San Diego, California rockers P.O.D. performed on the Main Stage at Louder Than Life on Saturday, September 28, 2024 in Louisville, Kentucky.
Following their show, vocalist Sonny Sandoval and guitarist Marcos Curiel sat down with SWOMP in the media tent for an interview. Listen, below:
Photographer Steve Thrasher captured these images from their performance:
They’ve been a band — and a vital one at that — for more than 30 years. But ask rock icons P.O.D. what still inspires them after all this time, and they’ll tell you they still operate as if they’re perpetual underdogs. Yes, with every new album they release, with every show they play, these musical lifers still feel they have something to prove. “We’re still here and we’re still creating some of the best music we’ve ever made,” says guitarist Marcos Curiel. “When it comes to heart, grit and soul, P.O.D. is your band.” Adds vocalist Sonny Sandoval: “We’re always still proving who we are — always having that punk-rock mentality.”
It’s this mindset, this unrelenting grit that has long defined the platinum-selling P.O.D. and continues to do so as they march proudly into the next era of their long-winding journey of a career. Now, they are nearly five years removed from their previous studio album, Circles, which to date has been streamed more than 50 million times and spawned the hit “Listening to Silence.” Now, the band returns with new single “Drop.”
The track is a sonic boom of a cut, and features a thrilling vocal turn from Lamb of God singer Randy Blythe. “Dude, it’s the sickest thing ever,” Curiel says of “Drop,” which was inspired by the guitarist’s longtime love of electronic music. “When that drop hits, everyone knows it,” he adds. “We needed to create a song in that way…P.O.D. style.”
P.O.D.’s audience has always been at the core of everything the band does, and to that end, their live shows remain essential to who they are. They’ve played major festivals including the Sick New World, INKcarceration and Hell and Heaven Fest, and have shared stages with the likes of KORN, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Evanescence and Seether.
Follow P.O.D. at https://payableondeath.com/.