P.O.D.: 'Addicted' Video Director Talks About Clip's Symbolism

Director Michael Maxxis, who helmed P.O.D.'s video for the group's new single, "Addicted", has offered the following "inside look" into the clip's symbolism:

"The song's message is quite succinctly and directly defined in its name, and I wanted to actualize an array of interpretable images that would symbolically scream it. And, to augment the metaphoric vignettes, I felt it was critical to film a performance that was as visually ferocious as the track.

"Some of the imagery in the video is obvious and doesn't need much explanation, but there are definitely some sections that are quite cryptic, which I would like to decode for you. To start, the woman wearing the veil and holding the light orb is a sort of fortuneteller bookend. She holds the crystal ball that is granting us access to the unhinged and off center imagery.

"The first place she takes us is into the basement where a man is seducing and then devouring raw eggs. He is caressing and appreciating the unborn/unknown and once he gets a taste, he consumes everything that is placed in front of him the yoke of one egg drips down his face while he reaches for another he can't get enough and needs more before even finishing eating what's still in his mouth. This is symbolic in a very broad sense to many addictions. We tip toe on the fringes, kicking the tires of curiosity, but once we can't resist the temptation anymore, we take that step and more often than not we are eaten by quicksand.

"The next vignette we are introduced to is the little boy smoking a cigarette next to a man's needle injected thigh that pumps the pedal of a stationary bike. This vignette is easier to interpret, and is basically calling out today's role models. Kids look up to both their parents and a myriad of other role models that are placed in front of them via the Internet, television, radio, etc., and unfortunately, many of those role models are poisonous and you know the ones I'm talking about.

"The third vignette is the obese man lying on a large pile of fish. This sequence carries great biblical symbolism and was inspired by Luke 5:6: 'And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.' We are addressing one of the most abhorrent tendencies of human nature greed. Fish were a staple of Galilee, and therefore it became a mechanism of power. Greed is perhaps the most dangerous and common addiction on Earth, and it is perhaps the most overlooked.

"The old dying lady on crutches is our only real taste of reality in the video, which is why I feel she is so important. She is on the end of a very hard, painful, and lonely journey that is a consequence of choice poor choices that she made. This is a real end that is all too common for many of us.

"Next up is the young girl imprisoned behind a brick wall, dancing in bubbles blown onto her by a crazy old woman. We are saying with this vignette that our children must start life from behind a brick wall that we already built before they were born. When someone falls victim to addiction, the effects are far-reaching, and nothing is more unfair and sad than the consequences inflicted on the lives of their children. Then, all that child has is her dreams and the reality that exists when she closes her eyes.

"The symbolism of the evil barber is quite similar to the little girl dancing in bubbles. In this scene a masked barber cuts away at a young girl's hair with a large knife. The barber represents addiction itself, as it cuts away at the innocence of youth.

"Finally, we have the beautiful women in wheelchairs. Perhaps one of the most distasteful and damaging addictions is vanity, and the weight that is placed on women to be physically beautiful. The psychological effects that this pressure has on many women is immeasurable, and needs to be stopped. Where does our definition of beauty begin and where does it end? Unfortunately, it very rarely stops inside a person, and therefore many peoples' sense of self is diminished and marginalized by how they look in the mirror (from head to toe!). I wanted the viewer to be attracted to, and dazzled by the women when they were only shown shots of her face, and then I wanted the viewer to be conscious of how they felt about her when it was revealed that she is crippled. Does their attraction to her change? Where is the line on beauty drawn?

"In summation, I'd like to thank P.O.D. for giving me the opportunity to work with them to bring this video to life. It was an absolute pleasure to work with such inspired artists and genuine men. Not one interesting visual would have been possible had it not been for the sincerity that I was able to draw from the song."

P.O.D.'s "uncensored" version of the "Addicted" video can be viewed below.

P.O.D. sold 34,000 copies of its new album, "When Angels & Serpents Dance", in the United States in the LP's first week of release to debut at position No. 9 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The band's previous CD, "Testify", registered a first-week tally of just over 54,000 back in February 2006 to land at No. 9.

"When Angels & Serpents Dance" features guest appearances from the MARLEY SISTERS, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES singer Mike Muir and HELMET guitarist Page Hamilton. The song "Kaliforn-Eye-A", which features vocals from Muir, allowed P.O.D. to collaborate with an "iconic punk rock figure that played an influence on us as a band," guitarist Marcos Curiel, who rejoined the band in 2006, told Billboard.com. "It's a more upbeat song about where we came from."

Curiel exited P.O.D. following 2001's "Satellite" (Atlantic),which has moved 3.2 million units in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. "We were at the height of our career and all of a sudden this big mess happened," the guitarist said, declining to give specifics about leaving the band. "It was just business."