, set fire 'til they listen". Then "I Got That" has the swaying guitarwork of Marcos Curiel as Sandoval's vocals alternate between rapping, singing, and screaming, "We got that underground original, nothing to prove". The aggressive anthem "Afraid to Die" includes haunting singing melody by Jinjer vocalist Tatiana Shmayluk. The vocals by both Sandoval and Shmayluk reach the height of defiance in one of the strongest alt-metal standouts of the year! "Dead Right" is a shorter punk-ish song, alternating between soft and heavy dynamics.

You can definitely recognize what the band is known for in "Breaking". The riffs and rapping stay fresh. The mid-paced "Lay Me Down (Roo's Song)" was written in memory of Roo Bublitz, one of Sandoval's friends. I think anyone who's unaware of that might think this is about that kangaroo kid from Winnie the Pooh. The singing in the chorus has a lot of raw passion, "Live your life, keep the faith, don’t ever cry for me!" Positive lyrics cover "I Won’t Bow Down" that makes another highlight. "This is My Life" sounds like if the post-grunge my brother likes collides with the reggae punk of Bad Brains, complete with guest vocals by Cove Reber of Dead American and Saosin.

Then we have "Lies We Tell Ourselves", another mid-paced anthem. It has a pretty cool guitar solo by Curiel. "We Are One (Our Struggle)" marks a swift return to the earlier heaviness as the band try to tear down the cultural walls holding us back. We then reach the atmospheric conclusion that is "Feeling Strange", as clean guitar and a looped beat lead to a heavy dramatic chorus. A little strange, but I can live with that.

All in all, Veritas has some solid anthems that can please alt-metal listeners and longtime P.O.D. fans. I'm still not up for more of this band though, especially considering the overuse of rap or reggae at times. Still they have their strength, and that is the truth....

Favorites: "Drop", "Afraid to Die", "Lay Me Down (Roo's Song)", "I Won’t Bow Down", "Lies We Tell Ourselves"