THE ACCIDENT EXPERIMENT: Complete 'Arena' EP Available For Free Download

THE ACCIDENT EXPERIMENT, the new band formed by ex-P.O.D. guitarist Marcos Curiel, have made their debut EP, "Arena", available for free download exclusively at their web site. The free Internet version includes new art and two bonus tracks not found on the original release.

"We decided that the best way for us to introduce our music to not only all my old P.O.D. fans, but everyone else is to give away some of the tracks we've recorded," Curiel said in a statement. "We're currently working on finishing our debut album, so we're looking at this EP giveaway as the perfect way for everyone to hear what we're all about."

In a time when the music industry continues to grow into the digital age, Curiel welcomes the accessibility digital distribution offers to music fans. "The industry has changed and with the Internet we have the opportunity to get music to fans that may or may not be willing to take a chance," he noted. "Whether it's through iTunes or something like PureVolume or MySpace, there are a lot of places for new music to be discovered. We're simply looking at this as our way of offering the new music to past, present and future fans."

After selling more than five million albums worldwide with P.O.D., Curiel understands that the decision to give his band's first effort away may come as a surprise to some. "This band is not about being defined by how many records we can sell," he said. "It's about getting the music to as many fans as possible and playing live for those fans; we will always make decisions with the music and the fans as the first priority."

The "Arena" EP contains the following eight tracks:

01. Scream to Breathe
02. Seeds Of Black
03. Million Dollar Hell
04. Song For You
05. Nevermore
06. Arena
07. Sick Love Letter
08. The Sky's Your Home

After eleven years of being the driving force behind the success of P.O.D., Curiel has put together a band that he feels can help him further explore his musical tastes and vision.

THE ACCIDENT EXPERIMENT (a.k.a. AEX) was formed in late 2002 by Curiel and drummer Ernie Longoria. They soon recruited bassist Tony DeLocht, who had played with Longoria in the southern California band SPRUNG MONKEY. The next step for Curiel was to locate vocalist and lyricist Pete Stewart, formerly of GRAMMATRAIN. The two had met on the road years earlier and Stewart had a left lasting impression with Curiel. The lyricist/vocalist accepted the invitation to write and record a handful of songs the band had already recorded. The chemistry was immediately evident and the Curiel/Stewart writing team wasted no time in bringing the vision of the AEX experience to life. In five short months, the band wrote and recorded over twenty songs. "It sounds cliché, but a lot of these songs really just came out and wrote themselves," offered Stewart.

"Our music doesn't sound like what you hear hour after hour on the radio now. We're not predictable, which is what is going to make it an experience for our fans. There's more to it than just us, the band members," stated Curiel. He added, "I wanted to form a band that, musically, was larger than any one member; something that could be an experience in every sense of the word."

THE ACCIDENT EXPERIMENT is currently finishing its full-length debut album, "United We Fear", which will be released in early 2005.