Early years (1991–1993) In 1991 as a precursor to P.O.D.,
Sonny Sandoval fronted a rap/hip-hop group called Unlicensed Product, while
Wuv Bernardo,
Marcos Curiel and Gabe Portillo were in a
thrash metal band called Eschatos. In 1992, Eschatos recruited Sandoval on vocals, which Bernardo believed would help him with his mother's recent death to
Leukemia. They renamed the group to Payable on Death, a banking-term pitched by Bernardo's girlfriend who worked in a bank at the time. The name was later shortened to P.O.D. The band's name, Payable on Death (P.O.D.), derives itself from the banking term "
Payable on Death". The band chose this name to be a direct tie in with the Christian theology that explains that
since Jesus died on the Cross, Christians' debts to God have been paid; in other words all believers, in their acceptance that Jesus was sacrificed for them on God's behalf, have inherited
eternal life. They recorded their first song that year, "Three In the Power of One", which was later included on their debut studio album
Snuff the Punk. Between 1994 and 1997, they released three albums under the label,
Snuff the Punk,
Brown and
Payable on Death Live. When, in 1998,
Atlantic Records A&R
John Rubeli first came across P.O.D.'s demo he "didn't quite get it", as he later told
HitQuarters. It was only when he saw them play live at
The Roxy on the
Sunset Strip. The song "
School of Hard Knocks" was featured on the soundtrack for
Little Nicky while both "Southtown" and "Rock the Party" appeared in the movie. All three
music videos enjoyed heavy play on
MTV2, and the songs were rock radio hits. The album went on to become
RIAA certified platinum.
Payable on Death and Testify (2003–2006) On February 19, 2003, guitarist Curiel left the band due to his side project,
The Accident Experiment, and "spiritual differences." However, Curiel claimed that he was actually kicked out of the band. Curiel was replaced by
Jason Truby, former member of
Christian metal band
Living Sacrifice, and assisted with the recording of "
Sleeping Awake", from
The Matrix Reloaded soundtrack. In an interview with
Yahoo! Music, Sandoval stated that Truby is the reason why the group is still together. On November 4, 2003, P.O.D. released their fifth studio album,
Payable on Death, which saw the group shift from their well-known rapcore sound to a darker, more melodic metal sound. The album was hit with controversy due to its "occult" cover, which led as many as 85% of Christian bookstores across the United States to ban the album. With the help of the album's hit single "
Will You" and "
Change the World", it went on to sell over 520,000 copies and was certified
Gold. To promote their latest album, P.O.D. went on a nationwide tour called the "Warriors Tour 2: Guilty by Association", which began in April, and included the bands
Pillar,
The Chariot and
Maylene and the Sons of Disaster. On August 11, 2006, P.O.D. announced in their online newsletter that they had left
Atlantic Records. On September 16, 2006, P.O.D. announced that they had teamed up with
Rhino Records to release a
greatest hits record simply titled,
Greatest Hits: The Atlantic Years, which was released on November 21, 2006. They shot a music video for their single "Going In Blind", one of the two new songs they included in the tenth album, and they had meetings with various record labels to begin working on new material for an album they hoped to release in mid-2007. On June 1, 2007, at the Rockbox in San Diego, the band performed and revealed a new song entitled "Condescending", along with another new song performed on June 16, 2007, at the Journeys Backyard BBQ tour entitled "Addicted". They also revealed the title of their new album to be
When Angels & Serpents Dance. On August 4, 2007, the band played at
Angel Stadium of Anaheim's annual
Harvest Crusade for a crowd of 42,000, where they revealed a new song, "I'll Be Ready", originally thought to be titled "When
Babylon Come for I". The album cover was officially revealed on December 10, 2007. The title track was released for free download on their site in January 2008. The first single "
Addicted" was released on February 19 and peaked at No. 30 on the Mainstream Rock chart. The album was released on April 8, 2008, entitled
When Angels & Serpents Dance. On July 28, 2008, the group played a free public performance at the
Orange County Choppers headquarters in
Newburgh, NY, with OCC The Band opening. The band also played on August 16, 2008, at the
Angel Stadium of Anaheim's annual
Harvest Crusade. During September 2008, P.O.D. played alongside Redline,
Behind Crimson Eyes,
Alter Bridge, and
Disturbed as part of the Music As a Weapon tour 2008 in Australia.
Murdered Love (2010–2013) The band headlined the first annual Spring Jam Fest in May 2011. They appeared on the Rock of Allegiance tour later that summer. On July 25, 2011, the band released a demo of the song "On Fire" as a free download on their official website. In October 2011, P.O.D. announced a multi-album artist deal with
Razor & Tie. On April 5, 2012, the song "Eyez" became a free download on the band's website for a limited time. Shortly after, an article on their website stated that "
Lost in Forever" would be the first single from the new album, entitled
Murdered Love.
