P&O Ferries is the current name for the amalgamation of a range of ferry services that operated from the United Kingdom to Ireland and Continental Europe (France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain). These were previously operated at different times as separate subsidiaries of P&O under the names Pandoro Ltd, P&O European Ferries, P&O Portsmouth, P&O North Sea Ferries, P&O Irish Sea and the joint venture P&O Stena Line.

P&O Ferry Pride of Rotterdam one of the Hull-Rotterdam sister flagships of P&O Ferries

History[link]

P&O originally established ferry services in the United Kingdom in the late 1960s in the North Sea and the English Channel. In the late 1970s P&O was affected by a reduction in traditional shipping activities which saw the sale of a number of its businesses and assets. This continued into 1985 with the sale of its cross channel ferry activities to European Ferries,^[1] which at the time consisted of services on the Dover-Boulogne and Southampton-Le Havre routes.^[2]

In January the following year, P&O purchased a 50.01% interest in European Financial Holdings Ltd, which held 20.8% of shares in European Ferries,^[1] this was followed in 1987 with the purchase of the remaining shares of the European Ferries Group whose ferry services were trading as Townsend Thoresen. Following the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster in March 1987, the operations of Townsend Thoresen were renamed P&O European Ferries on 22 October 1987, with operations from Portsmouth, Felixstowe and Dover.^[3]

Following a consultation with the Competition Commission beginning 28 November 1996,^[2] P&O European Ferries split into three separate subsidiaries: P&O Portsmouth, P&O North Sea and the creation of a joint venture between P&O and the Swedish ferry company Stena AB's UK subsidiary Stena Line (UK) Ltd to create P&O Stena Line in Dover.^[2]

In April 2002, P&O announced its intention to purchase Stena Line's 40% share of the joint venture. The purchase was completed by August and in October 2002^[3] the Portsmouth and North Sea operations were merged with the Dover operations to create P&O Ferries Ltd, jointly managing all services from its head office, Channel House in Dover.

In September 2004, P&O Ferries Ltd conducted a business review that concluded with the announcement of closure of several of its long term Portsmouth based routes, leaving only the Portsmouth – Bilbao route in operation. These closures were predominantly blamed on the expansion of Low-Cost airlines and the increasing usage of the Channel Tunnel as a faster alternative to ferry operations.^[4]

On 15 January 2010, P&O Ferries announced that it would be closing the Portsmouth - Bilbao route by the end of September to coincide with the end of its existing charter for the Pride of Bilbao. This meant the closure of the final route served by P&O Ferries in Portsmouth.^[5][6]

Operations[link]

Throughout its history, P&O Ferries has operated in five main areas, centred around Dover, Portsmouth, Southampton, the Irish Sea and the North Sea

Dover[link]

P&O began ferry operations in Dover in the 1960s with a route to Boulogne in France under the Normandy Ferries brand. This route was sold to European Ferries on 4 January 1985 ^[7] which rebranded them, along with its Southampton-Le Havre route as Normandy Ferries Ltd. Following the purchase of European Ferries in, P&O operated routes from Dover to Calais in France and Zeebrugge in Belgium, initially trading under the Townsend Thoresen brand, however due to the bad publicity that the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster brought to that brand in March 1987, the services were subsequently rebranded to P&O European Ferries, with most vessels named with the prefix Pride of.

Prior to the acquisition, European Ferries had ordered two purpose-built vessels for the Dover-Calais route, these were delivered in June and December 1987 as Pride of Dover and Pride of Calais, taking on the role of flagships for P&O European Ferries. P&O's Dover operations remained largely unchanged until 1998 when they were merged with Stena Lines Dover and Newhaven operations to form P&O Stena Line (P&OSL) in response to the increased competition from the Channel Tunnel which opened in 1994 and the coming end to Duty Free shopping within the EU in July 1999. As a result, vessels were renamed from the recognisable Pride of prefix to instead be prefixed with P&OSL in 1999. P&OSL operated 11 vessels, 8 of which provided a Freight and Passenger service on the Dover-Calais and the remaining three a Freight service on the Dover-Zeebrugge route.

