Payable on Death
Encyclopedia
Payable on Death is the eponymous fifth studio album
and third major label release by Californian metal
quartet P.O.D.
. This is also their first album to include guitarist
Jason Truby
and their last album produced
by Howard Benson
. Payable on Death was released on November 4, 2003 through Atlantic
. It has sold over 1,300,000 copies worldwide.
left the band under controversial circumstances, with contradictory reasons given from both parties. The remaining members expressed remorse in their friend's departure and considered disbanding until Jason Truby
, former member of Christian metal
band Living Sacrifice
, assisted with the recording of "Sleeping Awake
," from The Matrix Reloaded
soundtrack
. The alliance strengthened the band and allowed them to begin recording a new album in spring 2003.
Yearning for a fresh start, the group rented a practice space in San Diego
and started jamming with no expectations and no deadlines. Vocalist Sonny Sandoval
explained, "We took it back to the roots. We broke down the walls in this abandoned warehouse and set up shop. The doors were always open to our friends and family and people around San Diego to come through. And it was just more of a home vibe." According to bassist Traa Daniels
, "It was innocent and it was natural and fun." Within the first month of recording, P.O.D. had an unprecedented 17 songs to work with. The group also decided on the title Payable on Death both to set the record straight regarding the band's initials and as a symbol of their rebirth.
Daniels stated the two rules in writing their fifth album as "to never have any boundaries musically" and "to be as organic as we could possibly be." The latter meant not relying on ProTools and instead using an "old school" approach to recording. Daniels also explained their desire to "just be a rock band. Period. Not a "nu metal
" band, not any of these other categories and clichés that people have been trying to throw on us."
Guitarist Jason Truby expressed satisfaction with his participation in the songwriting process: "Everyone respects each other and they let me be me and also we understand that there are boundaries. You can't redefine P.O.D. and flip the whole page into some new band. It's just P.O.D. and everybody brings something to the pot and puts their ingredient in, which kept it P.O.D. instead of it turning into 'Okay, this is P.O.D. with Jason.'"
also utilizes a considerable amount of reggae
style delivery throughout the album, namely in tracks such as "Change the World," "Execute the Sounds," and "Revolution," while Sandoval's typical rapping
is largely deemphasized. The band's longtime hip hop
influence, however, is not entirely absent; a verse from "Execute the Sounds" borrows the chorus, in altered form, from the Boogie Down Productions
song "Stop the Violence" off their 1988 album By All Means Necessary
.
Traa Daniels noted in May 2003 that the album would deal with the upsetting departure of Curiel but that "a lot of these songs are coming out fun. We're not a downer band. We're not trying to get too deep." Indeed, the album's lyrics maintain P.O.D.'s common themes of spiritual preservation; however, Payable on Death deemphasizes the upbeat urban rocks anthems of their past. It also includes Sandoval's first attempt at a traditional love song with "Will You
" and features a considerable amount of anguished vocal performances.
In an unusual approach from P.O.D., the last track, "Eternal," is an instrumental
song featuring famed guitarist Phil Keaggy
. This was thanks to Truby who, when asked by the other band members who he'd like to collaborate with on the album, cited Keaggy as a major influence. Truby felt the guitar-based track was "a window into my playing and phrasing and a little bit into my influences" and described it musically as "like at the end of the movie you roll the credits. It's got that kind of feel." The track features Truby playing acoustic
rhythm
alongside Keaggy's electric guitar
on lead
.
. "Will You
" served as its lead single
which had an accompanying music video
. Thematically, the song showcased a lesser known side of P.O.D. with a bitter love story in place of the band's typical spiritual and urban themes. "Change the World
" would be the follow up but didn't manage to repeat the same level of success.
According to Sandoval, Metallica
requested P.O.D. for the 2003 Summer Sanitarium Tour
, but this conflicted with their recording schedule. They allegedly received many offers to tour at the beginning of 2004 and had hoped to join Metallica in January. P.O.D. played their first show with Jason Truby on August 30, 2003 in Morrison, Colorado
and played various concerts for the remainder of the year, including the Voodoo Music Experience festival in New Orleans on Halloween
. They also played at a Spike TV
event in Las Vegas on December 2 and the KROQ
Almost Acoustic Christmas concert.
