Tuesday SXSW Showcases

P.O.D.

Metal

Open Hand's union of grunge dynamics, prog riffs, emo intensity, and soaring melody had few analogs when it debuted on 2005's You and Me. Now, the Hollywood quartet preps comeback Weirdo, produced by Bill Gaal of Nothingface. Playing synth pop with a rock & roll attitude, Them Guns makes electronica you can play air guitar to. They've conquered the L.A. club scene with a Queens of the Daft Punk sound. P.O.D., aka Payable on Death (reference to their Christian outlook), struck platinum at the turn of the millennium with posi-metal anthems "Alive" and "Youth of the Nation." 2015's The Awakening fodders the San Diegans set list here.