Coming back after 2015 release of “The Awakening” P.O.D released their 10th studio album “Circles”. Frontman Sonny Sandoval has said about the album, “on ‘Circles’, we didn’t limit ourselves and say, ‘hey, we need to please the metal crowd, or the hardcore crowd, or the punk crowd.’ We just wanted to play and write songs that we hope are relevant and catchy to a new audience — while at the same time still being true to ourselves.”
For me personally, this album has some great tunes I would love to check out in a live show. At the same time, ‘Circles’ has some songs that are quite lacklustre and feel repetitive. As each listener has their own favourites and not-so favourites, it will be interesting to see how your experience compares. If you’re into Rap Metal, this is the album for you.
The album starts strong with Rockin With the Best. Sonny Sandoval kicks ass with the lyrics in this song, and there is awesome riffage in the back. The chorus is strong and the song addresses trying to get out of an unhealthy cycle that one feels stuck in. Good powerful stuff.
Always Southern California is like a homage to the lifestyle and scene back in South Caliornia; the always shining sun, beaches, eternal summer. The band is from San Diego after all. The song is like looking into the author’s brain and seeing past memories. The most interesting part of the song is the bridge although it’s a bit predictable with spelling out the word C.A.L.I
Circles – This album is a bit of a rollercoaster with the aggressiveness and strength of the songs, it has a ton of ‘in your face’ Rap Metal beats then some softer songs. While some of the softer songs are very skippable, Circles as their album title, is one of the stronger songs and ballads of this album. Circles works really well – it has emotion, good lyrics and ends in a strong note. This ballad is well rounded, has a unique voice to it and the flow just works really well. One of the top songs on the album.
Panic attack – This song is Dope. It reminds me of 90’s Rap Rock at the start, and then a strong chorus kicks in, meant to punch you in the face. The entire song is just well written. I’m already chanting “it’s a Panic Attack, it’s a Panic Attack” in my car on my way to work (and getting stares – who cares!) Panic Attack has that Nu Metal classic vibe and the ending rules.
On the Radio is my biggest let down of the album. The song’s intro riff is literally the same riff as Limp Bizkits “Golden Cobra”, and even though the rest of the song slightly deviates from Limp Bizkit’s, by 30 seconds in, I was already disappointed. The riff isn’t even intricate or original; the entire song just seems very cut and paste from typical nu-metal. Definitely ‘skip’ on my next listen.
Fly Away is an interesting song. It has some roots in Reggae rap with the singing, and is so completely different from the other ballads in the album. The flow of the verse is awesome, and the lyrics are somewhat memorable. This well made ballad is very upbeat and encouraging, letting us know that we are all in this together and need to rely on others for help. Fly Away is a cool addition to the album. It’s going to grow on people with each progressive listen.
Switching tempos dramatically after Fly Away, Listening to the Silence is another of my favourite songs on the album. The vocals are harder edge, the drums more pronounced than the previous song and that gives the whole vibe a rougher edge, which the lyrics seem to reinforce especially in the chorus. “you sure dont hear what I hear, can you make those voices disappear.. its loud inside my head.”
Dreaming’s lyrics and chorus are predictable, and I’m not a fan of the guitar in the chorus, Although the song speaks of hoping for a better future in tough times, I find it somewhat shallow, and when held to comparison with the other songs, not on par with the rest of the album.
Domino starts of with a pretty cool riff on a low tuned guitar so I was expecting something strong or an unexpected turn but after the 1st minute of repetitive chorus “Domino” I was snoozing. It’s very slow; the lyrics are decent enough but the chorus… and it’s 3 minute’s of Domino, domino… honestly by the 2nd minute I ordered some Domino’s pizza and skipped to the next song “SoundBoy KIlla” Which totally got me back to enjoying the album.
SoundBoy Killa Is the second last song of the album, after 2 quite down beat songs this SoundBoy Killa picks up the pace of the album and I would think this could be a totally successful single. The song starts quite strong and has a cool punch in the face chorus. If I see this band anytime soon, I hope to hear this song live. The lyrics of the chorus are very catchy, the bridge before the last chorus has an awesome tone to it and the entire song would be great for a house party. “I’ma put it on a bullet and put it in your brain”
The album ends with Home which starts out sounding like a ballad but progresses into a harder edged near ‘screamo’ chorus and kicks the album into a strong finish. The angst in Sandoval’s vocals is palpable and almost painful. The lyrics to the song relate to the end of something… I can well imagine the singer/band at the end of a long tour shouting.. “I just want to go, want to go home.. ” although it could relate to any number of ‘endings’ depending on the listener. Sandoval has stated he wrote it after suddenly losing a friend who was like a brother to him.
All in all, this album is a good listen, despite the few songs that aren’t ‘favourites’. You can tell the band kept it real to what they were feeling at the time. The message the band tries to put forth of all of us going through crap at the same level, and just trying to figure it all out, comes through loud (and softly) and that’s what will keep it in my listening rotation.
Solid 7.5/10
Give ‘Circles’ a listen on whatever system you use (iTunes, Spotify etc) and give Rockin With the Best a listen below
Check out P.O.D. Online
www.mascotlabelgroup.com
http://www.payableondeath.com/
https://www.facebook.com/POD/
https://twitter.com/POD
http://instagram.com/POD
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written by Emilio Angel