In somewhat of a role reversal, P.O.D. co-headlined with Linkin Park
on their Meteora
US tour in early 2004. This marked their first US tour schedule with Truby. Following this, the band headlined their own theater tour of 40 cities beginning in May. Tour mates included Blindside
, Lacuna Coil
, and New Found Glory
. P.O.D. were forced to cancel a May show in Columbus, Ohio
, after Sandoval fell from the stage and bruised his ribs at a show a few days prior. They continued touring shortly after and performed at the Cornerstone Festival
that summer. Two songs from the aforementioned concert would appear on the Warriors EP, Volume 2
the following year. P.O.D.'s tour schedule also included the Street Scene
festival in August and ran until late 2004 when they began work on a follow-up album
.
was posted online for streaming in September 2003. The first million copies of Payable on Death included a bonus PlayStation 2
DVD. This features a 50-minute documentary titled "Inside P.O.D. Culture" as well as an exclusive demo level of the video game Amplitude. The level allows players to remix an exclusive P.O.D. song titled "Space," using its individual tracks. Also included is was key to a website that allowed fans to download "Space."
The additional material prompted the album's retail price to be slightly higher than average CDs and was viewed by New York Times
writer Chris Nelson as "a testament to just how desperate music companies are to stoke consumer interest" in the face of free Internet
music sharing
.
releases that were test marketed in two cities: Boston and Seattle. The DualDisc
has the standard album on one side, and bonus material on the second side.
The DualDisc version was later reissued in a more widely distributed version. The original test market version differs from this common version in both packaging elements and in the design of the back of the inlay card.
was designed and painted by Latino artist Daniel Martin Diaz
. While Daniel claims he is a devout Catholic
, some Christians felt the cover was negatively symbol
ic, and in a move previously experienced with The Fundamental Elements of Southtown
, 85% of Christian music stores refused to carry the album. In response, Sonny Sandoval stated that he "couldn't care less" and that the album was selling well regardless.
Daniel was asked to compose the interior layout as well, which he completed in less than a week. All of these illustrations were taken from other paintings he created, which can be viewed on his website (http://www.danielmartindiaz.com/). When viewed in the original paintings, the symbolic meanings can be observed; most of the paintings contain Catholic imagery, combined with a fair amount of mysticism
.
gave a largely scathing review of the album, stating, "On track after formulaic track, perfunctory verses rush into roaring refrains of compressed guitar arrrgh and charmless didacticism." This negativity was largely mirrored by reviews in Blender
and Rolling Stone
.
chart on the strength of the first single
and music video
for "Will You
." The band filmed a video for the next single, "Change the World
," but it was never shipped to MTV
. However, it did air on the lesser known Fuse TV
. The album's relatively poor sales compared to P.O.D.'s mammoth success, Satellite, have been partly attributed to a shakeup at Atlantic Records
, leaving P.O.D. with no label support. Atlantic was sold to a private investor resulting in several thousand people, many of whom close to P.O.D., losing their jobs.
According to Soundscan, Payable on Death sold a little under 500,000 copies as of January 2006. However, it has shipped over 500,000 copies in the U.S.; therefore, Payable on Death was certified gold
by the RIAA. Not until June 2004 did it pass the one-million sales mark. It has sold over 1,300,000 copies worldwide. It is credited as the last commercially successful album released by P.O.D.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
and third major label release by Californian metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
quartet P.O.D.
P.O.D.
Payable on Death is an American Christian metal band formed in 1992. The band's line-up consists of vocalist Sonny Sandoval, drummer Wuv Bernardo, guitarist Marcos Curiel, and bassist Traa Daniels. Their Christian faith is an important part of their music.They have released seven studio albums and...
. This is also their first album to include guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
Jason Truby
Jason Truby
Jason Truby is an American musician. He began his career in 1989 when he formed the Christian metal band Living Sacrifice as its lead guitarist. Even though he was a founding member of the Arkansas-based band, he left Living Sacrifice in 1997 to spend time with his family. However, in 2003, the...
and their last album produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by Howard Benson
Howard Benson
Howard Benson is a two-time Grammy-nominated music producer and aerospace engineer.-Biography:Howard Benson has a degree in materials engineering from Drexel University and studied composition at the Philadelphia College for Performing Arts. Later he worked for Garrett AiResearch, where he worked...
