'Payable on Death'

P.O.D. just gets lucky sometimes. Many groups in the same position have fallen by the wayside, lost forever in a cloudy broth of thudding drums, reused riffs and lame vocals. Sure, P.O.D.'s newest record, Payable on Death, has all of those things, but somehow, parts of it stick with the listener. Just as we all can still easily recall the group's 2001 hit, "Alive," it's not so easy to forget the aggressive, almost jazzy chorus to "Wildfire," the swinging rock riff to "Will You" or the dub-groove of "Execute the Sounds."

But those three tracks hardly exemplify the majority of the disc. By the time the laser hits track six, it might as well just be playing the same modern rock muddle over and over on repeat.

As far as the group's well-known spiritual message is concerned, how many references to Jah and some unspecified revolution does it take to prove that P.O.D. knows what those things are all about? Apparently, more than on this disc. There's even a track that bears the theme's name, but "Revolution" comes closer to sounding like a ticked off O.A.R. than a good P.O.D. Mostly, it just sounds B.A.D., though.

Somewhere near the end of Payable On Death, the group's luck completely runs out. Many listeners might give up before reaching the album's beautiful reward, the closing track "Eternal." It's a moving piece of instrumental, acoustic complexity that demonstrates obvious talent and a clear devotion to music that's a cut above the watered-down radio playlist. But if these guys can tag on one astoundingly respectable track, what's up with the crap-tacular quality of the material leading up to it?

-- Reviewed by Paul Weinstein