While P.O.D.'s Imperial Beach summer music festival, Lower Left Fest, didn't quite pan out as expected, the local superstars' fall is shaping up to be something special.
On Nov. 16, Mascot Label Group will release "Circles," the band's first album since 2015's "The Awakening."
Over the past few years, the San Diego-based nu metal rap rockers have shared the stage with In This Moment, Prophets of Rage, Shinedown and Five Finger Death Punch, reinvigorating the genre with some much-needed energy and contemporization.
"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,'" frontman Sonny Sandoval said in a press release. "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."
P.O.D. aren't the kind of band that refuses to progress. This time around, they've collaborated with a production duo called the Heavy in an effort to show an evolution in their sound whilst not losing the core elements that fans have come to adore over the years.
"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 said. "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."
Staying optimistic under otherwise dire circumstances has always been a constant element for the band. Sandoval, lead guitarist Marcos Curiel, bassist Traa Daniels and drummer Wuv Bernardo have always managed to come together in trying times.
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"We are touring and making music because it still means something to the people that are coming out to see us, and people that are still listening to our music," Sandoval said. "We're humbled, we're grateful, and we're thankful for people that still enjoy what we're doing."
Get "Circles" on vinyl, CD and all digital platforms on Nov. 16.
Rutger Ansley Rosenborg has been an Associate Editor at NBC SoundDiego since 2016. Find out more here, or contact him here.
