Cut my life into pieces. This is my last resort! Well my guess is that almost everybody knows these words that catapulted Papa Roach into the so called nu metal scene in the nineties. Their debut album Infest is probably their most sold record until this day. From that debut album on Papa Roach evolved from an underground club band to a stadium band with ditto songs. To be honest not really a development that I encouraged but hell who am I to criticize the mighty Papa Roach.

 

From the first tones of the album it’s pretty clear that Metamorphosis continues where The Paramour Sessions ended. The typical straight forward stadium hardrock with a smooth production is all over this album. Of course you can say Papa Roach evolved along the way and I’m pretty sure that they would have broke up long before if they would've made an Infest part 2 and part 3. Still, I have a bit of nasty taste along this album and I’m curious how much influence the record company had on their latest albums.

 

Don’t get me wrong, there are still some decent songs on the album. Take for example ´Change Or Die´, ´Lifeline´ and ´Hollywood Whore´, all songs that are quite catchy and still have a little raw edge, yet still with the slick production of Jay Baumgardner. ‘I Almost Told You That I Loved Your’ is probably the new track to strip to with the most sensual rhythm I have heard in years. With ´March Out Of The Darkness´ and ´Nights Of Love´ we see the softer side of Papa Roach and this even could be nice hits.

 

Overall I have some mixed feelings. Some of the songs on the album are quite okay but I have the feeling the record company is pushing them too much into the direction of a stadium band like Nickelback. Combined with the overproduced sound I can only conclude that Papa Roach isn’t really my band anymore. It´s still a decent album but in a way it’s not pure anymore. I guess I’m going to play Infest just one more time.