Review Summary: Either it was the fact that this was the album that really got me into music to begin with, or I was the most lenient motherfucker on the planet...
Well, after glimpsing over the history of Papa Roach, I have discovered that their music is hit or miss style. You either like it or you don't. There's no acquired taste for the music due to its occasional lack of creativity. Although this lack of astonishment, even for the now critically acclaimed mainstream rock stars was the ultimate downfall of their latter performances, I have to say, they still persist. It's just taking longer for these kinds of things to take off.
Papa Roach have always had a promising future, and whether or not any of their content was acceptable for listening even after harsh critiques, they still remain one of my personal favorites in the mainstream world not hindered by fame. If you absolutely had to consider this album a metamorphosis, I would say the only thing changing is the band's reluctance to get jumping as soon as possible. Other than their ever so slight musical regression after the power ballad "Scars", or the very harmonious "Paramour Sessions", they still show a very reasonable future.
This album contains the average hit or miss theory for the band, but I must say some of the best parts of this album are the areas few people ever get to. When the album starts with the interlude "Days of War", it is vague what exactly the band is trying to do at this point. So many low-end songs that pick up later have released many of the band's albums to either soft harmonious ballads, or supreme heavy songs. In this case, it is harsh guitars with Jacoby screaming with an echo to add a small touch of dominance for the first track "Change or Die". This track is actually one of the best songs to ever set the tone for an album by the band, and really gives you a taste for what this album has to offer. If you don't like this track, there is little left for you to get excited about to be perfectly honest.
Now let’s face it. Every band goes through this at one point or another. Papa Roach have started down the road to hell for all musicians with their lack of creative lyrics. This is the ultimate downfall of this album; otherwise, this album would be far more appreciated for its music, but not so much for what it supposedly promised. If the lacking of cohesive lyrics is the true metamorphosis for the band, this album should not be named after it now should it. Songs like "I Almost Told You That I Love You" or "Carry Me" show the weakest parts of the album in terms of lyrics. But "IATYTILY" is a very catchy hard rock song in terms of music.
Other tracks contain some less mediocre content on both realms of music, lyrics and instrumentation, and compliment this album to give it the best possible sound it could afford. "Lifeline" is undoubtedly one of the best. If you've ever heard of Papa Roach you've probably heard this song at one point or another, if not "Lifeline", certainly "Scars". But this song has some pretty simple but fast paced guitar lines and the vocals in the chorus are some of the best. But honestly, one of the best songs on the album would have to "State Of Emergency". This song has excellent instrumentation, with the slightest touch of applicable distortions in the guitar, the bass stands out, and the mediocrity of this album you saw before (considering this is the last track) just flies out the window. Catchy, meaningful and held high with a bright shining light of potential, this song will easily carry out the album from heavy hardcore rock, to peaceful silence.
As for the band, well, after this album I can’t really say nails are being prepared for their coffin. But I can say that the band is quite noticeably on the verge of accessing a more rough musical style based on what was supposed to be the high point of the bands career. No sir indeed. Infest and Lovehatetragedy is what we need more of. I give my support and dedicate myself to the promising integrity this album is certainly capable of expressing. Due to however the occasional lacking of superior influences, gathered from nothing the band has ever done before, this album fails to do one important thing. Show the audience the promising change for Papa Roach as they once again explore new territory. Overall, a decent listen, but nowhere near as prominent as the band or the fans surely foresaw.