In August 2002, P&O acquired Stena Line's 40% share of P&OSL, which were re-merged with the Portsmouth and North Sea operations under the P&O Ferries brand. In December 2002, the Dover-Zeebrugge route closed, leaving only the Dover-Calais route remaining. Vessel prefixes were again changed to PO before they were repainted into a new livery and then resuming the use of the Pride of prefix in 2003.

Spirit of Britain maiden arrival in Dover on Sunday 9th January 2011

On 8 August 2008, P&O Ferries announced it had placed a €360 million order with STX Europe for two new ships to replace the aging Pride of Dover and Pride of Calais. The two new vessels, Spirit of Britain and Spirit of France are 49,000 gross tonnes and 210 meters long making them the largest ferries to operate in the English Channel and were the first passenger ferries in the world to comply with the new SOLAS "Safe Return to Port" requirements.^[8]

Spirit of Britain entered service on 21 January 2011 replacing Pride of Dover which is now laid up in Tilbury. Spirit of France entered service on 9 February 2012. Pride of Calais remains in service primarily as a freight ferry to cope with demand following the collapse of Seafrance.

Fleet[link]

• European Seaway
• Pride of Burgundy
• Pride of Calais
• Pride of Canterbury
• Pride of Kent
• Spirit of Britain
• Spirit of France

Southampton[link]

P&O began ferry operations in Southampton in the 1960s with a route to Le Havre in France in a joint venture with Societe Anonyme de Gerame et d'Armencent under the Normandy Ferries brand, later rebranded as P&O Ferries. This route was sold to European Ferries in January 1985 which rebranded them, along with its Dover-Boulogne route as Townsend Thorosen.

Portsmouth[link]

P&O's Portsmouth operations began with their acquisition of Normandy Ferries Portsmouth-Le Havre route, branding it as P&O Normandy Ferries offering a twice daily service, initially competing with both Brittany Ferries and Townsend Thoresen. In 1985, P&O sold its ferry operations to European Ferries before returning to the market in 1987 with its takeover of European Ferries the same year, this time employing the P&O European Ferries brand.

Following the acquisition in 1987, P&O European Ferries operated routes from Portsmouth to Cherbourg and Le Havre. The Cherbourg route was operated by the 'Super Viking' class vessels Pride of Cherbourg¹ and Pride of Winchester until 1994 when they were replaced by the two jumbo 'Super Vikings', the Pride of Cherbourg ² and the Pride of Hampshire. On the Le Havre route the jumbo 'Super Vikings' Pride of Hampshire and Pride of Le Havre¹ initially serviced the route supported at various times by chartered in freight vessels or transferred 'European' class vessels, however their low capacity meant that by 1991 larger vessels were required, this was eventually solved by the introduction of two German-built vessels, the Pride of Le Havre² and the Pride of Portsmouth in 1994.

Pride of Bilbao, an archetypical cruise ferry. Built for Viking Line and operated by P&O Ferries between Portsmouth in the UK and Bilbao in Spain from 1993 to 2010

In 1993 P&O opened a new route from Portsmouth to Bilbao, Spain using the Pride of Bilbao operating a twice weekly service. This was the longest route that P&O Ferries operated and was often late arriving due to the weather conditions in the Bay of Biscay^{[citation needed]}.

1998 saw the introduction of a new high speed service on the Portsmouth-Cherbourg route using the Superstar Express, being replaced by the larger Incat built 91m long Portsmouth Express in 2000. The change to the larger vessel did not go smoothly and the new ship suffered a number of technical problems forcing P&O Portsmouth to recall the Superstar Express for a short time from its new home on the Carinryan-Larne route until the problems were solved. The Portsmouth Express gained a reputation of being unreliable and services were frequently cancelled due to technical problems and the weather but her larger size and long term charter agreement meant she remained on the service for a number of years. For her 2003 season she was painted in standard P&O Ferries livery and her trading name was shortened to "Express" with her official name becoming Catalonia A. In her final season in 2004, the vessel was officially renamed Express but adopted the trading name Cherbourg Express.

