"The last year has been a lot of fun for us. We wrote a lot of music and did a quick little tour back in August/September to get our feet wet. Right after that, we jumped into the studio with Howard and that went by really quickly and painlessly," Sonny Sandoval tells Noisecreep. The P.O.D. frontman is on the phone talking about Murdered Love, the California band's first studio album in four years.

The "Howard" Sandoval is referring to is Howard Benson, the mega-producer who has also scored Platinum plaques with everyone from Daughtry to The All-American Rejects. P.O.D. has worked with Benson three previous times, including their 2001 smash album, Satellite.

"Howard definitely knows how to get that melodic side of our sound to shine through, but I think we've always had that aspect to our sound, even before we hooked up with him. We work so well with him. We can be really honest with each other since we have such a long history together. He scored his first Gold and Platinum albums with P.O.D. We all came up together in this business. Howard doesn't treat us like some of these younger bands where he just runs the show [laughs]. We have a mutual respect for each other," says Sandoval.

Noisecreep asked the singer what kind of sound fans can expect from Murdered Love:

"There's some really heavy songs on this new record, but then again, there are some beautiful moments on it as well. In a way, it's kind of like P.O.D. went back to our roots on this album. We're playing the kind of music we enjoy. We're not care what kind of music is considered hot a moment. We don't keep up with what's on radio. We are doing this kind of music because we love to play it live. It's that simple."

Murdered Love won't hit stores till this summer, but the band is offering a free download of "Eyez," the first preview track from the album, at this link. The song features special guest vocals from Hatebreed's Jamey Jasta.

Razor & Tie
Razor & Tie
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P.O.D. will kick off a series of tour dates and festival shows on April 28 and will stay on the road throughout 2012.

P.O.D. INTERNATIONAL TOUR DATES:

April 6 – Toowoomba, Australia – Easterfest Queens Park

April 8 – Albany, Australia – Strawberry Jam Music Festival

April 10 – Wellington, New Zealand – Wellington Town Hall (co-headline with Rapture Ruckus)

April 11 – Auckland, New Zealand – Logan Campbell Centre (co-headline with Rapture Ruckus)

P.O.D. U.S. TOUR DATES:

April 28 – Tampa, FL – Tampa Bay Times Forum – 98Rockfest *

April 29 – Jacksonville, FL – Metropolitan Park – Welcome To Rockville*

April 30 – Mobile, AL – Soul Kitchen+

5/1 – Atlanta, GA – Center Stage Atlanta +

May 3 – Pittsburgh, PA – The Altar Bar 9 +

May 4 – Virginia Beach, VA – Farm Bureau Live– Lunatic Luau *

May 5 – Rockingham, NC –Rockingham Speedway *

May 6 – Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live ^ (radio show)

May 8 – Lancaster, PA – Chameleon Club^

May 9 – Poughkeepsie, NY – The Chance^

May 11 – Traverse City, MI – Ground Zero @ The Streeters Center+

May 12 – Libertyville, IL – Austin's Fuel Room ^

May 16 – Milwaukee, MI – The Rave^

May 17 – Flint, MI – The Machine Shop Concert Lounge^

May 18 – Steger, IL –Another Hole In The Wall^

May 19 – Columbus, OH – Columbus Crew Stadium – Rock On The Range*

May 20 – St Louis, MO – Verizon Wireless Amphitheater – KPNT Radio Show *

May 22 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel^

May 23 – Nashville, TN – Cannery Ballroom^

May 24 – Memphis, TN – New Daisy Theatere ^

May 25 – Pryor, OK – Rocklahoma*

May 26 – Dallas, TX – Grapevine Mills Mall - Journeys Backyard BBQ

August 2 – Midland, TX – Rock the Desert*

May 27 – El Paso, TX - 27th Annual KLAQ Balloon Festival at Wet & Wild Waterworld*

August 2 – Midland, TX – Rock The Desert*

November 27 – December 1 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL –ShipRocked 2012

*P.O.D. on festival

+P.O.D. Headline support from Love and Death featuring Brian Head Welch and Icon For Hire

^ P.O.D. and RED Co-Headline support from Love and Death featuring Brian Head Welch and Icon For Hire

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