Papa Roach

Friday, November 5; Mississippi Nights

By D.X. Ferris on Wed, Nov 3, 2004 at 4:00 am

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Cut their life into pieces, because this is Papa Roach's last resort. Rap-rock crescendoed around the band's 2000 LP, Infest. Already seven years strong, the Northern California quartet had experience and chops: The mosh outburst in the otherwise-sappy "Broken Home" stands as one of the nü-metal movement's truly heavy moments, and P-Roach's contribution to the cracker-barrel canon went triple-platinum before Linkin Park's "One Step Closer" replaced "Last Resort" as the angst anthem of choice for the baggy-pants set. The band's second album, 2002's lovehatetragedy, debuted at No. 2 on the charts and promptly disappeared.

Unfortunately, the band's latest LP, Getting Away with Murder, finds Papa Roach working a little too hard to stay relevant. Over and over, frontman Jacoby Shaddix stretches one syllable into three, and multiple riffs are crammed in where one would suffice. The title track's rhythmic, sing-song chorus is as close to rapping as Shaddix comes this time out. Also gone is the band's teen spirit. The man who was once losing his sight and mind has discovered his sensitive side. Now suicide's out of the question, and he's ready for a group hug. "It's never too late/To live your life/The time is now/It's yours and mine," Shaddix sings in "Do or Die." It may be too late for Papa Roach. Come by to say so long.