In Summer 2004 P&O Ferries operated a Portsmouth-Caen route using the Incat 91 model catamaran Max Mols from Mols Linien, trading under the name Caen Express. However this was short lived with P&O Ferries announcing on 28 September 2004 its planned closure of the Portsmouth-Cherbourg and Caen routes and the transfer of the Portsmouth-Le Havre route to Brittany Ferries due to falling passenger numbers and rising costs. The Caen Express was returned to Mols Linien in October 2004' and Portsmouth-Cherbourg closed on 14 January 2005. Following the intervention of the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission Brittany Ferries backed out of the deal to take over the Le Havre route so Portsmouth-Le Havre remained under P&O Ferries until its closure on 30 September 2005.^[9]

The Bilbao route remained as the only Portsmouth operation, until on 15 January 2010, P&O Ferries announced they would withdraw the service at the end of the Pride of Bilbao's charter. The vessel completed its final voyage on 28 September 2010 and was returned to Irish Continental Group, from whom it had been chartered since the routes inception.^[6] This marked the end of P&O's operations from Portsmouth.

North Sea[link]

P&O's involvement in the North Sea ferry routes began with 35% stake in North Sea Ferries owned by its subsidiary General Steam Navigation Company.^[10] North Sea Ferries had begun operations on 17 December 1965 sailing on the Hull-Rotterdam route, a route which critics predicted would not survive. The numbers proved them wrong however and in the first year, 54,000 passengers were carried.^[10] By 1974, demand for capacity was greater than could be supplied and two vastly bigger vessels, Norland and Norstar, which were at that time, the largest ferries in the world ^[10] were introduced to the route.

The two vessels Norwind and Norwave were transferred to a new route, Hull-Zeebrugge, operating a nightly service departing 30mins after the Rotterdam service sailed. The two routes remained unchanged with the exception of the Ministry of Defence chartering Norland for service with the British Task Force to the Falkland Islands in 1982. The two routes were becoming increasingly popular and in 1987 the larger Norsun and Norsea were introduced on the Hull-Rotterdam, the two displaced vessels moving to Hull-Zeebrugge and the sale of both Norwind and Norwave.

As part of the success of the routes, dedicated freight routes were introduced from Teesport to both Rotterdam and Zeebrugge on a nightly basis, however the ships quickly began to struggle to cope with demand and in 1994 new superfreighters were introduced on the Hull routes. These new vessels were too large to pass through the locks to the King George Dock in Hull and a new river berth was therefore constructed.

By 1996 P&O owned a 50% stake in North Sea Ferries, the other 50% owned by Royal Nedlloyd Group. In a multi-million pound deal, P&O purchased Royal Nedlloyd Group's stake and North Sea Ferries was rebranded to P&O North Sea Ferries. Continuing success saw the purchase of two new superferries weighing 60,000 tonnes from Fincantieri, entering service in 2001 as Pride of Rotterdam and Pride of Hull and once again holding the title of 'worlds largest ferry'. The Norsea and Norsun were refitted and returned to P&O North Sea Ferries on the Hull-Zeebrugge route as Pride of York and Pride of Bruges.

Following P&O's acquisition of P&O Stena Line in 2002, P&O North Sea Ferries was merged and rebranded with P&O's Portsmouth and Dover operations under the current P&O Ferries Ltd name.

Irish Sea[link]

In 1971 P&O purchased the remains of Coast Lines which had been operating in the Irish Sea since 1913. In December 1974, P&O founded Pandoro Ltd to provide transport operations to Ireland.^[11] A number of different routes were started and ceased operating as the 'Troubles' had an impact on the car/passenger market to Northern Ireland.

