Testify (P.O.D. album)

Testify
Studio album by P.O.D.
Released	January 24, 2006
Recorded	December 2004 - July 2005
Studio	John Philips Estate, Palm Springs, California The Plant, Sausalito, California Aerowave Studios, Encino, California Signature Sound, San Diego, California Henson Studios, Hollywood, California
Genre	Reggae rock,[1] Christian metal,[2][3] Rap rock[4][5]
Length	50:19
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Glen Ballard, P.O.D.
P.O.D. chronology
The Warriors EP, Volume 2 (2005) Testify (2006) Greatest Hits: The Atlantic Years (2006)
Alternative cover
Limited Edition cover
Singles from Testify
"Goodbye for Now" Released: November 08, 2005 "Sounds Like War" Released: 2005 "Lights Out" Released: February 17, 2006

Testify is the sixth studio album by American recording group P.O.D.. 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 leaked to file-sharing networks on January 20, 2006, just four days before its release. It was also their last album with Jason Truby on guitar, before he left the band in December 2006.

This album was also available in the Testify (Limited Edition) version with a bonus CD (called Beyond Testify) featuring commentary by the band on every song on the album, as well as four bonus songs and a remix that didn't make the album. The album's first single, "Goodbye for Now," went on to become the No. 1 music video on MTV's TRL and became P.O.D.'s unprecedented 4th No. 1 video. The song also enjoyed heavy play on the radio. Testify became the No. 1 selling Christian album on Billboard for several weeks and, as of May 2006, had been in the Top 25 for a total of 16 weeks. It opened at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 with 58,000 scans^[6] and has sold over 210,000 copies in the US and over 500,000 copies worldwide.

Musical style and production

Bassist Traa Daniels stated "This album defines who we are musically as a foursome more than any other album that we've ever done." He added, "What we tried to do on this album. . . was to take people on a journey musically. . . I think we have a lot of different elements." Sonny Sandoval also noted, "We have one of the heaviest songs we ever wrote and one of the softest songs we ever wrote."^[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	(55/100)[8]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[9]
CBN	[10]
Christianity Today	[11]
Cross Rhythms	[12]
Entertainment Weekly	C+[13]
IGN	(6.8/10)[14]
Jesus Freak Hideout	[15]
musicOMH	(favorable)[16]
Rolling Stone	[17]
Spin	(6/10)[18]

Upon release, Testify was met with mixed reception from major music publications. On an aggregate score out of 100, Metacritic gave it 55 based on 11 reviews.^[8] Jason Bracelin of Blender gave the album two stars out of five and proclaimed, "On their fifth disc, these 'jah soldiers' run low on ammo" and elaborated that "on the ska-tinged 'Strength of My Life,' they sound like the world’s most polite rude boys, while 'Goodbye for Now' is the kind of listless modern rock that could be bottled and sold as a sleep aid."^[19] Rolling Stone's Christian Hoard similarly noted "Testify is not as pompous or overblown as you might think; it just feels tired. . . The most notable aspect of Testify, in fact, is how little P.O.D., or their guitars, have to say."^[17]

Allmusic's Matt Collar, however, gave the album 4/5 rating and considered guitarist Jason Truby's work a "truly inspired and technically brilliant performance." He also commended Sandoval's enthusiastic vocals regarded the album as representing "a band reborn."

Track listing

All songs written and composed by P.O.D., except where noted. 

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Roots in Stereo" (featuring Matisyahu)	4:42
2.	"Lights Out"	2:47
3.	"If You Could See Me Now"	3:07
4.	"Goodbye for Now"	4:34
5.	"Sounds Like War"	3:53
6.	"On the Grind" (featuring Sick Jacken)	4:25
7.	"This Time"	4:41
8.	"Mistakes & Glories"	3:38
9.	"Let You Down"	4:15
10.	"Teachers"	4:21
11.	"Strength of My Life" (featuring Matisyahu)	3:37
12.	"Say Hello"	2:32
13.	"Mark My Words" (featuring Sick Jacken)	3:43

Bonus tracks
No.	Title	Length
14.	"Not Your Kind" (Japan bonus track)	2:37
15.	"Your Eyes" (Wal-Mart exclusive bonus track)	4:23

Unreleased track
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Here We Go" (Previously unreleased but was put on Greatest Hits: The Atlantic Years)	3:28

There is also a limited edition with a second disc called Beyond Testify that features exclusive web content, commentaries for all the songs, and the following bonus tracks:

• "Generation" - 4:25
• "Bridge to Burn" - 4:26 previously unreleased b-side from the Payable on Death sessions
• "Will You (Chris Vrenna Remix)" - 3:54 originally on the Will You Single [2003]
• "Every Time I Die (Demo)" - 3:31
• "New Wave (Demo)" - 3:39 demo of "Let You Down"

Personnel

• Sonny Sandoval - Lead vocals
• Jason Truby - Guitar
• Traa Daniels - Bass guitar
• Wuv Bernardo - Drums
• Jordan Orava - Synth

Other Crew/Guest Musicians

• Glen Ballard - Programming, keyboards, production
• Jonathan Davis - Was scheduled to perform backup vocals on the song "Mistakes and Glories" but could not due to scheduling conflicts. Jason Truby instead recorded the sections left for Davis.
• Katy Perry - Background vocals on "Goodbye For Now".

References

1. "P.O.D. "Testify" Review".
2. Brian Schiller (25 January 2006). "P.O.D. Testify - Album Review - Slant Magazine". Slant Magazine.
3. "P.O.D.". PopMatters.
4. "P.O.D., ‘Testify’ (Atlantic)". Spin.
5. Matt Collar. "Testify". AllMusic.
6. Harris, Chris Simon Cowell's Creation Beats Foxx And Blige For Billboard #1 MTV.com (February 1, 2006). Retrieved on 4-15-09.
7. Moss, Corey P.O.D. Find New Hope With Interfaith Matisyahu Marriage MTV.com (January 25, 2006). Retrieved on 4-15-09.
8. "Testify Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
9. Collar, Matt. "Testify - P.O.D.". Allmusic.
10. "Album Reviews Archive". CBN.
11. "Testify, Christian Music Reviews". Christianity Today. Archived from the original on 2006-01-28.
12. "P.O.D. - Testify". Cross Rhythms.
13. Hermes, Will (2006-01-30). "Testify Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
14. Spence D. (2006-01-24). "P.O.D - Testify". IGN. Retrieved 2013-01-19.
15. "P.O.D., "Testify" Review". Jesus Freak Hideout.
16. Bansal, Vik (2006-01-23). "P.O.D. - Testify". musicOMH. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
17. Hoard, Christian (2006-01-23). "Testify : Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2006-02-07. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
18. Catucci, Nick (2006-01-31). "P.O.D., 'Testify' (Atlantic)". Spin. Retrieved 2012-08-18.
19. http://web.archive.org/web/20070930185953/http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=3697. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved September 2, 2007. Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links

• Testify at Metacritic