Review Summary: Still swinging, and striking out with every at-bat.
When Papa Roach burst into the scene back in 2000, they were nothing more but a standard generic nu-metal act trying to get airplay in a crowded pool that was filled with acts such as Trapt, P.O.D., Staind and Drowning Pool. But ever since "Scars" hit #15 on the pop charts, their sound has drifted farther away from the angsty nu-metal that they started out with and closer towards stale, generic radio rock. Every album since
Getting Away With Murder has contained more lame ballads in an attempt to gain another big hit, but sadly, that isn't the case. Instead of getting more popular songs, they've just gotten even more irrelevant with each release.
The main problem with
The Connection is the same problem that Papa Roach has had for their last three albums; it lacks the energy that made their best songs infectious and tolerable. None of these songs even come close to the fist-pumping hook of "Last Resort", and the ballads lack the emotion that made "Scars" so popular. The album starts up with "Engage", a rather weak instrumental intro that suffers from its short length and lack of purpose. From there, two of the album's four singles follow; lead single "Still Swingin" contains incredibly banal lyrics, weak rapped verses and an extremely out of place dubstep bass breakdown, and it still manages to be one of the most memorable songs on the album, because it contains energy, energy that is mostly absent for the rest of the album. On the other hand, the album's second single "Where Did the Angels Go?" is incredibly bland and lifeless. It's a wonder how the track hit #1 on the active rock charts, as it lacks the energy of their previous chart-toppers. Cringe-worthy lines like "Are you the cancer that I can't survive / I should've listened when the angels were still alive" are embarrassingly appropriate, since Papa Roach are still churning out vapid albums way past their prime.
It doesn't get any better. "Before I Die" is the song that inspired Shaddix to write another album, and he wrote it after planning to kill himself. The end result is a bland radio-friendly snoozer that is devoid of any feeling or personality. If you're going to write a personal song, at least try and make it sound like you actually care about what you sing. "Leader of the Broken Hearts” is the most mainstream song on the album, and unsurprisingly, is the worst. At least "Scars" or "Forever" had the decency to show some hurt and emotion in Jacoby Shaddix's vocals (albeit very little); "Leader of the Broken Hearts" has nothing but lame whining about how some girl left him. There's no energy, no emotion, and the song is just too damn soft. They've never made a break-up ballad this wimpy ever before. What happened to the edge that they had on
Infest? I wasn't a big fan of that album (or any other ones by them), but at least it had some fist-pumping, head-banging tunes on them.
The Connection is yet another misfire for Coby Dick and friends. Back in 2000, the main complaint about them was that they were just another generic nu-metal band. Now, the main complaint about them is that they're a generic rock band with no substance or edge whatsoever. This is a slightly better album than
Metamorphosis, but not by much. If Papa Roach don't change up their formula, they'll be done soon.