In 1993 Pandoro added a service operating between Rosslare, Ireland and Cherbourg, France to its Ardrossan-Larne, Liverpool-Dublin and Fleetwood-Dublin routes.

P&O Irish Sea was formed in 1998, following the merger of the Cairnryan-based service of P&O European Ferries (Felixstowe) Ltd and Pandoro Ltd (who operated routes between England, Scotland and France to Ireland).^[12] The following year (1999), the new P&O Irish Sea announced its intentions to purchase a purpose-built Ro-Pax (roll-on, roll-off, vehicle/passenger) vessel from Mitsubishi of Japan for the Liverpool to Dublin route. This would see the transfer of the European Leader to the Fleetwood route.

In 2004, P&O closed its Fleetwood – Larne services with the sale of all interests. In addition to the service rights, European Leader, European Pioneer and European Seafarer were sold to the Swedish Stena Line group. At the same time, P&O announced the closure of the Mostyn – Dublin service due to low passenger numbers. This led to the sale of European Ambassador and European Envoy for further service in Europe.^{[citation needed]}

In 2010, P&O Irish Sea was merged back into being part of its parent company again.

Routes[link]

P&O Ferries has operated the following routes.

Passenger / freight routes[link]

• Ardrossan - Larne (?-2001) - Transferred to Troon
• Dover - Calais (1987–Present)
• Dover - Boulogne (~1965-1985)
• Dover - Zeebrugge (1987–2002)
• Fleetwood - Larne (1973–2004) - Transferred to Stena Line
• Hull - Rotterdam (1996–Present)
• Hull - Zeebrugge (1996–Present)
• Larne - Cairnryan
• Larne - Troon (2001–Present)
• Liverpool - Belfast (1971–1981)
• Liverpool - Dublin
• Mostyn - Dublin (2001–2004)
• Portsmouth - Cherbourg (1987–2005)
• Portsmouth - Le Havre (1987–2005)
• Portsmouth - Caen (2004)
• Portsmouth - Bilbao (1993–2010)
• Rosslare - Cherbourg (1993–2005) - Transferred to Celtic Link Ferries
• Southampton - Le Havre (1967–1985) - Transferred to Normandy Ferries Ltd

Freight only routes[link]

• Dover - Zeebrugge
• Teesport - Rotterdam
• Teesport - Zeebrugge
• Tilbury - Zeebrugge
• Troon - Larne (year round)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: P&O Ferries

• Official P&O Ferries website
• Swedish website
• P&O Ferries Freight Site
• The Unofficial Guide to P&O Ferries
• P.O.S.H. - The Ships of P&O
• Ferry Fantastic

v t e Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) Parent company DP World Divisions and subsidiaries Current P&O Ferries P&O Ferrymasters P&O Maritime Services Former Bovis Homes Group Pandoro Ltd P&O Bank P&O Containers Ltd P&O Cruises P&O Cruises Australia P&O Estates P&O European Ferries P&O Irish Sea P&O Nedlloyd P&O North Sea Ferries P&O Ports Ltd P&O Portsmouth P&O Princess Cruises P&O Scottish Ferries P&O Stena Line Acquisitions British-India Steam Navigation Company Coast Lines European Ferries Group Ltd General Steam Navigation Company New Zealand Shipping Company Orient Steam Navigation Company Overseas Containers Ltd Union Steamship Company of New Zealand Category

