On their first album in six years, Christian nu metallers P.O.D. have returned and are coming back swinging. Reuniting with the production team that made their last disc, they are going out without original drummer Wuv, who departed under hazy circumstances after that last album. 
Session drummer and member of Live, Robin Diaz takes over the drum throne and from the first track, “Drop,” featuring of all people, Randy Blythe from Lamb of God, the band have returned with something to prove. Though I wish the song was super heavy, it’s got a nice groove and Blythe is always a good addition no matter the band. This is a band that never has changed all that much about their sound over the last 30 years, just adapting to whatever sound is interesting at the time, but they can still really bring the heavy in the guitars and that’s one of the key things that usually makes them interesting even after almost 30 years of making music.
Unfortunately, the album is largely miss. “Dead Right” is a step in the right direction but at barely two minutes, it’s not enough to make that much of an impression. Maybe the vocals and lyrics are just too samey from song to song, maybe it’s just not enough of a difference from the last couple of records. “Lay Me Down” is a good quality track and “This is My Life,” featuring Cove from Saosin, is a good upbeat track, but there just isn’t enough here to satiate all but the band’s absolute ride or die fans.
This is just an overall lackluster 34 minutes with nothing really standing out and begging for repeated listens. Another track, “Lies We Tell Ourselves,” is a good strong track but there aren’t any real bangers here. It’s overall very samey as previously stated and the album should serve as a call to the band to shake things up and try some new stuff for the next disc.