What The Hell Happened To... 03.16.09: Papa Roach - Lovehatetragedy

Posted by Dan Marsicano on 03.16.2009

This week, Dan Marsicano takes a gander at Papa Roach's third album, Lovehatetragedy, and puts Leprous in the spotlight as the best new progressive metal band out there today!

The Introduction

Welcome to the column that is still standing on its two feet, What The Hell Happened To…I'm your host, the guy who is going to drink himself into a stupor on St. Patty's Day, Dan Marsicano.

We have an awesome tournament going on at 411 Music, similar to college basketball's March Madness; one rock and one metal-related. Bands are competing against each other, and we need your vote! So click here for the Rock second round and click here for the Metal second round. Make your voices heard…and for the love of God, don't let Disturbed advance past the second round!

It's time for my weekly brag-a-thon, where I list off all the web sites I write for. I recently got a gig with the Heavy Metal section of About.com and am also currently still writing at Metal Underground (under the alias heavytothebone2) and SMN News. Don't worry; I haven't forgotten about the loyal readers at 411. The column will still be around, but there will be fewer reviews than normal. Look for a review of Papa Roach soon (which I am strangely excited about) and an exclusive interview with Mastodon bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders.

This week, I'm looking at a band that has gotten its fair share of criticism: Papa Roach. While maintaining a large and loyal fan base, Papa Roach has been shitted on for their supposed tendency to go with trends, and lack of originality. 2002's Lovehatetragedy saw the California hard rockers push themselves as musicians, with a greater emphasis on melody and songwriting, leaving all the gimmicks at the door.





The Band

Jacoby Shaddix- Vocals
Jerry Horton- Guitar
Tobin Esperance- Bass, Guitar
David Buckner- Drums


The Track Listing

1. M-80 (Explosive Energy Movement)-2:27
2. Life Is A Bullet-4:05
3. Time And Time Again-2:59
4. Walking Thru Barbed Wire-3:05
5. Decompression Period-3:59
6. Born With Nothing, Die With Everything-3:50
7. She Loves Me Not-3:30
8. Singular Indestructible Droid-3:49
9. Black Clouds-4:02
10. Code Of Energy-4:04
11. Lovehatetragedy-3:13


The History

Papa Roach formed in 1993 in California, and released their first EP, Potatoes For Christmas, a year later. After a few more EP's, the band put out their debut album, 1997's Old Friends From Young Years. As an independent record, Papa Roach's debut was largely forgotten by all except the band's hardcore fans.



"Last Resort" Live


Papa Roach received several major label offers, and signed with Dreamworks Records in 1999. The band's sophomore album, 2000's Infest, was a major hit, as fans loved the aggressive rap/rock style that was popular during the early 2000's. Going multi-platinum, Infest was a success because of single "Last Resort," "Broken Home," and "Between Angels And Insects." Papa Roach toured their asses off in support of Infest, even landing a spot on the Ozzfest tour.


The Analysis

Papa Roach seemingly came out of nowhere with their smash hit "Last Resort." The song resonated with a music crowd that was eating up everything that had a combination of rap and rock (Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit). Hell, even Disturbed experimented with rapping on single "Stupify." Some may blame Papa Roach for going with trends, but what mainstream rock band wasn't doing it during the early 2000's? At least Papa Roach had the decency on Infest to write good songs behind what amounted to nothing more than a gimmick spread out over the course of 45 minutes. There was a lot more underneath Infest than what was expressed through the singles; the album cuts were deeper and showcased a band with a knack for catchy and melodic moments that dug into your brain.

2002's Lovehatetragedy could have been Infest part two; a continuation of the rap/rock hybrid with a few popular singles and nothing more. Papa Roach could have coasted through the recording process, satisfied their millions of fans that bought their major label debut, and called it a day. Instead, Papa Roach dropped the one thing that some argued they had going for them; the gimmicks. Vocalist Coby Dick became Jacoby Shaddix and the rapping all but disappeared. In its place, a hard rock sound that showcased a level of maturity most didn't expect from a band with lyrics like "My name's Coby Dick, Mr. Dick if your nasty."

While Lovehatetragedy peaked at #2 on the Billboard charts, higher than Infest landed, the album didn't sell nearly as well as Infest. An interesting comparison can be made to Puddle of Mudd; a successful album, with a follow-up resulting in disappointing sales. However, unlike Puddle of Mudd, Papa Roach's album was actually really good, and deserved more credit than it received from the general public.



"She Loves Me Not" Live KROQ 2006


A knock against Lovehatetragedy is the lack of a defining single. The album didn't have anything as immediately catchy as "Last Resort." The closest the band comes is the first single, "She Loves Me Not." The only song that features any type of rapped vocals, "She Loves Me Not" could have been on Infest, though it has a progression and maturity not seen on many tracks of that album. "Time And Time Again" was the only other single released, and while the song kicks all loads of ass, and the video was pretty tight was well, didn't give the album the momentum it needed.