v t e Ships of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O)   Current fleet English Channel European Seaway Pride of Burgundy Pride of Calais Pride of Canterbury 2 Pride of Kent 2 Spirit of Britain Spirit of France Irish Sea European Causeway European Highlander 2 Norbank Norbay Norcape North Sea Bore Song European Trader 2 Norking Norqueen Norsky Norstream Pride of Bruges 2 Pride of Hull Pride of Rotterdam Pride of York   Former fleet     Atlantic Freighter Baltic Ferry Bison Bore Mari Brave Merchant Buffalo Calibur Celtic Star Cerdic Ferry Cherbourg Express Doric Ferry Envoy Equine European Ambassador European Clearway European Diplomat European Endeavour 1 European Endeavour 2 European Enterprise European Envoy European Freeway European Freighter European Highlander 1 European Highway European Leader European Mariner European Navigator European Pathfinder European Pathway European Pioneer European Seafarer European Tideway European Trader 1 Europic Ferry Express Free Enterprise V Free Enterprise VI Free Enterprise VII Global Carrier Global Freighter Ibex Jetliner Landi Lehola Leopard Lion Max Mols (Caen Express) Merchant Brilliant Merchant Valiant Norcove Nordic Ferry Norland Norsea Norsun Northern Star P&OSL Aquitaine P&OSL Burgundy P&OSL Calais P&OSL Canterbury P&OSL Dover P&OSL Kent P&OSL Picardy P&OSL Provence Panther PO Aquitaine PO Burgundy PO Calais PO Canterbury PO Dover PO Kent PO Provence Pride of Ailsa Pride of Aquitaine Pride of Bilbao Pride of Bruges 1 Pride of Canterbury 1 Pride Of Cherbourg 1 Pride of Cherbourg 2 Pride of Cherbourg 3 Pride of Cherbourg A Pride of Cherbourg II Pride of Dover Pride of Flanders Pride of Free Enterprise Pride of Hampshire Pride of Hythe Pride of Kent 1 Pride of Le Havre 1 Pride of Le Havre 2 Pride of Portsmouth Pride of Provence Pride of Rathlin Pride of Sandwich Pride of Suffolk Pride of Walmer Pride of Winchester Portsmouth Express Puma Rodona RR Triumph Sapphire Southern Carrier Stena Cambria Stena Empereur Stena Fantasia Stena Royal Stena Shipper SuperStar Express Tidero Star Tor Futura Ursine Vega Viking Trader Viking Valiant Viking Venturer Viking Viscount Viking Voyager 1,2,3 - Denotes order in which different vessels carried the name

v t e Current ferry operators of Scotland International DFDS Seaways Kintyre Express P&O Ferries Stena Line Domestic Anstruther Pleasure Cruises Ardlui Hotel Ardnamurchan Charters Argyll and Bute Ferries Argyll Ferries Arisaig Marine ASP Ship Management Bella Jane Boat Trips BK Marine Bruce Watt Cruises Caledonian MacBrayne Cape Wrath Ferry Clyde Marine Transport Clydelink Coastal Connection Crannog Cruises Cromarty Ferry Company Cruise Loch Lomond Cruise Loch Ness Elgol Boat Trips Forth Boat Tours Gordon Grant Marine Handa Ferry Highland Council Historic Scotland Inchmurrin Island Isle of Jura Passenger Ferry Isle of Skye Ferry Company Jacobite Cruises John o' Groats Ferries Kerrera Ferry Kilda Cruises Loch Shiel Cruises Macfarlane and Son Maid of the Forth Misty Isle Boat Trips Northlink Ferries Oban Marina Orkney Ferries Pentland Ferries Rowardennan Hotel Scottish Natural Heritage Scottish Seabird Centre Sea Harris Seatrek SIC Ferries Staffa Trips Steamship Sir Walter Scott Trust Summer Isles Enterprises Summer Queen Cruises Sweeney's Cruises Turus Mara Ulva Ferry Western Ferries See also: Transport Scotland

P.O.D.
Traa Daniels, Wuv Bernardo, Marcos Curiel, Sonny Sandoval
Background information
Origin	Southtown, San Diego, California, United States
Genres	Alternative metal,[1] nu metal,[1][2] rap metal,[3] Christian metal, reggae[3]
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Rescue, Atlantic, Columbia/INO, Razor & Tie, Tooth & Nail
Associated acts	The Accident Experiment, Living Sacrifice, StillWell, Daylight Division, Southtown Generals
Website	www.payableondeath.com
Members
Sonny Sandoval Wuv Bernardo Traa Daniels Marcos Curiel
Past members
Jason Truby Gabe Portillo

