While others of their ilk faded away, SEETHER maintains a strong sense of self, ignoring trends and critics in favor of a consummate devotion to their craft.
Their impressive sales and chart history includes three platinum and two gold albums, 15 #1 singles (including 2017’s “Let You Down,” 2014’s “Words as Weapons,” and 2011’s “Tonight”); 19 Top 5 multi-format hits, with US singles sales topping 17 million and over 1.5 billion streams worldwide across all platforms.
They are also creators of the Rise Above Fest, founded in 2012 to raise awareness for suicide prevention and mental illness. Past headliners of the annual gathering include Slash, Godsmack, Avenged Sevenfold, Papa Roach & many more. Since conception, the Rise Above Fest has turned into a broader movement, expanding its presence at additional music festivals around the globe. All SEETHER shows donate $1 of ticket sales to benefit the SAVE (Suicide Awareness Voices Of Education) organization.
Three years after releasing their critically acclaimed record Poison The Parish, SEETHER announced their highly anticipated return with the new album, Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum out August 28th, 2020 via Fantasy Records. Translating to “If You Want Peace, Prepare For War,” the album features 13 new tracks, a primal mix of euphoria and misery.
The band Payable On Death was formed in 1992 by Marcos Curiel and Wuv Bernard, who are originally from San Diego. In the early stages the duo were just jamming and didn't currently have a vocalist. Sonny Sandoval was invited to join by his cousin Bernard after he turned to Christianity following the fatal death of his mother. After the edition of bass player Gabe Portillo, the original line up was in place and they continued from there as P.O.D. The band have a variety of influencers such as Santana, Bob Marley, Metallica, U2, Pantera, Bad Brains and Faith No More. This helps to explain the way their sound tends to cross genres including alternative rock, reggae and latin.
In 1994 they released their debut album 'Snuff the Punk' through Rescue Records. They didn't achieve chart success with their first few albums yet their reputation quickly spread through the States, the band were famously offered a $100,000 recording contract which Sonny turned down as he believed that “God has a bigger plan for P.O.D".
The 2001 album 'Satellite' was their first appearance on the US and UK charts, charting at #6 and #16 respectively. They also topped the US Christian charts and appeared on numerous others around the world. Their next four albums all topped the US Christian chart, whilst three peaked within the top ten on the US Billboard Chart. However their success in the UK could be described as a one hit wonder, with 'Satellite' remaining the only charting album.
Seether's gig in Patronaat in Haarlem was quite a lot of things. My first time seeing these guys live, and never having watched any live footage of them, I didn't know what to expect. At the end of the concert, I wasn't very pleased though.
They played a variety of songs from all of their albums and time really flew by, because they just kept playing without any large breaks. The drummer and one of the guitarists both had a nice solo. They also added some new songs from their upcoming album, and they chose a selection of slow and steady music to listen to, as well as some songs to make you jump around until your pants fall off.
A thing I really hated was that they didn't communicate with the crowd at all. I think the vocalist once asked how everyone was doing, and that was it. All of the bandmembers were trying to dodge the spotlight, it seemed. The bass player had the potential of communicating with the crowd but except for some funny faces, he didn't do anything spectacular. So in short, Seether was a nice concert with some great hits, both slow and really heavy. It's a shame they didn't communicate with the crowd more, because that would've made the gig a lot more memorable. Seether's good at making their live performances sound like their studio performances, but I'm not sure if this is a thing to be proud of.
P.O.D.'s appeal as rock musicians and nu metal performers is such that many of their diehard fans don't even realise they are a Christian band. P.O.D., or Payable On Death have put enough craft into what they do to appeal to people from all walks of life, regardless of creed, from the disenfranchised youth to the fans faithful in every sense, for whom hits like 'Alive' take on a whole new meaning.
Wherever you stand on your beliefs and philosophy, P.O.D. may have something for you. With 8 albums released, 12 million records sold, major motion picture soundtrack deals and three grammy nominations under their bible belts, P.O.D.'s success demonstrates that they bring a whole nu dimension to nu metal. The live rock shows really rock. This band can get fans going crazy in the most exhilarating way. Expect a lot of jumping, chanting and intense rhyme-spitting, both on-stage and off. What may surprise people is that P.O.D. can also be seen live performing an acoustic set. The group play their back catalogue on an arrangement of acoustic guitars, bass and ethnic drums like cajon and bongos. The songs don't lose their energy or intensity, even when they bust out the occasional melodica solo. Instead they gain a cool and intense intimacy.
Whatever your tastes, P.O.D. provide a couple of different ways for you to experience their music. Go forth now in peace, to experience.