P.O.D. Guitarist Marcos Curiel Reflects on 20th Anniversary of ‘Satellite’ (Exclusive)

This year, nu-metal stalwarts P.O.D. celebrate the 20th anniversary of their hit album Satellite, and guitarist Marcos Curiel recently spoke with PopCulture to reflect on the record and its legacy. “It had its peaks, its valleys, “Curiel said, referring to the varying tone throughout the album. “We had songs that were fun,” like ‘Set It Off’ and ‘Boom,’ and “we had songs that were deep, like ‘Youth of the Nation.’”

One interesting fact about Satellite is that it was released on Sept. 11, 2001, the same day as the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and United Airlines Flight 93. A day filled with unimaginable tragedy would forever be tied to the band’s album, but Curiel recalls the band not thinking about that at the time because, like all Americans, they knew how “horrible” this was for “the country.” However, Curiel adds that they found many people were “gravitating to the record” in the wake of that fateful day, due to its strong sense of positivity, evident on tracks like the breakout hit “Alive.”

“We were getting stories” from “different people around the country,” Curiel says, specifically in regard to how “Alive” was a source of encouragement and comfort. “The song just took a whole other level,” he remembers. “It just connected with everybody in the country.” He also shared that the band had been “getting positive feedback” from “Alive” even before the album was released, as it was the lead single from the record and came out roughly a month before Satellite. “People were inspired, but we didn’t know how big of a tune that was going to be considering the tragedy.”

Curiel also remembers “vividly” where the band was the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, because they had just been “promoting the record and were at Battery Park (in New York City) like the day before it happened.” He says the band had performed a set for MTV, and afterward, a friend asked him if he wanted to “see the Twin Towers.” Taking his friend up on the offer, the pair “walked a couple of blocks” down the street a little way and looked up. Curiel recalls being in awe of the massive structures, which he saw with his own two eyes just “a day or two” before they were hit.

Now, two decades later, the band is celebrating the epic album’s anniversary with a streaming concert series titled “Satellite Over Southtown.” On Thursday, May 13, fans can catch the band playing the album in its entirety on streaming concert site Mandolin. The fun doesn’t stop there, though, as the band is also playing through their 1999 breakout album The Fundamental Elements of Southtown, which will stream on May 27. Then, on June 10, fans can see a third set, filled with other hits, b-sides, and rarities. Tickets can be purchased here, and each set will be available for 48 hours after it airs.