Release Date: Apr 8, 2008
Label: INO/Columbia Records
Genres: Christian Metal, Nu-Metal
Number Of Tracks: 13
The return of guitarist Marcos Curiel is an absolute asset to P.O.D. on the band’s 7th studio album When Angels & Serpents Dance.
When Angels & Serpents DanceFeatured review by: UG Team, on april 08, 2008 5 of 6 people found this review helpful
Sound: There’s been plenty of buzz about what to expect from P.O.D.’s new album now that original guitarist Marcos Curiel has reclaimed his place in the band. The last few albums without Curiel have been met with lukewarm reactions, so it’s safe to say that there were plenty of fans who had high expectations for the band’s latest release When Angels & Serpents Dance. Curiel definitely adds a distinct sound to the record that almost has a Santana feel at times, but it’s actually the addition of guest artists Mike Muir (Suicidal Tendencies), Page Hamilton (Helmet), and the Melody Makers that truly takes the album in unique, surprising directions.
When Angels & Serpents Dance marks P.O.D.’s 7th studio album, and it’s definitely one of the most musically eclectic among the bunch. The nu-metal title still is somewhat appropriate, but it’s impossible to pigeonhole them that easily with the new material. “Addicted” is an all-around strong traditional rock track with a nice low guitar range that pulls you in immediately. Curiel makes a memorable re-introduction into the band with a skilled solo, and vocalist Sonny Sandoval sounds equally as strong -- even taking on a bit of Mike Muir’s trademark vocal style at times.
“Kaliforn-Eye-A” (not wild about the title) is actually the track that Muir appears on, and it’s one of the strongest on the album. It begins with a John Frusciante-like funky guitar intro, but it takes plenty of turns during the course of the song. About halfway through it morphs into a typical rock track, but by the end it could very easily be mistaken for a Suicidal Tendencies song, abrupt tempo changes and all.
The band experiments with a variety of styles, and it’s that mix that keeps things moving on the album. Reggae is the driving force of “I’ll Be Ready” (which features the Marley sisters aka The Melody Makers), while “It Can’t Rain Everyday” is more of a nod to Santana. Page Hamilton’s appearance on “God Forbid” is actually a bit overpowering and definitely transforms everything into a Helmet song, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The band does fall into the trap of getting a bit repetitive in some tracks (“End Of The World” goes on excruciatingly long), but there are enough interesting moments throughout the 13-track CD to allow a few flaws. // 8
Lyrics and Singing: P.O.D. still remains one of the more popular bands in the Christian music scene, but the band is careful not to go overboard with overt, in-your-face religious messages. Instead we get a series of poetic, metaphorical songs that are extremely well-written, regardless of the religious element. The title track has amazing imagery with lyrics like, “Maliciously, creeping, flowing; Righteous, moral, and just; Deceitful creature is crawling; The guardian is flying; The dance is breathing; Who’s leading?” It’s a pretty interesting take on the path we take in life, regardless of what religion you subscribe to in your life. // 9
Impression: Curiel makes his mark in song after song on the first album he’s been on since 2003. The guitarist at times has truly a Santana-inspired delivery, particularly in the beautiful instrumental “Roman Empire.” At other times his guitar almost has a darker, Black Sabbath feel, which makes for a nice contrast. P.O.D. should continue to give Curiel the spotlight, whether that means more instrumental tracks or extended intros/solos.
At times the band slips into the generic zone (“Shine With Me” is just a little too lackluster when compared with the rest of the album), but things pick up not long after. While it can be argued that Mike Muir, Page Hamilton, and even the Melody Makers completely overtake the tracks on which they appear, there is still enough of P.O.D.’s presence to hear the difference in styles. In any case, the guests were nothing but a positive move on the part of P.O.D., who prove they are much more than just a nu-metal band on the album. // 8
When Angels & Serpents Dance
Reviewed by:
Ace Frehley, on april 08, 2008 0 of 4 people found this review helpful
Sound: I'm very excited with the new P.O.D. album. The band has done an amazing job and it really deserves to be heard from everyone. The 3 instruments do their job really well. Amazing guitar parts with excellent bass lines and drum rythms. For once again they play a mix with reggae, rock and some punk.Unlike the previous albums, P.O.D. have managed to make their own and unique sound through the years. The guitarist uses a lot of delay effects and his guitar sound is crystal! // 10
Lyrics and Singing: The lyrics couldn't be far from christianity, peace and love. We all know that the band has a huge faith to god. The lyrics match perfectly with the rythms, riffs or melodies. And Sonny' singing and rapping skills (wich rapping has been decreased in this album) are getting a lot better. Despite the normal american accent that he has, he sometimes uses the Jamaican accent like "Jah know" and stuff. And in the song "I'll Be Ready" it has a feature with The Marley Girls. // 10
Impression: I believe it is their best album so far, and I don't think that there's any song that I didn't quite liked in the album. Although the song that impressed me a lot was "It Can't Rain Everyday" wich has an amazing guitar part. And as I mentioned before the band has done an amazing job. // 10
these guys are still making music?? and religious music?? has that always been their intent or is it just easier to sell albums at midnight on tv that way? MTV and religion dont really mix well, wasnt their first "hit rock the party"?
these guys are still making music?? and religious music?? has that always been their intent or is it just easier to sell albums at midnight on tv that way? MTV and religion dont really mix well, wasnt their first "hit rock the party"?
