Get the new FREE JFH MP3 compilation -- Vol. 14!
Get the new FREE JFH MP3 compilation -- Vol. 14!

JFH Music Review




P.O.D.
Testify



Artist Info: Discography
Album length: 13 tracks
Street Date: January 24, 2006


In a post-rapcore world, it can be hard for a band to make the transition to a new age and progression in today's music. For San Diego rockers P.O.D., it's been somewhat of a struggle to know where to go next since their stellar 2001 release Satellite. Their roof-shredding Fundamental Elements Of Southtown grabbed the attention of the mainstream audiences by the throat. Satellite, Southtown's follow-up, was a more radio-friendly project but kept enough ferocity to still be worthy of the P.O.D. branding. Since Satellite, the band lost their original guitarist and installed replacement Jason Truby to mixed results. While melody is hardly a bad thing, Truby's presence stripped some of the harder edge from the band's music that fueled their greatest recordings. Their 2003 self-titled project offered a few memorable tracks but was a letdown at best, leaving some fans wondering where the band they knew and loved for over a decade had gone. Testify, the band's second release with Truby, is an improvement upon their previous effort but remains a mixed bag of sorts.

Testify, a distinctly more spiritual record although not too directly, opens with the reggae rock anthem "Roots In Stereo." "Roots" isn't nearly as good or as effective as "If It Wasn't For You" was for the lead-off track on last year's The Warriors EP, Vol. 2, but is remedied quickly by the rock-fused "Lights Out." The overall musical exploration on Testify blends some of the edge and radio-friendly sensibility of Satellite with the pop and reggae dabblings of Payable On Death for what can easily be labeled as P.O.D.'s most diverse effort to date. "If You Could See Me Now" slows the album down for one of the band's most effective attempts at a rock ballad while "Goodbye For Now," which is curiously Testify's first single, is decent but doesn't fair quite as well. "Sounds Like War" is an alternate version of the "Ya Mama" demo from Warriors 2, replacing "sounds like it's Jah to me" with "sounds like it's war to me" in the song's chorus. Lyrically, the song addresses the daily struggles that wage inside of us every day, while musically it serves as a sort of hard-driven battle cry. Another difference some may notice from "Ya Mama" to "Sounds Like War," is a distinct watering down of Wuv's thumping drum presence.

The rap and R&B elements of "On The Grind," provided mostly by Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E., make the song the sore thumb of Testify. While it's something entirely different for P.O.D. to explore, the minimal contribution of Sonny's vocals to the track makes the song sound more like the band is a guest on someone else's record entirely. "This Time" is an all-around about-face, a melodically rich rock track while "Mistakes & Glories" is a unique song that manages to blend elements of hardcore, rapcore, and rock with harmonies. "Let You Down" is an album highlight, an emotional rock track that answers the desperation that drives some to suicide, lyrically inspired by people the band knew who'd attempted suicide during the album's recording process (the band has said that the original demo, titled "New Wave," included a use of the "f" word to make a point but was dropped from the final version). It's a song many can relate to and possibly the album's most powerful moment, proclaiming "You mean more / you mean so much more..." Testify winds down with the reggae worship of "Strength Of My Life," the bitter rebuttal to critical eyes in "Say Hello," and the hard-hitting rock track "Mark My Words," which was lyrically inspired by C.S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe.

Testify may not be the best album the band's recorded, but it offers enough rock to remind listeners just why P.O.D. seized the attention of the mainstream years ago. While the reggae dressings don't always fit as well on the band as their rock and rap gloves do, P.O.D. earns props for trying new things (even if one or two in particular may fail). Testify proves there's steam left in this engine and they may still have more to contribute to the rock scene for years to come.

