Papa Roach “F.E.A.R.”
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Speaking of bands you might have forgotten still existed, Papa Roach released a new album, “F.E.A.R.,” this week, and it’s probably exactly what you’d expect from the nu metal band in its 22nd year together.
Papa Roach still feels like a throwback band that makes you smile when it comes on the radio. Like, “Oh, wow. Is that Papa Roach? Turn that up. This was my band growing up.”
“F.E.A.R.” hits you right in the gut with an angsty title track “Face Everything and Rise” in which Papa Roach explains “I will face everything and rise / never going to quit until I die,” which sort of feels like the mantra of the band still chugging along the nu metal scene.
After listening to “Face Everything and Rise,” you’ll get the picture for the rest of the album. Papa Roach is still full of fast-paced, gritty and loud music, each song capable of becoming an anthem for a teenager just angry with the whole world — and probably his biology homework.
Jokes aside, Papa Roach is still at the top of nu metal. The band’s a bit of a survivor. A throwback band that’s been able to last through the seemingly constant moving and shaking of the music industry.
Papa Roach has remained largely unchanged since 1993. It feels like you could probably interchange any of the songs off “F.E.A.R.” with earlier albums, such as “Infest,” without much pushback.
I’m still deciding if that’s a good thing or not, but it appears to be working with a few of the band’s 2015 tour dates already sold out.
The standout track on the album is ironically “Gravity,” the song that sounds the least like the others.
Papa Roach’s Shaddix has his hand in a Linkin Park-esque rap-rock mashup that completely threw me for a loop. I had to make sure my computer wasn’t jumping to a different band because it was that different of a sound.
But don’t worry, the next track, “War Over Me,” immediately jumps back into the Papa Roach listeners are used to, and that’s exactly what you’ll get out of the album.
If you liked Papa Roach to begin with, you’ll probably be excited about how much the band has managed to change just enough to stay relevant while also staying true to its roots.
If you hate Papa Roach for some reason, you’ll probably think this is just another typical Papa Roach album, no different than the others.
And if you, like most people I’d imagine, have no strong opinion on Papa Roach, but you sort of remember how that one time they won a Grammy, you’ll probably want to add a song or two to your music collection if not only for throwback value.
Because Papa Roach isn’t going away. This isn’t its swan song. It’s still touring and making music like a living, breathing ‘90s playlist.