Yeah it was, but who said Christians can't have fun?
it's sucks when religion gets in the way with music.
they're are plenty of anti-christian/satanist bands out there that people love, so why not give a christian band a try. it's not like they're trying to convert you or something.
just don't let it affect you, there's too many great bands to listen to.
they should do more songs like Alive and Boom...
every time I hear those songs i just wanna hit thing, really good songs when you tired and want to wake up.
these guys are still making music?? and religious music?? has that always been their intent or is it just easier to sell albums at midnight on tv that way? MTV and religion dont really mix well, wasnt their first "hit rock the party"?Yeah it was, but who said Christians can't have fun?
i liked setallite, but this... ehm, this isn't their best, unfortunatelly i miss the dinamyc from the songs i expected a heavy punk / metal thing, but it's different.
they should do more songs like Alive and Boom...
every time I hear those songs i just wanna hit thing, really good songs when you tired and want to wake up.
this new album doesn't have any song like this \=
At least they're trying new things and not repeating themselves
they should do more songs like Alive and Boom...
every time I hear those songs i just wanna hit thing, really good songs when you tired and want to wake up.
this new album doesn't have any song like this \=
I disagree,, Alive and Boom were the reasons I stopped liking POD,,, They have never gotten close to touching Fundamental Elements of Southtown, though I haven't heard this new one.
these guys are still making music?? and religious music?? has that always been their intent or is it just easier to sell albums at midnight on tv that way? MTV and religion dont really mix well, wasnt their first "hit rock the party"?Yeah it was, but who said Christians can't have fun?
Their god?
Do me a favor and look up in the bible where it said "and God said thou shalt not party" statements like that make me think you are trying to make a lame jab at Christianity...which furthermore makes you sound stupid for not knowing what your talking about.
this is probably my favorite P.O.D. album...aside from The fundamental elements of southtown.
However, I liked truby as an addition, I'm glad the old band is back together..
Their first album was awesome. I used to listen to that CD sooo much, i dont kno if itll play now. I havent really heard much from em after that, but i didnt like Youth of the Nation much, or Alive. Boom is pretty good, tho. I think im gonna listen to some stuff off here sometime.
these guys are still making music?? and religious music?? has that always been their intent or is it just easier to sell albums at midnight on tv that way? MTV and religion dont really mix well, wasnt their first "hit rock the party"?
Yeah it was, but who said Christians can't have fun?
the bible...their bible...not literaly...but most things involved with partying....
guess religions become more of a image thing just like everything else
these guys are still making music?? and religious music?? has that always been their intent or is it just easier to sell albums at midnight on tv that way? MTV and religion dont really mix well, wasnt their first "hit rock the party"?Yeah it was, but who said Christians can't have fun?
Their god?
Do me a favor and look up in the bible where it said "and God said thou shalt not party" statements like that make me think you are trying to make a lame jab at Christianity...which furthermore makes you sound stupid for not knowing what your talking about.
this is probably my favorite P.O.D. album...aside from The fundamental elements of southtown.
However, I liked truby as an addition, I'm glad the old band is back together..
Geez, i realize it was a lame joke but lighten up a little. To be on topic i was really impressed of how they have evolved their sound. Great album
I agree with those who think Fundamental Elements is the best, it's sweet. In my opinion this album and Satellite are more or less tied for a close second. Mike Muir is awesome. I'd say for Jason Truby, if anything at least he had the Eternal instrumental on Payable On Death, it was phenomenal.
Geez, i realize it was a lame joke but lighten up a little. To be on topic i was really impressed of how they have evolved their sound. Great album
eh, being a Christian I get tired of people bashing my religion like that...I mean I understand that there are different points of view out there, and I am in no way trying to convert anyone...It's just not cool to bash someones faith and beliefs like that..epically without knowing what you're talking about.
these guys are still making music?? and religious music?? has that always been their intent or is it just easier to sell albums at midnight on tv that way? MTV and religion dont really mix well, wasnt their first "hit rock the party"?Yeah it was, but who said Christians can't have fun?
Their god?
You've got no clue dude. Just because we're not going out and getting blind drunk every saturday doesn't mean we're not enjoying ourselves. For example, I just came back from a weekend dirt bike riding with all the blokes from my church. Ask anyone who's become a Christian; they'll tell you they enjoy life far more now than they did before.
And show me one spot in the Bible where God says 'You shall not have fun'. Make sure you know what you're saying before you run your mouth off.
In other news, this album rocks. Doesn't get up there at TFEOS or Sattelite level, but their style is too different now to really compare it anyway. Definitely worth buying :
The bible also says a lot of weird shit about evil snakes and rib women so I think it's completely free to be ridiculed. I also at no point said that getting drunk every saturday is fun. It's just terribly hypocritical of you all to complain about me not reading the bible when if you at any point read it seriously you'd find a lot of things in that say you can;'t go listening to rock music or having fun in any way at all.
That said, Satellite was pretty awesome musically, but the whole Christian thing puts me off anything.
This will be the most 'slept on' album of 2008. People will not see this one coming at all!! In short, the best album that I have heard to date!! Although I'm not a hardcore P.O.D. fan, this album is completely on another level. The previous album 'Payable On Death' is as far as I go with this band. It's rare to find an album that has better than 50% of the track listings be pure hits!! That's what this album has, Sonny is maturing and you can hear it in the lyrics, the emotion that roils almost to a rage, but then...Marcos this generation's 'guitar hero' (along with Mark Tremonti of Alterbridge--another amazing band!) Song faves: 'When Angels & Serpents Dance (chilling intro!), 'Condescending', 'Shine With Me', 'Addicted', 'It Can't Rain Everyday', 'I'll Be Ready', & 'This Ain't No Ordinary Love Song'. If you're a long time fan...then you already got the album--the rest of you, GET THIS ALBUM!!
i miss the dinamyc from the songs