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Speaking of confidence, what happened between Satellite [3 million-plus in sales] and Payable on Death [500,000-plus]? Why didn't that album blow up like Satellite, and did you guys lose any confidence as a result?

Sandoval No, we didn't lose confidence. I went back and listened to that record recently, and it [slow sales] really bummed me out because I love that record. I don't really think it got the credit that it deserved.

But at that time, there were a lot of personnel changes at the label [Atlantic]. They were worried about their jobs, and they didn't care about the music or the artists. We had a hit song, a No. 1 video on TRL ["Will You"]. We did well in our first week of sales. We were touring with Linkin Park. All of our ducks were in a row. And we had just done an amazing video for "Change Your World," which I believe would have been a huge success—except the label never even shopped it to MTV. They never shopped it to anybody, because everybody was concerned about their jobs. And then, once they got the new team in with the label, 95 percent of the new people had no relationship with us. P.O.D. meant nothing to them. We were telling them, "Hey, this is a great record." But they didn't work it.

One of the top guys said, "You guys got basically left for dead, and I'm sorry for that and there's nothing I can do—except that you guys have got to go in and make another great record." It was kind of discouraging, but it's what it is.

Do you feel like everything's in place for Testify to do well?

Sandoval We still have our doubts and concerns, but we've been assured that this is a new label, a new company. We've met a lot of the people, and they've been amazing and they really dig the record. We have all the support we think we need. But it just comes down to the songs and to a label that's willing to work it. And I think if this record does well, a lot of people will go back to buy Payable on Death.

A press release from Word/Warner, which is distributing your music to Christian bookstores, called Testify your "most spiritual album to date."

Sandoval (laughs) I think it's a sales gimmick. My thing is, everything we do is for its time and place. We've been through so many things in the past years, but we're always out there, loving on God and people. We're doing the best we can.

When we first came out [in the early '90s], we were on such a mission to get our Christianity out there, to tell people about things we believe in. Now, people know that; they expect that of P.O.D. Now it's just about going out there and living it day by day and trying to make it. We're just trying to keep everything in context.

But we go into every album on our knees, and pray that God would do something awesome with it. And if it's meant to be, it's meant to be; and if it's not, then God will be gracious to us. But we've always given it over to God, and I think that comes out in our music. There's never really an agenda. The songs and the lyrics are always about what's going on in our lives right now. And of course it's just the P.O.D. way to always intertwine that hope that we have in Christ, that love that we have, that promise that we have from God above. It's always intertwined in our music.

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