P.O.D. and Mascot Records have announced all fans who sign up for the band’s mailing list will receive a gratis download of the band’s new music video “Circles.” The song is the title track from P.O.D’s most recent studio album, their first since 2015’s The Awakening and debut for Mascot Records. The title has been a global hit, with 26 million collective streams, 2.6 million of which have been of “Circles.” To access the gratis video download, simply visit the band’s site and sign up for the mailing list here: www.payableondeath.com.
Over the last several years the band has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity. They are a global touring attraction, staging hundreds of shows, alongside featured bookings at festivals that include Download Festival, Hellfest, Rock on the Range, River City Rockfest, Carolina Rebellion, and Aftershock Festival. The band also shared stages with In This Moment, Prophets of Rage, Shinedown, and Five Finger Death Punch.
On Circles, P.O.D. collaborated with an L.A.-based production duo called the Heavy, who ensured the album is contemporary-sounding without losing any of the band's core sonic signifiers. The rap-driven "Rockin' With The Best" has an old-school P.O.D. sound that nods to the Beastie Boys, while "Always Southern California" is a reggae-inflected rocker and the groove-heavy "Soundboy Killa" is a hip-hop/metal hybrid. The dynamic title track even boasts moody electronic flourishes, glassy piano, and laid-back rapping verses.
"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,'" says frontman Sonny Sandoval. "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."
From a lyrical standpoint, P.O.D. kept a similar open mind, while turning to optimism for inspiration. The title track addresses trying to get out of an unhealthy cycle in which someone feels stuck, while "Dreaming" envisions seeking out a brighter future even if the present day is tough. Other songs grapple with how to navigate life's biggest challenges. "Home" emerged after Sandoval suddenly lost a close friend who was more like a brother to him. "Fly Away," meanwhile, acknowledges that all of us sometimes struggle, and need to rely on others for help.
"We're looking for answers—and we're going to people to help us get through things—but at the same time, no one's perfect," Sandoval says. "Everybody's going through stuff, and we're all kind of on this same level and the same journey of experience and just trying to figure out our course of life."
The idea of searching for a bright side has been a constant theme for P.O.D. over the years, both on newer songs such as "Lost in Forever" and "Beautiful," and on early hits "Alive," "Youth of the Nation" and "Boom." Through it all, the members of P.O.D.—Sandoval, lead guitarist Marcos Curiel, bassist Traa Daniels and drummer Wuv Bernardo—have leaned on one another for support and creative inspiration.
"In a time of confusion and uncertainty, anxiousness and fear, again music has been a saving grace in my life,” Sandoval says. “While so many of us are navigating the unknowns of today, music stays consistent and is the soundtrack of hope and promise for tomorrow. For us, the music and touring business may be temporarily shut down but as a band, we have always written our songs with purpose and the intentions of lasting forever. We wrote "Circles" to encourage and inspire for such a time as now. A great record or a great song are essential to our lives and a comfort and healing to our souls as we wait for the world to change for the better. We are releasing this video and song in hopes that it will be the encouragement you need at this moment and time. We are all in this together and are looking forward to the time when we can all be together and sing these songs that mean so much to us.
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