Payable on Death (stylized as P.O.D.)^[4] is an American Christian metal^[5][6] band formed in 1992. The band's line-up consists of vocalist Sonny Sandoval, drummer Wuv Bernardo, guitarist Marcos Curiel, and bassist Traa Daniels. ^[4][7][8]

They have released seven studio albums and have sold over 10 million records worldwide. Over the course of their career, the band have also received three Grammy Award nominations, contributed to numerous motion picture soundtracks and toured internationally. With their third studio album, The Fundamental Elements of Southtown, they achieved their initial mainstream success; the album was certified Platinum by the RIAA in 2000.^[8][9] Their following studio album, Satellite, continued the band's success with the singles, "Alive" and "Youth of the Nation", pushing it to go triple platinum.^[9][10]

History[link]

Early years (1991–1993)[link]

In 1991, friends Marcos Curiel and Wuv Bernardo engaged in jam sessions, with Marcos covering guitar and Wuv playing the drums with no vocalist.^[11] Calling themselves Eschatos, they started playing at keg parties doing Metallica and Slayer cover songs.

After his mother's fatal illness, Sonny Sandoval converted to Christianity and was asked by his cousin, Wuv Bernardo, to join the band as a way to keep his mind straight as mentioned on their DVD, Still Payin' Dues. They got a bass player, Gabe Portillo, and eventually changed their name to P.O.D.

Debut releases (1994–1998)[link]

After recording a demo tape, Traa Daniels joined the band in 1994 when they needed a bassist for some shows to replace Gabe. P.O.D. signed with Rescue Records, a label created by Wuv's father, Noah Bernardo Sr., who was also the band's first manager.^[12] Between 1994 and 1997, they released three albums under the label, Snuff the Punk, Brown and Payable on Death Live.^[8] Longtime manager Tim Cook was first introduced to the band when he booked them to play his club The Where-House in Bartlesville, Oklahoma following strong local word of mouth support.^[12] He later described their performance by saying: "I stood at the back of the venue with tears in my eyes – it was the greatest thing I had ever seen."^[12] By that point, Bernardo Sr. was looking for someone else to take P.O.D.'s career further and so Cook took over as manager.^[12]

Shortly after the release of Payable on Death Live, Essential Records offered P.O.D. a $100,000 recording contract, but Sonny Sandoval spoke for them all when he politely but firmly told band manager Tim Cook to decline the offer because, “God has a bigger plan for P.O.D.”^[13] When, in 1998, Atlantic Records A&R John Rubeli first came across P.O.D.'s demo "he didn't quite get it", as he later told HitQuarters.^[12] It was only when he saw them play live at The Roxy on the Sunset Strip and witnessed not just an enthusiastic audience singing every word but the centre of a vibrant youth movement that he become convinced by the band.^[12] The band was quickly signed to a major-label deal.^[13] P.O.D. soon released The Warriors EP, a tribute EP to their loyal fans as a transitional album from Rescue Records to Atlantic Records.

Mainstream success (1999–2002)[link]

P.O.D.'s third studio album, 1999's The Fundamental Elements of Southtown, spawned the hits "Southtown" and "Rock the Party (Off the Hook)", which was their first video to reach #1 on MTV's Total Request Live.^[14] The song "School of Hard Knocks" was featured on the soundtrack for Little Nicky while both "Southtown" and "Rock the Party" appeared in the movie. All three music videos endured heavy play on MTV2 and the songs were rock radio hits. The album went on to become RIAA certified platinum.^[8]

On September 11, 2001 P.O.D. released their fourth studio album, Satellite. The album's first single, "Alive", went on to become one of MTV's and MTV2's top played videos of the year. The video's popularity, as well as the song's positive message, helped the song become a huge modern rock radio hit and it was Grammy nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2002.