. Payable on Death was released on November 4, 2003 through Atlantic
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
. It has sold over 1,300,000 copies worldwide.
Background and recording
Following the triple-platinum success of Satellite, P.O.D. enjoyed abundant radio, television, and concert success. However, on February 19, 2003, guitarist Marcos CurielMarcos Curiel
Marcos Curiel is the guitarist of rock bands P.O.D., The Accident Experiment and Daylight Division.Curiel was born in San Diego California in 1974 and is of Mexican descent. He grew up in the neighboring city of Chula Vista, where he graduated from Bonita Vista High School in 1992. Curiel started...
left the band under controversial circumstances, with contradictory reasons given from both parties. The remaining members expressed remorse in their friend's departure and considered disbanding until Jason Truby
Jason Truby
Jason Truby is an American musician. He began his career in 1989 when he formed the Christian metal band Living Sacrifice as its lead guitarist. Even though he was a founding member of the Arkansas-based band, he left Living Sacrifice in 1997 to spend time with his family. However, in 2003, the...
, former member of Christian metal
Christian metal
Christian metal, also known as white metal, is a form of heavy metal music usually defined by its message in a song's lyrics as well as the band's dedication to Christianity...
band Living Sacrifice
Living Sacrifice
Living Sacrifice is a Christian heavy metal band that formed in September 1989 in Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S. The band has released seven studio albums, out of which the first three were recorded under R.E.X. Records with their original vocalist Darren Johnson as a more thrash metal and death metal...
, assisted with the recording of "Sleeping Awake
Sleeping Awake
"Sleeping Awake" is the lead single by P.O.D. from The Matrix Reloaded: The Album. The film soundtrack was released on May 6, 2003 by Warner Bros. Records/Maverick Records with the single itself available May 26...
," from The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Reloaded is a 2003 American science fiction film and the second installment in The Matrix trilogy, written and directed by the Wachowskis. It premiered on May 7, 2003, in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, and went on general release by Warner Bros. in North American theaters on May 15,...
soundtrack
The Matrix Reloaded: The Album
The Matrix Reloaded: The Album is a 2003 soundtrack album from the blockbuster movie, The Matrix Reloaded. The two-disc album is groundbreaking among soundtrack releases in that it includes separate discs for the film's songs and the score, whereas most films release the songs and the score as two...
. The alliance strengthened the band and allowed them to begin recording a new album in spring 2003.
Yearning for a fresh start, the group rented a practice space in San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
and started jamming with no expectations and no deadlines. Vocalist Sonny Sandoval
Sonny Sandoval
Paul Joshua "Sonny" Sandoval is an American singer and rapper. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band P.O.D..-Biography:...
explained, "We took it back to the roots. We broke down the walls in this abandoned warehouse and set up shop. The doors were always open to our friends and family and people around San Diego to come through. And it was just more of a home vibe." According to bassist Traa Daniels
Traa Daniels
Mark "Traa" Daniels is the bass guitarist of the San Diego, California rock band P.O.D. He has been a member since 1994 and has performed on all of the bands official records....
, "It was innocent and it was natural and fun." Within the first month of recording, P.O.D. had an unprecedented 17 songs to work with. The group also decided on the title Payable on Death both to set the record straight regarding the band's initials and as a symbol of their rebirth.
Daniels stated the two rules in writing their fifth album as "to never have any boundaries musically" and "to be as organic as we could possibly be." The latter meant not relying on ProTools and instead using an "old school" approach to recording. Daniels also explained their desire to "just be a rock band. Period. Not a "nu metal
Nu metal
Nu metal is a subgenre of heavy metal. It is a fusion genre which combines elements of heavy metal with other genres, including grunge and hip hop...
" band, not any of these other categories and clichés that people have been trying to throw on us."
Guitarist Jason Truby expressed satisfaction with his participation in the songwriting process: "Everyone respects each other and they let me be me and also we understand that there are boundaries. You can't redefine P.O.D. and flip the whole page into some new band. It's just P.O.D. and everybody brings something to the pot and puts their ingredient in, which kept it P.O.D. instead of it turning into 'Okay, this is P.O.D. with Jason.'"