Murdered Love was originally going to be released in June 2012, but was instead pushed back to July 10. The album was produced by
Howard Benson, who also produced
Satellite and
The Fundamental Elements of Southtown. It was described by Curiel as "Back to our roots. A little bit of hip hop, a little bit of punk rock, or reggae". The album caused controversy concerning its eleventh track, "I Am", which uses the word "fuck" (albeit backmasked). Sandoval, explaining the purpose of the song, said: The band went on tour with
Shinedown and
Three Days Grace as an opening act. In a 2012 interview with
Broken Records Magazine, Sandoval said that the band had to get their lives back in order and take care of personal needs before getting back into music, but was extremely happy about the response the band was getting from fans. In September 2013, the band was featured in an
NME article titled "28 Nu-Metal Era Bands You Probably Forgot All About". One month later on October 22, 2013, P.O.D. released a deluxe edition of
Murdered Love. The album contains the original songs, slightly remixed, along with bonus tracks "Find a Way", "Burn It Down", acoustic versions of "Beautiful" and "West Coast Rock Steady", a remixed version of "On Fire", and music videos for "Murdered Love", "Beautiful", "Higher", and "Lost In Forever". Multiple behind the scenes videos were also on the track list.
SoCal Sessions, Circles, Wuv Bernardo's hiatus and Veritas (2014–present) In mid-2014, P.O.D. announced an acoustic album to be released toward the end of the year. The album was crowd-funded on the website PledgeMusic. On October 20, 2014, P.O.D. announced a new record deal with T-Boy Records along with a new acoustic album.
SoCal Sessions was released on November 17, 2014, and contained songs such as "Alive" and "Youth of the Nation". The band followed that release with another studio album,
The Awakening, released on August 21, 2015, which was produced by Howard Benson, with guest vocalists such as
Maria Brink of
In This Moment and
Lou Koller of
Sick of It All. On May 17, 2016, the band announced that they would be taking part in the
Make America Rock Again super tour throughout the summer and fall 2016. The tour featured a number of artists who had success throughout the 2000s. On August 18, 2017, the band released a new song, "Soundboy Killa", and embarked on a fall tour promoting the song. In January 2018, it was announced that the band had signed a new record deal with Mascot Records. They toured alongside
Alien Ant Farm,
Lit, and
Buckcherry on the "Gen-X Tour" in 2018. Their tenth studio album,
Circles, was released on November 16, 2018. In 2021, the band embarked on a major tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of
Satellite with
From Ashes to New and All Good Things, starting in
Sturgis, South Dakota at Buffalo Chip on August 14, 2021, and ending on October 7, 2021, at the House of Blues in
San Diego, California. During the European leg of the tour, drummer Wuv Bernardo dropped out to "take care of business at home", and ceased touring and appearing in public with the band. To fill his absence, the band recruited former
Suicide Silence drummer Alex Lopez as touring member for subsequent tours. In August 2022 the band performed two sets on the same day at Seaworld. On October 14, 2022, the band reissued
When Angels & Serpents Dance, having the album remixed and remastered as well as featuring three bonus songs, one of which, "Don't Fake It", had appeared previously as an iTunes exclusive in 2008. P.O.D. released
Veritas, their first studio album in six years and the first album without Bernardo, on May 3, 2024. In an interview with
United Rock Nations, Sandoval stated that Bernardo is "not out of the band", but rather is taking personal space due to tension in the band and "will always be the drummer of P.O.D."; Bernardo confirmed in an interview that he has taken a hiatus, stating that "Nothing is on bad terms, it's more we're having space right now. Being on tour for thirty years starts to take a toll on anybody in different ways...For me it was obvious that it was that time for me to take a break from the traveling and doing the whole circus over and over again. I don't think I was built to do it any longer at the time...Love the guys, always gonna love the band. I started the band in my garage. It's a part of my life, it's a part of my family, it's a part of all the love that I got. I'm always gonna be center, right there with the guys, knowing what's going on and everything like that. Whenever God wants me to come back, then that's what's up for me. That's where I'm at right now." In February 2024, the band announced the I Got That Tour supporting
Veritass release, which ran from April 26 to June 2 and was headlined by
Bad Wolves,
Norma Jean and
Blind Channel. On February 13, 2025, a version of "I Won't Bow Down" featuring
A.N.I.M.A.L. was released. On September 25th, 2025, P.O.D. released a cover of "
Don't Let Me Down" by
The Beatles, ahead of their tour as an opening act for
Seether and
Daughtry through October and November 2025. The band also announced a special South American tour in December to finish out the year, with support from
Demon Hunter and
Living Sacrifice. On January 7, 2026, Snsmix posted an interview with Sandoval discussing an upcoming album, with Sandoval stating: "We got a handful of songs in while we were on the road because we knew we were trying to hit the studio in February. We're on a kind of a crunch deadline. So we’ve got to get it in where we can." He went on to talk about Curiel experimenting with a 7-string guitar for the new songs, saying that "This is the first time that Marcos is rocking a seven-string. So we’re trying to go a little deeper — a little heavier. Not like metal-loud heavy, but just that deep heavy. We’re grooving in a really cool place." On April 13, 2026 the band posted promotional pictures showing they officially started tracking their 12th studio album with producer Will Yip (
Turnstile,
Circa Survive), with sessions underway in Pennsylvania, the first time the band has ever recorded outside of California. == Musical style and influences ==