The album's second single, "Youth of the Nation", was influenced in part by the school shootings at Santana High School, Columbine High School, and Granite Hills High School. It was Grammy nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2003. The 2002 singles, "Boom" and "Satellite", also became quite popular. In addition, the concluding track of the album, "Portrait," was Grammy nominated for Best Metal Performance in 2003. Satellite went on to become RIAA-certified triple platinum.^[10] The author of Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music has described P.O.D. as "One of the biggest success stories in recent Christian music."^[15]

New guitarist (2003–2006)[link]

On February 19, 2003, guitarist Marcos Curiel left the band due to his side project, The Accident Experiment, and to "spiritual differences." However, Marcos argued that he was actually kicked out of the band.^[16][17] Curiel was replaced by Jason Truby, former member of Christian metal band Living Sacrifice, and assisted with the recording of "Sleeping Awake", from The Matrix Reloaded soundtrack. In an interview with Yahoo! Music, Sonny stated that Jason is the reason why the group is still together.^[18] On November 4, 2003, P.O.D. released their fifth studio album, Payable on Death, which saw the group shift from their well known rapcore sound to a darker, more melodic metal sound.^[7] The album was hit with controversy due to its "occult" cover, which led as many as 85% of Christian bookstores across the United States to ban the album.^[19] With the help of the album's hit single "Will You" and "Change the World", it went on to sell over 520,000 copies and was certified Gold.^[20] Sometime after the tsunami in Asia, many singers, musicians, and actors/actresses, including Sonny and Wuv, participated in the recording of, "Forever in Our Hearts", with all proceeds going to benefit the tsunami relief.^[21]

P.O.D.'s sixth studio album Testify was slated for a December 2005 release, but was pushed back to January 24, 2006. On November 15, 2005, P.O.D. released The Warriors EP, Volume 2, which featured demos from the upcoming album, to help build up the fans' anticipation for the pending January release. The album's first single, "Goodbye for Now" (with a vocal tag by a then-unknown Katy Perry) went on to become a #1 video on MTV's TRL, along with having a solid radio presence, it also became the band's unprecedented 4th number one video on Total Request Live.^[22] The second single off the album, "Lights Out" was a minor hit, but was featured as the "official theme song" to WWE's Survivor Series on November 27, 2005. In another contribution to WWE, they performed fellow San Diego native Rey Mysterio's theme song "Booyaka 619" at WrestleMania 22.^[22] To promote their latest album, P.O.D. went on a nationwide tour called the "Warriors Tour 2: Guilty by Association", which began in April, and included the bands Pillar, The Chariot and Maylene and the Sons of Disaster.^[23]

On August 11, 2006, P.O.D. announced in their online newsletter that they had left Atlantic Records.^[9][20] On September 16, 2006, P.O.D. announced that they have teamed up with Rhino Records to release a greatest hits record simply titled, Greatest Hits: The Atlantic Years, which was released on November 21, 2006. They shot a music video for their single "Going In Blind", one of the two new songs they included in the tenth album, and they had meetings with various record labels to begin working on new material for an album they hoped to release in mid 2007.^[9]

Reunion (2007–2009)[link]

In a statement made by the band's manager on their MySpace page, it was officially announced, on December 30, 2006, that Jason Truby had left the band. They had said "God worked it out because Jason decided to leave the band the same day Marcos asked to rejoin." Marcos performed with the band for the first time since his departure on the 2006 New Year's Eve episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!.^[9] Marcos was scheduled to appear at this show before returning, which is why he was able to do it literally the day after he was announced as being back in the band.

On February 2, 2007 the band made a new record deal with INO Records.^[24]

On June 1, 2007, at the Rockbox in San Diego, the band performed and revealed a new song entitled "Condescending", along with another new song performed on June 16, 2007, at the Journeys Backyard BBQ tour entitled "Addicted". They also revealed the title of their new album to be When Angels & Serpents Dance. On August 4, 2007, the band played at Angel Stadium of Anaheim's annual Harvest Crusade where they revealed a new song entitled "I'll Be Ready", originally thought to be entitled "When Babylon Come For I," for a crowd of 42,000.^[25]

