“A lot of people that listen to metal or rock have tunnel vision”: P.O.D. guitarist Marcos Curiel says many bands these days “sound alike”
Marcos Curiel, guitarist of Christian metal band P.O.D., has commented on the current state of rock, noting how a lot of modern bands nowadays “sound alike”.
Speaking on the Rock Brothers Podcast, Curiel reflects on P.O.D.’s musical evolution as well as the resistance the band faced early in their career for going against the grain.
“When we started, man, it wasn’t like everybody opened their arms and welcomed us in,” he says [via Blabbermouth]. “There’s a lot of taboo when it comes to P.O.D. There’s the spiritual angle, then there’s the rap angle, ethnic angle, the reggae.”
READ MORE: “No one ever told Van Halen, ‘Oh Eddie, you start tapping’”: Veteran rock writer explains why Van Halen were more “organic” than other shred metal bands
The band’s refusal to conform, he says, has always set them apart – even if it wasn’t always welcomed: “We like to mix it up. And a lot of people that listen to metal or rock have tunnel vision. And throughout the years, we just stayed consistent, doing us.”
Adding that P.O.D. had come from an era where “everybody sounded different,” Curiel explains, “Right now a lot of bands sound alike. When we grew up, it was Rage [Against The Machine], Body Count, [Red Hot] Chili Peppers – just those three alone. Nirvana, Pearl Jam, they all sound different, and they all have their own unique sound.”
“And the thing about P.O.D. – I don’t care whether you love us or hate us, when you hear us, you know who we are. And that right there is a blessing in itself. We’re not chasing the carrot. At one point some people try to get us to do that, and we’re, like, ‘Dude, we’re just P.O.D. Take it or leave it.’”
Curiel also recalls how that push for individuality played out early in their major-label days ”What’s crazy is when we got signed to Atlantic, back then it wasn’t even a thing for rock bands to be adding features,” says the guitarist. “But we’re hip-hop fans, so we were, like, ‘Hey, man, why don’t we add H.R. from Bad Brains or Eek-A-Mouse?’ And the label at the time was, like, ‘What are you guys doing? You’re a rock band.’ And we were, like, ‘Exactly. This is what we think is cool and this is what we like.’ And look at it — now everyone’s doing features.”
“The evolution is organic,” Marcos continues. “It’s not contrived. And we always hear bands that are, like, ‘Oh, you need to check us out, man. We do this, do this.’ And we listen and we’re, like, ‘I get you’re trying to do that. I get it, but it doesn’t sound fresh. It doesn’t sound organic.’ And I’m not a music snob, ‘cause we’re all about vibes and how it feels when you hear something. ‘Oh, that’s sick.’ And when it’s organic, I think people are just drawn to it. And some people don’t get it. They’re, like, ‘What is this?’”
The post “A lot of people that listen to metal or rock have tunnel vision”: P.O.D. guitarist Marcos Curiel says many bands these days “sound alike” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
