Last Update : 07/28/06
Artist: POD
Title: Satellite
Tracks/Duration: 15/52:55
Best Song: The Messenjah
Worst Song: Ridiculous
I'll be the first to admit that I got into POD at the same time the majority of the world did. And that's around the time this album was released and they were getting radio play all over the place. There's a good reason for that too. This album is pretty damn awesome. As compared to their previous studio release, Satellite is very metal-oriented and hard-rocking. Music snobs may call it a sell-out album, because it's really far out there as compared to what they had played before its release. There's very little reggae influence here, and their ability so flawlessly combine reggae and metal is one of the things I respect so much about POD. I'll always have an extra attachment to this album too, because I listened to it pretty much non-stop as I made my way through The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask for the third or fourth time.
Artist: POD
Title: Payable On Death
Tracks/Duration: 12/44:19
Best Song: Revolution
Worst Song: Freedom Fighters
This is good. Really good. Ah, the blissful menagerie of styles that is Payable on Death. No longer metal-centric, POD's third studio album is, well, a blissful menagerie of styles. They bring back the reggae love, and really go out on a limb to make Payable On Death different. As far as I'm concerned, their efforts were a blistering success. The rest of the world seemed to feel a little less love for this one than I do, but hey, to each his own I guess. The instrumental track on this one ("Eternal") is awesome too, even better than both instrumentals from Satellite combined. The only thing I have against the album is that it came with a bonus disc that can only be used in a PS2, and at the time I had no such console. That issue has since been rectified.
Artist: POD
Title: Testify
Tracks/Duration: 13/50:12
Best Song: On The Grind
Worst Song: Mark My Words
It's like Payable On Death on steroids. You could kind of dub this one "the best of POD," and while it's certainly not a "best of" record, I doubt that they could make one better than this. POD was definitely at the top of their game while writing/recording this one, and I can only hope future efforts can match its greatness. "On The Grind" is especially notable because I generally detest rap, yet I absolutely love the song and it's clearly done in a gangsta-rap-esque style. That extra bit of coolness put it up top as my favourite song from the album. Mark My words is no slouch either, but it always makes me sad because I know that's the end of the album. You know, I just noticed (and I may be wrong about it, correct me if I am), but I don't think there's a single swear in any POD song. And given the style of music, that's a little surprising.
Artist: Poison
Title: Poison's Greatest Hits 1986-1996
Tracks/Duration: 18/1:12:14
Best Song: Sexual Thing
Worst Song: Life Goes On
Mmmm, 80's. There are two definitive sides when it comes to 80's rock 'n' roll: love it or hate it. Given the circumstances, I think you know which side I'm on. And really, what's not to like about Poison? I always especially enjoy music when you can tell that the artists were having a good time playing it. That emotion always comes through in the music, and you just can't help but feel happy when it's on. Except for the sad songs, of course. But even those have a charm of their own, especially with Poison, who seem to have some kind of positive spin in at least half of their sad songs. People might rag on Poison for being an 80's hair band, but damn it, their music has more heart and soul in it than 93% of those snobby indie acts out there. Oh! And this particular "hits" CD (God knows there's at least 3 of them) features liner notes! Delicious liner notes!
~Ryan
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