Written by P.O.D. guitarist Marcos Curiel has spoken out on the band’s constant need to prove themselves – saying they are done with it and that they are “probably the truest form of rock and roll there is.”
The Californian nu-metal stars have sold more than 12 million records since forming in 1992, but Curiel says they have had to prove themselves at every turn, despite the accolades and record sales.
He tells AMS: “Nobody’s ever given us anything. We’ve had to work super hard to get to where we’re at and always kind of prove ourselves over and over again.
“No matter what accolades and what we’ve accomplished, it always feels like we’re trying to prove ourselves to show it to ourselves, but show it to people around us.
“This industry’s constantly evolving and there’s people coming and going and you get new heads in there that they’re, like, ‘What?’ And you’re, like, ‘Bro, I’ve been here for years. Who are you?’
“But I’ve gotta prove myself to you now. And we just kind of gave up on that, because whether you love P.O.D. or you hate P.O.D., you know who P.O.D. is. That’s the bottom line. So we’re done trying to prove ourselves. We’re done trying to cater and please people.”
He adds that being pigeonholed as a nu-metal band or Christian rock act was unfair and that there is much more to their sound.
“Trends come and go, and we’ll just keep chugging right along, and we stay relevant because we’re not following the trends,” he says.
“We’re doing what we’ve always done. We’re being 100% organic, P.O.D. ourselves, four kids from a garage that grew up with a dream. And we have our own sound. And it’s hard to have your own sound. People are still trying to find their sound, and people are chasing sounds. We got our own, and that’s what I love about it.
“This band has kind of had that curse. Whether it’s the ‘nu metal‘ label, whether it’s the ‘Christian’ label. There’s so many different things that when we started wasn’t cool to some people. But I like to take it back. We’re probably the truest form of rock and roll there is.
“Now it’s kind of a trend, which is fine, to be a little more positive, because it was all about being emo – dark, evil, pissed off. But if you do your research with P.O.D., there’s a little bit of everything. We have party songs, we have songs dealing with so many different issues, but we always bring it back to a positive place.”
P.O.D. begin a US tour with Seether and Daughtry next month.
