Reviewed by James Stafford

This is P.O.D.'s second album remixed and remastered, with new artwork too. Originally released in 1996 it was groundbreaking stuff, a welcome follow up to their debut 'Snuff The Punk'. It showed their growing ability as a band and added to their repertoire of God-exalting songs. Whilst it is predominately their unique brand of rapcore, they show their talent as they include live studio tracks covering punk, reggae and funk, with snippets of fun "studio moments" as well. The reworking done on this album helps accentuate the vocals and bass especially, which is welcome with such strong lyrics and such a talented bass player. In songs like "Selah" and "Breathe Babylon" the blending of "street language" with Biblical truth is novel, and shows an intensity in their faith that is an encouragement and a challenge to your own. To hear them at their best, their huge hit The Fundamental Elements Of Southtown' is recommended (see CR55), but their first two albums show you where they came from, have some great tracks, great lyrics and a whole lot of righteous attitude.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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