Marcos Curiel, former guitarist for Chula Vista-based P.O.D., was asked to leave the Christian rap-core band in 2003. Fans bought four million copies of the first two P.O.D. albums on Atlantic (The Fundamental Elements of Southtown and Satellite). The band's third and fourth albums -- recorded without Curiel -- did not sell as well.
Curiel says the biggest rifts between him and P.O.D. were about his desire to take on other music projects and "...who they thought I should be spiritually.... When I was in the band, they put across this self-righteous vibe.... That whole Christian-rock scene is more about the image and the lifestyle than it is about the music. That's why there are so many mediocre so-called Christian bands, but there are few that kick ass."
And there was the issue of "band pastor." "They wanted to hire the drummer's dad to be the band's pastor. They wanted to pay him a salary and have him go out on the road. I said that was not cool. It never happened, but they held a grudge."
The Accident Experiment released their debut CD United We Fear in January 2005.