Papa Roach has always been a very special band for me. I saw my first violent moshpit at my first gig more than an hour from my house where I witnessed the screaming of groupies for the first time. And although some of you will think the band has too much commercial aspirations, I think anyone who’s seen them live will agree with me that this band is a reflection of how rock & roll music should be these days. With The Paramour Sessions, the fourth album is released (the fifth if you include the pre Infest period). The title refers to the Paramount Mansion where the recording took place.

Beware, the first time you’ll hear this record and see the pictures of the guys, you’ll be wondering what the hell is going on with Papa Roach. Tough guys seem to have turned into vulnerable people with blackened nails. The sound is very ‘poppy’ just like Lostprophets on their latest release. However, if you take the time to differentiate the individual parts of the music and then reflect it to the whole thing; you’ll see that The Paramour Sessions is a great development for the band.

 

Opening song ‘To Be Loved’ is probably a compact version of the story above. There are some heavy riffs, a catchy chorus (woo hoo hoo!) and a smooth production. Continuing a little further, the ballad ‘Forever’ shows that the energy of the band can be perfectly categorized in both heaviness and tenderness without losing the importance of good songwriting. On this song, Jacoby proves his way of writing vocal lines is unique in the current music business and he takes it to an even higher level on ‘Time is Running Out’ which is an immense killer song, especially live. The guitars are, again, really original, just like on the other Papa Roach albums. But then again, the sound as is used on this album may be a bit confronting for the fans of Infest, especially when you consider the fact that an orchestra is used on the final regular track, ‘Roses on My Grave’.

 

Listening close to the album will lead to a lot of comparisons with a lot of great rock bands. Naming them all would be nonsense, because after all you will definitely hear a distinguishing sound of a band that’s taking their music into another direction. I think ‘real’ heavy metal fans are likely to disagree with me on that one, but my answer to them would be that they haven’t got the guts to take a closer look at something they’re prejudicing on the forehand.