Payable On Death
Reunited and it feels so good...
Sometimes a band of Christians will act like, um, a band of Christians. You know the type: people that will forgive and show each other the kind of grace that God has shown them, reconciling past hurts with healing and the bond of love. It should have come as no surprise, but it still probably sent a shock through the music world – or at least through the folks that had heard about the public rift between the members of the band and its disgruntled former member – that Marcos Curiel was back in P.O.D.. And one listen to When Angels And Serpents Dance – accolades to the self-titled and Testify discs aside – makes it feel like this band has simply picked up where it left off with Satellite.
Sitting down on the phone with freshly shorn frontman Sonny Sandoval for a series of questions about the reconciliation of this very public feud revealed that it was almost as natural and matter-of-fact as anything else the band has put their hand to. Perhaps it was the very unnatural act of a musician’s onstage murder that got the ball rolling. In fact, it was in the wake of Dimebag Darrell’s murder that Curiel reached out to his old bandmates.
“We happened to all be in Palm Springs writing the record, and it was the first time we really had a conversation,” explains Sandoval. “It kinda just stemmed off of, ‘Hey dude, I’m trippin’ how something like that could happen.’ He was just kinda reflecting on all of us and what we’ve been through, you know, playin’ those clubs. So, he reached out that way.” Drummer Noah Bernardo Jr, (aka Wuv) had been the first to connect with their former guitarist, with something as simple as his nephew playing football with one of their nephews in the hood. After a relaxing hang with Wuv, Curiel asked, ‘Hey, do you think … I’d really love to talk with Sonny and Traa. Do you mind if I give them a call?’ Wuv said, ‘They’d love to hear from you, man.’ And thus, an organic connection was restored.
Payable On Death - Finish this feature by Doug Van Pelt in the new HM Magazine. Available now, Issue 131 can be found at select stores or for a reduced subscription rate.
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