The CT Review: Rock's Real Rebels
Christians (and the god-haunted) make inroads into new territory
Kevin A. Miller | posted 1/08/2001 12:00AM
The Christian penetration of popular music has taken a surprising step: the sheep have found a small place in the wolves' den of sex, drugs, and ear-busting rock. Though evangelicals have enjoyed a substantial effect on pop music—more than on film, TV, or video games—they have done so only in certain genres. Believers who've won cultural acclaim have generally been pop balladeers (such as Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith) or gentler bands (such as Sixpence None the Richer and Jars of Clay). Christians generally gave up on hardcore as the province of hedonistic wastrels spewing lust and violence.
True, Christians claimed a few of their own metal bands: Resurrection Band in the '70s , the Spandex-bedecked novelty Stryper in the '80s, and numerous groups today such as Zao. But now, surprise, Christians who play hardcore, thrash, rap, and metal are shooting to the top of secular Billboard charts and landing major tour gigs and broad video and audio play.
Not your church choir
Take for instance, the rap-thrash foursome P.O.D. (Payable on Death). Their dreadlocks, tattoos, studs, and dyed hair signal they're not your typical church choir, but you'll recognize the words of "Follow Me": "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit his very self? / He must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."
Those straightforward lyrics haven't kept P.O.D. from scoring a hit (the battle-cry "Southtown" and "Rock the Party"), a platinum record (The Fundamental Elements of Southtown), and tour spots with Korn, a group whose shady lyrics and stoned fans would make any Christian parent shudder. That makes P.O.D. the rebels, as lead singer Sonny Sandoval explained in Revolver magazine: "We play concerts full of [other bands'] acts telling kids to put their middle finger up in the air, sleep with women, and do all the drugs they can. … When you get up and talk about love, people say, 'What do you mean? Rock and roll is about anarchy.' They say there's no room for God in rock. So you look at it and tell me who's the rebel. Who's the one looked down upon because of what he believes?"
P.O.D. includes Sandoval, his cousin Wuv on drums, and their mutual friend Marcos on guitar. They all grew up in the gritty Southtown neighborhood of San Diego, not far from Tijuana. (A bassist, named Traa, came from Cleveland.) When Sonny's mother lay dying of cancer, it moved him, as he told Synge.com: "I wasn't raised Christian, but as I continued to get older, most of my family were becoming Christian, and I was watching their lives change. And when my mom … was on her dying bed and stuff, I had to make a decision: Am I going to keep living this way? Am I going to keep doing this? Or am I going to trust in God and make a change out of my life?"
Wuv's father was a drug dealer who lived in the streets for three years. When his dad became a Christian, Wuv says in a band bio, "He would bring me to church and I started to see God change my dad's life. … We have a lot to be thankful for, so we just try to tell people about being positive and spreading love, instead of all the negative stuff that goes on." After a show, the group may talk with young fans for hours.
P.O.D. is gaining attention by combining lyrics of faith and a grinding sound akin to Rage Against the Machine. In 2000 P.O.D. placed a single on the soundtracks of Any Given Sunday and Little Nicky and appeared on the main stage at Ozzfest, the hardcore extravaganza named after the infamous Black Sabbath front man Ozzy Osbourne.
January 8 2001, Vol. 45, No. 1
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