How do you recover from all that? Bring in Cyco Myko from Suicidal Tendencies to up the ante on the track “Kaliforn-Eye-A.” While I wasn’t too excited about the lyrics as they sounded a bit juvenile at times, it was hearing Mike Muir on vocals that kept my attention. The song itself is simple and it works. The little gem they throw in is going back to the some thrash/hardcore punk with Muir going into a spasm that sounded so good on my stereo.
Always bringing a reggae vibe to each record, “I’ll Be Ready” is a great track that features The Marley Sisters with their angelic background vocals. The best reggae song P.O.D. has done since “Set Your Eyes to Zion” on FEOS and “Ridiculous” on Satellite. It’s great to hear P.O.D. head back into harder waters and what better way than bring in Helmet’s very own Page Hamilton. Sharing vocals with Sandoval, Hamilton adds some needed grit to what is probably the heaviest song on this record.
I will say that P.O.D. has ventured into new terrain as they include the ballad “Tell Me Why.” With its anti-war message, it may turn off some fans with its somewhat preachy message but it's delivered with such sincerity, it works. The record ends with the very anti-climatic “Rise Against.” Very somber sounding, you can hear the maturity in the music. Lyrically, its sounds a bit too simple. Perhaps I was looking for something vaguer that would make you ponder life a bit deeper.
Overall: When Angels and Serpents Dance is a solid rock record. While it does have its filler songs here and there, it’s still good enough to keep the fans happy and make new ones in the process. It’s hard for any band to recapture their glory days on disc but you definitely can say that P.O.D is trying. The only question that remains is whether they can brings these songs to life in concert. When they come back to Dallas, we will certainly find out.
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