Music and lyrics
Payable on Death saw the band head in a more traditional metal sound and away from their well-known nu metal style which was losing popularity by 2003. It has been considered an overall darker approach than its predecessor. Vocalist Sonny SandovalSonny Sandoval
Paul Joshua "Sonny" Sandoval is an American singer and rapper. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band P.O.D..-Biography:...
also utilizes a considerable amount of reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
style delivery throughout the album, namely in tracks such as "Change the World," "Execute the Sounds," and "Revolution," while Sandoval's typical rapping
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
is largely deemphasized. The band's longtime hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
influence, however, is not entirely absent; a verse from "Execute the Sounds" borrows the chorus, in altered form, from the Boogie Down Productions
Boogie Down Productions
Boogie Down Productions was a hip hop group that was originally composed of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, months after the release of BDP's debut album, Criminal Minded. The name of the group, Boogie Down, derives from a nickname for the...
song "Stop the Violence" off their 1988 album By All Means Necessary
By All Means Necessary
By All Means Necessary is the second album from hip hop group Boogie Down Productions, released in 1988, on Jive Records. After the murder of DJ/Producer Scott La Rock in 1987, MC KRS-One moved away from the violence that dominated their debut Criminal Minded and began to write socially conscious...
.
Traa Daniels noted in May 2003 that the album would deal with the upsetting departure of Curiel but that "a lot of these songs are coming out fun. We're not a downer band. We're not trying to get too deep." Indeed, the album's lyrics maintain P.O.D.'s common themes of spiritual preservation; however, Payable on Death deemphasizes the upbeat urban rocks anthems of their past. It also includes Sandoval's first attempt at a traditional love song with "Will You
Will You (song)
"Will You" is a song by American rock band P.O.D. and the lead single from their third studio album, Payable on Death. Released on September 22, 2003, the song charted at #17 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart on December 2 that year.-Composition:...
" and features a considerable amount of anguished vocal performances.
In an unusual approach from P.O.D., the last track, "Eternal," is an instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
song featuring famed guitarist Phil Keaggy
Phil Keaggy
Phil Keaggy is an American acoustic and electric guitarist and vocalist who has released more than 50 albums and contributed to many more recordings in both the contemporary Christian music and mainstream markets...
. This was thanks to Truby who, when asked by the other band members who he'd like to collaborate with on the album, cited Keaggy as a major influence. Truby felt the guitar-based track was "a window into my playing and phrasing and a little bit into my influences" and described it musically as "like at the end of the movie you roll the credits. It's got that kind of feel." The track features Truby playing acoustic
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
rhythm
Rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
alongside Keaggy's electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
on lead
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
.
Touring and promotion
Payable on Death did not venture heavily in the way of promotional singlesSingle (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
. "Will You
Will You (song)
"Will You" is a song by American rock band P.O.D. and the lead single from their third studio album, Payable on Death. Released on September 22, 2003, the song charted at #17 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart on December 2 that year.-Composition:...
" served as its lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
which had an accompanying music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
. Thematically, the song showcased a lesser known side of P.O.D. with a bitter love story in place of the band's typical spiritual and urban themes. "Change the World
Change the World (P.O.D. song)
Change the World is a song by American alternative metal band P.O.D. and the second single from their third major label studio album, Payable on Death. It was released in February 2004.-Composition:...
" would be the follow up but didn't manage to repeat the same level of success.
According to Sandoval, Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
requested P.O.D. for the 2003 Summer Sanitarium Tour
Summer Sanitarium Tour
The Summer Sanitarium Tour was Metallica's packaged tour in the Summer of the year 2000. Taking place in "stadiums, arenas, and yes, even speedways," the tour was one of the top grossing tours of the Summer. It was also the final tour for long-time bassist Jason Newsted who quit the band in January...
, but this conflicted with their recording schedule. They allegedly received many offers to tour at the beginning of 2004 and had hoped to join Metallica in January. P.O.D. played their first show with Jason Truby on August 30, 2003 in Morrison, Colorado
Morrison, Colorado
The historic Town of Morrison is a Home Rule Municipality in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The population was 430 at the 2000 census...
and played various concerts for the remainder of the year, including the Voodoo Music Experience festival in New Orleans on Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
. They also played at a Spike TV
Spike TV
Spike is an American cable television channel. It launched on March 7, 1983 as The Nashville Network , a joint venture of WSM, Inc...
event in Las Vegas on December 2 and the KROQ
KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM — branded 106.7 KROQ — is a commercial modern rock radio station licensed to Pasadena, California serving the Greater Los Angeles. The call sign is pronounced "kay rock." It is the flagship station of Loveline hosted by Dr...
