Review Summary: Papa Roach’s sound has not changed one bit, if anything they have the exact same sound but the song writing has gone backwards dramatically.
Papa Roach is a nu metal/hard rock band from Vacaville, California, formed in 1993 and consisting of vocalist Jacoby Shaddix, guitarist Jerry Horton, bassist Tobin Esperance and drummer David Buckner. The band is currently signed to Geffen/Universal Records. They had mostly regional success until releasing their first major label album, Infest (2000), which has sold 6 million copies worldwide to date, becoming the 20th top selling album of 2000. the album became an instant classic with legions of fans, powered by the hit singles "Last Resort", "Broken Home" and "Between Angels And Insects"
After being a huge fan of Papa Roach’s previous work, I brought the follow up to “The Paramour Sessions”, this album was titled “Metamorphosis”. After being so eager to listen to the new album, it was very unfortunate that following my first couple of listens, I was less than impressed. The first thing that annoyed me about this album, is the fact that it is called “Metamorphosis”. For those who don’t know, the albums title means to dramatically change from one thing, into something different i.e.: to Morph. Papa Roach’s sound has not changed one bit, if anything they have the exact same sound but the song writing has gone backwards dramatically. This album puts forward the exact same issues and themes drug use, addiction and relationship issues.
With all this said, the band has written some really good tunes that will no doubt be in their catalogue for years to come, unfortunately Papa Roach have written some really average songs too. I feel that if it wasn’t for the songs such as “Nights of Love” of which contains some of the most clique lyrics I have ever heard come out of the band and “I Almost Told You That I Loved You” that sounds too much like the mainstream garbage that comes out of the radio, this would be able to stand against the bands previous work.
The only “Metamorphosis” I see going on with this record is that the band are starting to stop taking risks and are sticking to a formula that works. The album however is widely accessible, most fans of mainstream rock should have no trouble getting into it. This album just is not the same Papa Roach I grew up with.
