ARTIST: Papa Roach
ALBUM: Metamorphosis
LABEL: Interscope Records
RELEASE DATE: March 24, 2009
Papa Roach Morph into a Hard Rock Machine
Written by Brett Bayne
Unapologetically furious and occasionally profane, the fifth major-label release from Papa Roach finds the Northern California rockers gearing up for war. Metamorphosis (Interscope Records), originally titled Days of War, Nights of Love, tellingly underscores the true nature of this collection of a dozen profoundly bitter but undeniably catchy pop-metal tunes that deal with battles on a variety of levels, from fighting inner demons to attacking targets on a larger scale. Outraged and rallying against a number of inglorious subjects, including compromise and acquiesence (“Change or Die”), wretched show-biz excesses (“Hollywood Whore”), gang violence (“Had Enough”) and, inevitably, affairs of the heart (“I Almost Told You That I Loved You”), lead vocalist Jacoby Shaddix provides the lyrical bile while composers Tobin Esperance and Jerry Horton augment it with savory, often blistering melodies that closely recall Linkin Park and System of a Down. The resulting war cry makes it clear that on Metamorphosis, Papa Roach is out for blood and taking no prisoners.
The band gets right down to business with the brief instrumental fanfare “Days of War,” a prelude designed to get your heart racing and in the mood for the coming onslaught…and then the bloodshed begins. “I’m sleeping with all of your friends, and I hope you find out, cause nothing’s sweeter than revenge,” growls vocalist Shaddix in “Live This Down,” one of the most savage poison-pen letters to a cheating lover I’ve heard in recent memory, and arguably the album’s single best fuck-you. Fans got a taste of the CD nearly half a year ago with the release of its first single, “Hollywood Whore,” a kick in the crotch to all of the “white trash queens” who never deserved their fifteen minutes of fame in the first place.
Fortunately, the Roach understands that too much of anything isn’t always good, and the crew have wisely balanced the rancor with several decidedly more introspective tunes to prove their mettle—and score some all-important airplay. “Lifeline,” a second single released in January, couldn’t be more radio-friendly (it hit #3 on Billboard’s rock chart) and it’s one of the disc’s most sensitive tunes, packing an altogether different kind of punch, this time at Shaddix’s own “ocean of self-despair.” The boys slow things down considerably for “Carry Me,” another self-conscious number that amplifies the album’s recurring themes of contradiction and angst (“It takes horns to hold up my halo”), that will astonish and confound me if it isn’t the third single.
Tightly performed and immaculately produced (by Jay Baumgardner, his first with the band), Metamorphosis finds Roach at the top of its game, and may be forgiven for the occasionally simplistic lyric. The brilliance of the CD is in the music, which demonstrates the band’s titular metamorphosis from the nu-metal rap-rockers of 1990’s hit “Last Resort” to the alternative guitar heroes of “Change or Die,” in which Shaddix & Co. offer their self-described wake-up call: “This is our battle cry, we’re ready to fight.” Pump up the volume and don’t you dare bet against them.