Almost Acoustic Christmas concert.
In somewhat of a role reversal, P.O.D. co-headlined with Linkin Park
Linkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries...
on their Meteora
Meteora (album)
Meteora is the second studio album by American rock band Linkin Park. It was released on March 25, 2003 through Warner Bros. Records, following Reanimation, a collaboration album which featured remixes of songs included on debut studio album Hybrid Theory...
US tour in early 2004. This marked their first US tour schedule with Truby. Following this, the band headlined their own theater tour of 40 cities beginning in May. Tour mates included Blindside
Blindside
Blindside is a post-hardcore band from Tumba, Sweden. They formed in 1994 as Underfree and kept that name for two years before releasing their debut EP in 1996.-A Thought Crushed My Mind:...
, Lacuna Coil
Lacuna Coil
Lacuna Coil is an Italian gothic metal band from Milan. Formed in 1994, the group has had two name changes since being previously known as Sleep of Right and Ethereal and was inspired by the combination of gothic imagery and music...
, and New Found Glory
New Found Glory
New Found Glory is an American rock band from Coral Springs, Florida. Formed in the summer of 1997, founding members were lead vocalist Jordan Pundik, guitarists Chad Gilbert and Steve Klein, bassist Ian Grushka and drummer Joe Marino...
. P.O.D. were forced to cancel a May show in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, after Sandoval fell from the stage and bruised his ribs at a show a few days prior. They continued touring shortly after and performed at the Cornerstone Festival
Cornerstone Festival
Cornerstone Festival is a Christian music festival put on by Jesus People USA and held annually around the 4th of July near Bushnell, Illinois. In a given year, many artists that play at Cornerstone also play at other events such as Creation Festival and mainstream festivals and tours such as the...
that summer. Two songs from the aforementioned concert would appear on the Warriors EP, Volume 2
The Warriors EP, Volume 2
The Warriors EP, Volume 2 is the name of P.O.D.'s third EP, second in their "Warriors EP" series, which contains demos from the Testify recording sessions, a cover of the Payola$ song, "Eyes Of A Stranger," and live versions of "Wildfire" and "Boom" recorded at Cornerstone Festival 2004...
the following year. P.O.D.'s tour schedule also included the Street Scene
Street Scene (San Diego music festival)
Street Scene was a music festival that was held each summer in San Diego, California from 1984 to 2009. Street Scene was one of America's largest annual music festivals, growing to include over 70 musical acts covering different musical genres and styles on multiple stages.-History:Beginning in...
festival in August and ran until late 2004 when they began work on a follow-up album
Testify (P.O.D. album)
Testify is alternative metal band P.O.D.'s sixth studio album and fourth major-label album. It was originally set for a December 2005 release but finally slated for January 24, 2006 by Atlantic Records. This is P.O.D.'s first major-label album not produced by Howard Benson. The full album was...
.
Release
A few weeks after the official track listing was announced, the album's lead singleLead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
was posted online for streaming in September 2003. The first million copies of Payable on Death included a bonus PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
DVD. This features a 50-minute documentary titled "Inside P.O.D. Culture" as well as an exclusive demo level of the video game Amplitude. The level allows players to remix an exclusive P.O.D. song titled "Space," using its individual tracks. Also included is was key to a website that allowed fans to download "Space."
The additional material prompted the album's retail price to be slightly higher than average CDs and was viewed by New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
writer Chris Nelson as "a testament to just how desperate music companies are to stoke consumer interest" in the face of free Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
music sharing
Peer-to-peer file sharing
P2P or Peer-to-peer file sharing allows users to download files such as music, movies, and games using a P2P software client that searches for other connected computers. The "peers" are computer systems connected to each other through internet. Thus, the only requirements for a computer to join...
.