The album cover was officially revealed on December 10, 2007.^[26] The title track was released for free download on their site in January 2008. The first single "Addicted" was released on February 19 and peaked at No. 30 on the Mainstream Rock chart. The album was released on April 8, 2008 entitled When Angels & Serpents Dance. On July 28, 2008, the group played a free public performance at the Orange County Choppers headquarters in Newburgh, NY, with OCC The Band opening. The band also played on August 16, 2008 at the Angel Stadium of Anaheim's annual Harvest Crusade. During September 2008 P.O.D played alongside Redline, Behind Crimson Eyes, Alter Bridge and Disturbed as part of the Music As A Weapon tour 2008 in Australia. In November 2008, P.O.D. started their first tour in South America with five shows in Brazil, one in Chile and one in Colombia. P.O.D. then went on hiatus after touring in South America. This was confirmed when they canceled the 2009 European tour with Filter in summer 2009.

Recent years (2010–present)[link]

In March and April 2010, P.O.D. played an 11-date South America tour, visiting countries such as Argentina and Colombia.

In May 2011, P.O.D. headlined the first annual Spring Jam Fest. They appeared on the Rock of Allegiance tour during summer 2011.^[27] On July 25, 2011, P.O.D. released new song "On Fire" as a free download on their official website.^[28]

On October 6, 2011, P.O.D. announced a new multi-album artist deal with Razor & Tie.^[29] On April 5, 2012, P.O.D. posted an article on their website that allows fans to download and listen to the track "Eyez". ^[30] P.O.D. also announced on their website that "Lost in Forever" will be the first single off of the new album, entitled Murdered Love,^[31] is set to be released on July 10, 2012.^{[citation needed]} The album, produced by longterm collaborator Howard Benson and recorded between December 2010 and January 2012 was described by Curiel that set the band "back to our roots. A little bit of hip hop, a little bit of punk rock, or reggae".^[32]

Style and influences[link]

The band's name, Payable on Death (P.O.D.), derives itself from the banking term "Payable on Death". The band chose this name to be a direct tie in to Christianity, which explains, that since Jesus died on the Cross, Christians inherit all of his assets (Heaven). P.O.D.'s style has evolved over the years, from the rap metal sound on their early albums to the nu metal and reggae-infused alternative metal styles for which they're most well known. Their latest album, When Angels & Serpents Dance, is a combination of alternative rock, reggae rock and Latin-influenced metal with almost none of the rap metal or nu metal sound of their older releases. P.O.D.'s influences include Santana, Bad Brains, Bob Marley, Metallica, U2, Rage Against the Machine, Beastie Boys, Black Flag, Faith No More, Jane's Addiction, Living Colour, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sepultura and Suicidal Tendencies.^[8]

Band members[link]

Current members

• Sonny Sandoval − lead vocals (1992–present)
• Wuv Bernardo − drums, percussion, rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1992–present)
• Traa Daniels − bass guitar, backing vocals (1994–present)
• Marcos Curiel − lead guitar, glockenspiel, programming, backing vocals (1992–2003, 2006–present)

Former members

• Gabe Portillo − bass (1992–1994)
• Jason Truby − guitar, backing vocals (2003–2006)

Discography[link]

• Snuff the Punk (1994)
• Brown (1996)
• The Fundamental Elements of Southtown (1999)
• Satellite (2001)
• Payable on Death (2003)
• Testify (2006)
• When Angels & Serpents Dance (2008)
• Murdered Love (2012)^[33]

Awards[link]

American Music Awards

• 2003 - Favorite Contemporary Inspirational Artist (nomination)

Echo Awards

• 2003 - International Alternative Group of the Year ^[34]

San Diego Music Awards

• 1999 - Best Hard Rock Artist
• 2000 - Best Hard Rock Artist

Note: Album and single-specific awards and nominations are listed under their respective articles.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: P.O.D.

• Official P.O.D. website
• P.O.D. Promotions Crew: Official Street Team
• P.O.D. at PureVolume