No matter how aggressive and antisocial their music got, the nu-metal bands were always very skilled at creating a special bond with their fans. P.O.D. were no exception, inviting their listeners to join them as the "Youth of the Nation," and so their new album Veritas actually starts with an intro welcoming listeners to this new chapter in their musical journey, and it ends with an outro saying they hope we enjoyed this as much as they did. The record arrived five-and-a-half years after their previous effort, 2018's Circles, and it marks the 30th anniversary of their independent debut, 1994's Snuff the Punk. While the era in which P.O.D. came to full bloom is long gone -- their last record to make a dent in the international charts was 2006's Testify -- the group has simply continued to deliver well-made new records. And with the 2020's resurgence of the genre among younger bands building on the sounds of this previous generation, there's no need for P.O.D. to compete. They can simply continue to play the easily recognizable blend of metal, rap, reggae, and anthemic pop choruses that they've honed over the years. Like Circles, Veritas was guided by the fittingly named production duo Heavy (Jordan Miller and Jason Bell), and they manage to steer the group toward their most quintessential qualities without overdoing the nostalgia element, and at the same time, there's a slightly modern current (e.g. some metalcore breakdowns) that ensures the album isn't just a rehash. One of P.O.D.'s strengths is that they're not big on sentimentality, and so the songs have a matter-of-factness which keeps them from sounding like the band is trying to recapture their youth: they emphasize the heavier edges, not the passing of time. Granted, there are some very obvious throwbacks -- especially "Afraid to Die," an anthem featuring Jinjer's Tatiana Shmayluk, which taps into the same style as their biggest hit, "Youth of the Nation," or the melodic rap-metal track "I Won't Bow Down," which could have appeared on 2001's Satellite without a problem. But overall, Sonny, Marcos, and Traa (drummer Wuv was on hiatus, replaced here by session drummer Robin Diaz of Theory of a Deadman and Daughtry) sound revitalized, from the explosive opener "Drop" (featuring Randy Blythe by Lamb of God) to the punchy "Dead Right" to the punk energy of "This Is My Life" (featuring Saosin's Cove Reber). Veritas may not open up new avenues for the band, but it proves that after all these years, P.O.D. can still deliver rousingly defiant underdog anthems in their own style -- fittingly described in the lyrics of "I Got That" as "that underground, original, nothing-to-prove SouthTown, don't-play-around Dago signature groove." ~ Christian Genzel