DualDisc edition
Payable on Death was included among a group of 15 DualDiscDualDisc
DualDisc was a type of double-sided optical disc product developed by a group of record companies including EMI Music, Universal Music Group, Sony/BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and 5.1 Entertainment Group and later under the aegis of the Recording Industry Association of America...
releases that were test marketed in two cities: Boston and Seattle. The DualDisc
DualDisc
DualDisc was a type of double-sided optical disc product developed by a group of record companies including EMI Music, Universal Music Group, Sony/BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and 5.1 Entertainment Group and later under the aegis of the Recording Industry Association of America...
has the standard album on one side, and bonus material on the second side.
The DualDisc version was later reissued in a more widely distributed version. The original test market version differs from this common version in both packaging elements and in the design of the back of the inlay card.
Cover art
The album coverAlbum cover
An album cover is the front of the packaging of a commercially released audio recording product, or album. The term can refer to either the printed cardboard covers typically used to package sets of 10" and 12" 78 rpm records, single and sets of 12" LPs, sets of 45 rpm records , or the front-facing...
was designed and painted by Latino artist Daniel Martin Diaz
Daniel Martin Diaz
Daniel Martin Diaz is a Mexican American artist whose work has gained him international renown. His style is a combination of Northern European Art, Spanish Colonial Art, Surrealism, and Post-Modernism....
. While Daniel claims he is a devout Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
, some Christians felt the cover was negatively symbol
Symbol
A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...
ic, and in a move previously experienced with The Fundamental Elements of Southtown
The Fundamental Elements of Southtown
The Limited Edition Bonus EP was released by P.O.D. as a free CD given away with the purchase of their first mainstream album, The Fundamental Elements of Southtown, in 1999. It contained a new version of the song "Draw the Line" and the demo version of "Lie Down"...
, 85% of Christian music stores refused to carry the album. In response, Sonny Sandoval stated that he "couldn't care less" and that the album was selling well regardless.
Daniel was asked to compose the interior layout as well, which he completed in less than a week. All of these illustrations were taken from other paintings he created, which can be viewed on his website (http://www.danielmartindiaz.com/). When viewed in the original paintings, the symbolic meanings can be observed; most of the paintings contain Catholic imagery, combined with a fair amount of mysticism
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
.
Critical response
Reviews of Payable on Death varied and were generally negative. Truby's guitar style gained much attention and was considered more technical and somewhat heavier than that of Curiel's. Allmusic's Matt Collar considered it a "darker album than its predecessor" and found that "Truby unfortunately lacks some of the unexpected spark that Marcos brought to P.O.D. Fans of the band shouldn't find much to complain about here though, even if the overall sound doesn't stand out as distinctly from the nu-metal pack as Satellite did." Neil Drumming of Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
gave a largely scathing review of the album, stating, "On track after formulaic track, perfunctory verses rush into roaring refrains of compressed guitar arrrgh and charmless didacticism." This negativity was largely mirrored by reviews in Blender
Blender (magazine)
Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
and Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
.
Commercial success
Having sold 106,000 copies in its first week, Payable on Death debuted at #9 on the Billboard Top 200Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart on the strength of the first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
and music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Will You
Will You (song)
"Will You" is a song by American rock band P.O.D. and the lead single from their third studio album, Payable on Death. Released on September 22, 2003, the song charted at #17 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart on December 2 that year.-Composition:...
." The band filmed a video for the next single, "Change the World
Change the World (P.O.D. song)
Change the World is a song by American alternative metal band P.O.D. and the second single from their third major label studio album, Payable on Death. It was released in February 2004.-Composition:...
," but it was never shipped to MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
. However, it did air on the lesser known Fuse TV
Fuse TV
Fuse is an American national television network dedicated exclusively to music. It features original series and specials, exclusive interviews, live concerts and video blocks....
. The album's relatively poor sales compared to P.O.D.'s mammoth success, Satellite, have been partly attributed to a shakeup at Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
, leaving P.O.D. with no label support. Atlantic was sold to a private investor resulting in several thousand people, many of whom close to P.O.D., losing their jobs.
According to Soundscan, Payable on Death sold a little under 500,000 copies as of January 2006. However, it has shipped over 500,000 copies in the U.S.; therefore, Payable on Death was certified gold
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
by the RIAA. Not until June 2004 did it pass the one-million sales mark. It has sold over 1,300,000 copies worldwide. It is credited as the last commercially successful album released by P.O.D.