They may not look like the stereotypical Southern California surfer dudes, but the four-piece hard rock outfit P.O.D. has nevertheless taken their native San Diego town San Ysidro (as well as the rest of the nation) by storm since the early 1990s, bringing their faith-driven Christian-inspired music to the forefront of the alternative metal genre.

Formed in the San Diego-Tijuana border town San Ysidro, P.O.D. emerged in 1992 out of a partnership between guitarist Marcos and drummer Wuv, taking their love for jazz and reggae music and injecting it with a punchy punk-infused sound. The band came full circle with the addition of Wuv's cousin and hip-hop MC Sonny, and Cleveland native Traa joined the band a year later, putting P.O.D. into action. The post-grunge metal band first garnered attention locally playing countless live shows and self-releasing a series of albums throughout the ‘90s, and the rockers eventually stirred up a big enough scene for Atlantic Records to take notice, and P.O.D. signed with the record label in 1998, releasing their major-label debut The Fundamental Elements of Southtown in 1999. Propelled by hit singles "Southtown" and "Rock the Party (Off the Hook)," P.O.D. started gaining attention as a rap-metal band, even taking hone the awards for Best Hard Rock or Metal Group, Album of the Year and Song of the Year at the 1999 San Diego Music Awards.

At this time, the fire beneath the P.O.D. firecracker had been lit, and it was only a matter of time before the band would explode. This detonation came in 2000, when the band's involvement with Ozzfest and the MTV Campus Invasion tour made their moniker a household name. Satellite, P.O.D.'s sophomore release for Atlantic, was released in 2001, featuring the red-hot singles "Alive" and "Youth of the Nation," the latter of which gained fame for its original hip-hop/reggae/punk combination. P.O.D. survived lineup alterations through the mid-2000s, but by 2008 P.O.D. was back and better than ever with the hit album When Angels and Serpents Dance.