The question becomes; is there any song that would have made an impact enough to reach the level of success that Infest got? The simple answer is no. I really feel that fans were not ready for the direction Papa Roach wanted to go in. Most were expecting another aggressive, biting rap-flavored treat, and instead got a darker and richer chocolate that tingled the nostrils. That doesn't mean that Lovehatetragedy was doomed to fail from the beginning, but the band couldn't get the support behind their new sound from many of the fans who enjoyed Infest.

That's a real shame, as Lovehatetragedy has some underrated tracks, several of which the band has seemed to forgotten as well. On their 2005 live DVD, "Papa Roach: Live & Murderous In Chicago," only four tracks from Lovehatetragedy were played, including the two singles. Album cuts "M-80 (Explosive Energy Movement" and "Life Is A Bullet" were the other ones. Now-a-days, the band hardly plays any material from the album, electing to play singles like "Scars" and "Forever," the ones that regained the band's fame and popularity.

With a loud count-in from Shaddix, "M-80 (Explosive Energy Movement)" hits the listener with a quick and heavy number dripping in pure energy and attitude. The track is a great tune to open up Lovehatetragedy, and "Life Is A Bullet" follows it up perfectly. While the band slows the pace down considerably, the intensity level is still high, and Shaddix shows off his vocal prowess with an entertaining performance that proved to Papa Roach fans that Shaddix would be fine without the rapping.



"M-80 (Explosive Energy Movement)" Live


The album goes through its peaks and valleys, with the softer numbers and hard rockers evenly balanced. In the former category, "Decompression Period" and "Black Clouds" stand out as memorable, coming across emotional without going into cheesy territory. With the latter, the two singles are the heaviest numbers on here, as well as the title track, which does a fine job of lulling the listener into a false sense of security, with a clean opening, before opening up the flood gates with a fast closer.

There are some dark and complex tracks on here, the most notable being "Singular Indestructible Droid." Starting out with tribal percussion and random chanting, the bass-led intro is one of the most foreboding moments in the band's history, and the rest of the song follows suit with a creepy feel to it. This type of territory wouldn't be explored on future albums, making the song an interesting look at a different side of Papa Roach.

Lovehatetragedy was the first step towards what Papa Roach would become today. While the band has had its fair share of criticism, some of which is justified, Lovehatetragedy stands as the band's most underrated album. Producer Brendan O'Brien adds the right touch to the songs, making sure that the heavy moments blasts the speakers apart, and the calmer moments sooth the ears. It's not a classic by any means, nor will it be remembered by most ten years down the line, but the album shows a major evolutionary change for the foursome, one that would be expanded upon in the future.


Who The Hell Is…Leprous?

MySpace Page: Leprous

Do you like progressive metal, with some death metal tendencies? Do you love vocalists who can do everything, from falsettos to croon to growling their asses off? How about a solid blend of melodic guitar playing, tasteful piano work, and aggressive percussion?

If you said yes to any one of these, let me introduce you to your new favorite band: Leprous.

Hailing from Norway, the quintet (Einar Solberg on vocals and keyboards, Tor Oddmund Suhrke on guitar and vocals, Øystein Landsverk on guitar and backing vocals, Halvor Strand on bass and Tobias Ørnes Andersen on drums) has spent years slowly building up material and support. Finally, their first official release from Sensory Records, Tall Poppy Syndrome, is ready to be released on May 5th. I found myself with an advanced copy on my lap, and gave it a test run. To say that this is one of the best albums of the year would be an understatement.

Every year seems to have that one progressive metal album that people are still talking about. Personally, for me, last year's one was Opeth's Watershed. While it is too soon to say that Leprous could be that album, it's definitely going to be a tough act to follow. Tall Poppy Syndrome is an hour-plus of quality material, with not one filler track present. The tracks range from four to eleven minutes, with the longer numbers being progressive, but not self-indulgent or full of extended solos that seem to be there for no distinguishable reason.

While finding any video of the band proved to be a challenging task, their MySpace page has three songs from Tall Poppy Syndrome up. I would recommend the first track, "Passing," which is also the album's opener. It's eight minutes of pure bliss; you won't find much better progressive metal out there today boys and girls.


The Conclusion

Well, that is it for me this week. Looks like its time for me to get myself into a drunken stupor and enjoy spring break for once. I hope you all enjoy a look at Papa Roach's Lovehatetragedy, and I implore you to check out Leprous, the best new thing in progressive metal.

Next week, I'm changing the schedule up a bit because I can. I was going to do Yes' Relayer, but I'm going to hold off on that to showcase one of the best NWOBHM albums nobody outside of fans of the genre know about. I'm talking about Angel Witch's classic self-titled debut album, an album that has taken a hold on me. So come back next time for another stupendous edition of What The Hell Happened To…