P.O.D. - The Fundamental Elements of Southtown (1999)

With their full-length debut, The Fundamental Elements of Southtown, POD (Payable on Death) shows considerable promise, crafting an album that flows from aggressive rap-metal to trippy, Beastie-styled reggae dub excursions. It may be all over the map, but give the group credit for trying a bunch of styles and pulling most of them off. At times, they sound too derivative -- when they rock really hard, they sound too much like a Christian Rage Against the Machine -- but there's energy here and the roots of a distinctive sound, all of which are necessary for a strong debut.