The Fundamental Elements of Southtown

P.O.D.

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 24, 1999)
• Original Release Date: August 24, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Atlantic / Wea
• ASIN: B00000JZBU
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (270 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,915 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Greetings

2. Hollywood

3. Southtown

4. Checkin' Levels

5. Rock the Party (Off the Hook)

6. Lie Down

7. Set Your Eyes to Zion

8. Lo Siento

9. Bullet the Blue Sky

10. Psalm

11. Image

12. Shouts

13. Tribal Warriors

14. Freestyle

15. Follow Me

16. Outkast

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

With their aggro music, tattoos, piercings, and dreadlocks, P.O.D. (Payable on Death) might be conveniently filed next to Deftones or Rage Against the Machine. However, like U2, whose "Bullet the Blue Sky" they cover, P.O.D. are actually a Christian-based rock band, though not overtly religious enough to scare nonbelieving music fans away. This multiethnic quartet from the Southtown area of San Diego purveys an amalgam of modern music; elements of rap, metal, reggae, and hip-hop permeate this 16-track debut. P.O.D. doesn't bring much new to their hybrid style on The Fundamental Elements of Southtown, but what they do, they do well. From the gentle, reggae-tinged "Set Your Eyes to Zion" to the heavy grind of "Hollywood" and the rap-metal of "Lie Down," P.O.D.'s diverse and rockin' musical messages of positivism should make the foursome, already well known on the Christian rock circuit, a band to reckon with in secular circles. --Katherine Turman

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An overall excellent cd, March 14, 2000

By A Customer

The Fundamental Elements of Southtown is very diverse in its stylistic nature. It ranges from reggae, to aggro, to hip-hop hardcore. This is likely a direct result of the diversity of band influences, bad brains, santana, etc. Key to note is the cover of U2's "bullet the blue sky," which now has the intensity of a mac truck! Other songs to note are the aggr-groove of "southtown", the reggae tone of "set your eyes to zion," the smooth yet intense "tribal," and punch in the face "outkast."

Invariably, parallels will be made to other bands in the "hard music" market. No fear, P.O.D. definetly has their own sound, independent of any other act. They have been putting out tunes since 1992, even before RATM and KoRn came to the scene.

Stylistically and musically a great album. Howard Benson did a marvelous job producing the cd as well. Look for P.O.D. on the main stage at ozzfest and on tour with KoRn in Europe later in the year.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Do The Math, People, March 1, 2000

By	"fourgivn1" (Newport News, VA) - See all my reviews

I'd like to clear up something right now. This band keeps getting compared to bands like Korn, Limp Bizkit, and such. That's all fine and well. I realize that people are going to make comparisons. However, there's just one little thing that bugs me. People say "They're just copying Limp Bizkit" or "They are a takeoff of Korn." Well, P.O.D. has been making music for a year or two LONGER than Limp or Korn. Sort of hard to copy a band when that band came out AFTER you. :-)

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pot Calling the Kettle Black, February 25, 2001

By	"fourgivn1" (Newport News, VA) - See all my reviews

I want to make sure something is understood, just so that people know. P.O.D has been around for quite a long time, playing venues and clubs when Korn was something you bought in the grocery store and Rage Against The Machine was something you did when you couldn't figure out how your new VCR worked, or your car wouldn't start. It cracks me up when people say "These posers sound just like Korn or RATM." Matt Pinfield, of MTV fame, recently said "I'd like to say something about P.O.D. that should have been said a long time ago...and it is this. I'd like to say how much the new Rage Against The Machine and Korn albums sound like P.O.D." Whether you like P.O.D. or not is something you decide for yourself. But check their history before you label P.O.D. as posers.