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Rating: I find myself reviewing a true rarity, an absolute collector's item for me. “Old Friends From Young Years,” the first unofficial album by Papa Roach, which precedes “Infest,” the first major label work of the group.
Overall, it is a blend of sounds that I would describe as absolutely “raw,” especially vocally. The eleven tracks (excluding the intro) are the prelude to what will be the next album. You can indeed catch the very first instances of Shaddix's rapping and shrill screams, the hints of the already excellent strings of Jerry Horton and Tobin Esperance, and the popping drums of David Buckner. Throughout the work, I found similarities with tracks from the very first works of Staind (Tormented), Limp Bizkit (Three Dollar Bill Yall), and Linkin Park (Hybrid Theory EP); which is understandable since the release period of the three albums is more or less the same, and it was precisely then that the new metal/rap duo started to rage, which after ten years remains still in vogue, but retains in its origins the best pieces.
The tracks vary among themselves, although they are united by a boundless rage of the vocalist in presenting the lyrics. Coby Dick (a.k.a. Jacoby Dakota Shaddix) screams with a voice that scratches and shrills, which is still far from the nice “roar” that he will start to showcase with “Infest,” although he already shows us what he is made of. It goes from “Orange Drive Palms” and “Liquid Diet,” both very powerful, to the chaotic and mad “Grrbrr,” which starts with a real vocal delirium that then leads to a frenetic rapping supported by shrill but powerful riffs, “Isedufukndie” and “Dirtycutfreak” continue similarly with the same frenzy to give way to “Living Room,” an entirely musical piece that combines the lazily strummed strings of Horton and Esperance with a slow electronic base. The next pieces “829,” “Peewagon,” and “Hedake” are all united by further aggressive bases guided by Shaddix's screams, which even if minimally give space to a more relaxed and almost whispered singing style.
We approach the conclusion with “Shut Up N Die,” a piece that absolutely reminds of the style of Joseph Hahn and Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park, since it is an exclusively rapped piece on a mixed base; not a style typical of Papa Roach in the years to come (except for the rapping of the following work), limitedly to the period of this album which, as already mentioned, sees choices influenced by very strong influences of the moment. “Thanx” closes the album and as the title suggests, it is a spoken word piece, made up of various thanks guided by the voice of Shaddix and company. In conclusion, I would say that this “unofficial” album of the great Papa Roach is one of those a little unusual works, also difficult to evaluate in a way, but which intrigues a lot, also because it is the prelude to what will be and is already a confirmed success. The talent is already discernible from an album like this, which, although raw in its entirety, contains a lot of talent and even if it might hardly become a permanent stop in one's CD player, it is still appreciable.
After all, you have to start somewhere, and if they say it's better an egg today than a hen tomorrow, well, Papa Roach got both. And we enjoy them.
Tracklist and Lyrics
02 Orange Drive Palms (04:55)
I try
I lie
Someone's sphincter in my eye
Kick it with that rebel cat and
I want it to be that I'm feeling slightly down
I'm looking up from the ground
While confusion strains my mind
I contemplate this time
Thinking about a future
Hemming it with a suture
Dog shitting on the sign could the head below be mine
Remember the palms
Orange drive is where these palms lie
Making me sick
Making me want to get high under the palms
05 Isedufukndie (04:18)
Slowly
Breaking down feeling weak
Thinkin about the higher ground that I wish to seek
For safeness
For realness
I'll break it down simple for my people to hear this
Cause my shit is for realness
For my people to hear this
Six years of age when I first got my rage
Father broke out
Then I turned a new page of my life
Changed
Then it was crazy
Thanx to my mom cause she stuck by to raise me
Since I was a baby
She stuck by to raise me
There is no sound
Coming up from the ground
No way
Not this time
Buried deep inside
There is no evidence
Feelings that I hide
Sometimes are too intense
Silent
In the dark I think I'm nutty
Vicious swords of emotion slash
And leave me bloody
I said you fucking die
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