- Review date: 1/22/06, written by John DiBiase



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. Artist Info: Discography
. Record Label: Atlantic Records
. Album length: 13 tracks
. Street Date: January 24, 2006
. Buy It: Amazon.com

  1. Roots In Stereo
  2. Lights Out
  3. If You Could See Me Now
  4. Goodbye For Now
  5. Sounds Like War
  6. On The Grind
  7. This Time
  8. Mistakes & Glories
  9. Let You Down
  10. Teachers
  11. Strength Of My Life
  12. Say Hello
  13. Mark My Words
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This Friday, October 17, 2025
ALBUMS
ANTHNY DIARY ENTRY 1 [Provident]
AOH Music BEHOLD (Acoustic Live), Vol. 1 (independent)
Blanca Full Bloom [Curb]
Chris Blue Every Day Is Christmas [Gaither]
Geoff Moore and The Distance Foundations (Re-Release) [Girder]
Geoff Moore and The Distance A Place To Stand (Re-Release) [Girder]
Vince Gill 50 Years From Home: I Gave You Everything I Had - EP [UMG]
Nate Parrish Make Me A Mountain (independent)
Psallos The New and Better Way: Hymns of Hebrews (independent)
Anne Wilson Stars [Capitol CMG]
Megan Woods The Truth EP [Fair Trade]

SINGLES
Elevation Worship Jesus Be The Name - Single [Provident]
F'rael God's Wheel (ft. TRYBISHOP) - Single [Syntax]
Brandon Lake When A Cowboy Prays (Amazon Music Songline) - Single [Provident]
LEON Undefeated - Single [El Rescate Music]
No Vain Glory UNLEADED - Single [Syntax]
Park 7 The Hope Is On The Way - Single (independent)
Rave Jesus & Gracie Binion Need Your Love - Single [Provident]
REFVGE, Cyfë II & WAY? U P W A R D S ft. Bianca Silver & Josh LeCroy - Single [Syntax]
Rhymes In Harmony & MAYIA My Sister - Single [Syntax]
Rock City Worship Gravestone - Single [Capitol CMG]
Anton Scholl Born To Love You - Single [Near Kingdom]
Nathan Sheridan Don't Lose Hope - Single [WieRok]
SNT. VINCENT Feast of the Saints - Single [Syntax]
Vertical Kings Faith In Stereo - Single [Covenant]
Vic Lucas, Essence Natay & Ashleey Barnes Let it Rain - Single [Syntax]
Zane Vickery All Things New - Single (independent)
Aaron Williams Abide (feat. CAIN) - Single [Integrity]

DVD
Chris Blue Every Day Is Christmas DVD [Gaither]

Next Friday, October 24, 2025
ALBUMS
John Allan untitled EP [Centricity]
Dan Bremnes The Villain - EP [Curb]
Clear Convictions Endure [Resuscitation]
God Behind Bars Music Live From Angola Prison Vol. 1 [Provident]
Fepeste This World Ain't Mine to Change [Velvet Blue]
gio. FINE BY ME [Capitol CMG]
Brandon Lake Amazon Music Songline [Provident]
Tyson Motsenbocker Modern Worries [Tooth & Nail]
Smalltown Poets St. Augustine (independent)
Zahriya Zachary Rediscovery [Bethel]

SINGLES
29:11 Worship, Zion Rempel You Never Fail (feat. Emily Guy) - Single [DREAM]
Joe L Barnes Grief, Joy, Gratitude - Single [Provident]
Chad Cory, Zacardi Cortez My First Love (Remix) - Single [DREAM]
Leanna Crawford Beginning Of Your Grace - Single [Provident]
darthy Juniper Tree - Single [WieRok]
Emerson Day Midnight Hour - Single [Fair Trade]
Good Weather Forecast lows2highs - Single [DREAM]
Grace + Max Rich - Single [WieRok]
Mercy Tribe Music The King is in the Room (feat. Ayiesha Woods) - Single (independent)
Mountains in the Sea You Never Fail (feat. Emily Guy) - Single [DREAM]
Seph Schlueter Already On The Way (feat. Benjamin William Hastings) - Single [Provident]
Tomb Slayer The Christmas Lamb (feat. Khristian Dentley & Sarah Whittemore) - Single [Tomb Slayer]
The Undertaking! All Smiles - Single (independent)

VINYL
Clear Convictions Endure [Resuscitation]


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