by brandon speck

P.O.D. is still riding high, touring the globe after the release of Murdered Love more than a year ago.

Twenty years in the business and as strong as ever, Sonny Sandoval and the boys are spreading their Christ-centered message like never before and they’re doing it with the edgiest lyrics to date.

The controversial “I Am” is the center of the controversy.

“I Am” was taken off Lifeway Christian Stores’ copies for its dicey lyrics, that include a scratched out curse word and verses like: “I am the murderer, the pervert, sick to the core. I am the unclean dope fiend, I am the whore,” the song says before asking, “Cause if You knew who I am, would You really want to die for me?”

Sandolval opened up about the single and the disc in March, chatting with me before a show in Jackson, Miss.

“I don’t want to offend Christians, I don’t, but at the same time I think sometimes when people are, not necessarily offended, but when they’re uncomfortable, I think that’s a good thing,” Sandoval said. “I think that allows you to get out from where you’re at and really check it out and see what’s going on.”

P.O.D. is out to reach the sometimes unreachable. This song is getting their attention, attention Sandoval helps direct to a belief in Jesus.

“I knew gong into P.O.D again this time, I knew we were going straight into the world. I know we’re a band and it’s not like we’re playing these Christian festivals and getting paid Christian dollars. It’s not. And I love the church and I have a love for God’s people, but we’ve experienced so much more and it’s like we’re in the middle of what’s going on. It is what it is.”

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