P.O.D.: Testify : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

The prospect of a bunch of Christian groove metalers releasing a record called Testify, which is what P.O.D. have done with their fifth album, might seem instantly off-putting. To P.O.D.'s credit, Testify is not as pompous or overblown as you might think; it just feels tired. With help from superproducer Glen Ballard, barnburners like "Mistakes and Glories" achieve heavy-rock propulsion, but their all-too-familiar parts -- sludgy guitars, call-and-response shouts and brawny rhymes -- have all the iridescence of an old sweatshirt. A couple of cuts, including two collaborations with the Hasidic toaster Matisyahu, show off a novel fondness for reggae. But ballad-ish numbers like "Let You Down" truly feel like a drag, expressing spiritual exhaustion through slate-gray melodies and diaristic laments like "I'm so tired of faking my life." The most notable aspect of Testify, in fact, is how little P.O.D., or their guitars, have to say.