Papa Roach
The Paramour Sessions

THE REVIEW

Here we are, finally the much-anticipated new album from Papa Roach has arrived. I personally couldn’t wait, being a big fan and addicted to their music. The album is titled “The Paramour Sessions”, in honor of the Paramour Studios, in California, where the album was recorded. A very evocative location as shown in the cd booklet.

But let's start talking about this excellent new work from the four from Vacaville. The cd opens with the first single “To Be Loved”, a track that encapsulates the group’s typical sound, very powerful and catchy. It is followed without losing power by the extremely powerful “Alive” which opens with hard riffs accompanied by Shaddix’s gritty voice, enriching one of the most significant pieces of the album. Davi Buckner’s drums don’t let Jerry Horton’s aggressive strings escape even for a moment, giving them a driving rhythm. Then, “Crash” opens very darkly, with a dark-toned voice that then explodes into a powerful chorus, made up of shouted vocals and sharp riffs, with a flowing and edgy sound. “The world around you” slows the pace a bit but doesn’t quench the aggression, which is unleashed on the choruses. “Forever” is one of the most beautiful tracks on the album, characterized by a relaxing and reflective sound, which culminates in the chorus in a splendid vocal performance by Shaddix, melodic yet very rock at the same time. “I Devise My Own Demise”, a little curiosity, opens like “What Happened To Us” by Hoobastank, the drums start completely the same, then change direction and deliver another powerful and engaging track typical of the group. The excellent voice changes tone continuously with embarrassing ease and the rhythm of the percussion slows and then picks up from start to finish. “Time is Running Out” demonstrates the new mainstream influences Papa Roach are getting us used to, the song is very catchy and the sound suddenly detaches from that of the other tracks, without losing quality though. “What Do You Do” is the pure ballad of the album, with a sound that reminds of some Aerosmith pieces, in fact, at some points, it almost feels like hearing Steven Tyler’s voice and you can criticize but Shaddix has nothing to envy about Tyler’s voice. The raspy timbre accompanies the beautiful sound of the song which, despite moving away from the band’s Nu-Metal character, offers emotions.
“My Heart Is A Fist” has a somewhat anonymous character but still gives another demonstration of the frontman’s excellent vocal abilities and the quality of the group, who even in this episode manage to create a very clean and at the same time edgy sound. The rock soul leaves room in conclusion for a vocal solo accompanied by soft piano notes. “No more Secrets” breaks the reflective aura that had been created in the previous tracks, giving a new burst made of energetic riffs and galloping voice. “Reckless” is another ballad, that we are now used to, still a very pleasant sound like the piece as a whole. “The Fire” reminds us that something has changed, proposing a calmer character and a sound that is not very aggressive but still not to be scorned. “Roses On My Grave” is the last official track of the album and the penultimate track. It is a song that you may like or not, in the sense that it is very particular and I’ll explain why. Shaddix’s voice is accompanied throughout the piece by an orchestra, which produces a wonderful melody, made mostly of strings, which in the chorus leave room for Horton’s guitar. The result for me was goosebumps, what comes out is really original, even thinking about the change the group is undergoing. The song is a brief episode, yet it's one of those pieces you could listen to a thousand times, it relaxes and shakes and the words immediately stick in your mind. Metallica and their concert with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra came to mind. I realize the comparison is bold but the choice of sound is reminiscent of that concert.

The album concludes with the live version of “Scars”, recorded during the May 1, 2005 concert in Chicago, the location where the group’s first dvd “Live and Murderous in Chicago” was recorded. The song is performed excellently, as the quartet behaved throughout the live (I’m telling you this because I own the dvd). The only flaw is that this live version of Scars, is much slower than the cd one. Otherwise, all the live pieces are performed flawlessly but personally, I wouldn’t have chosen this as the last track of the new cd.

In conclusion, as far as I’m concerned, I believe that this new album deserves five stars, despite there being some flaws such as the aforementioned choice of the last track or one or two too forced ballads. But overall I believe the work is excellent, then it is debatable to think that a change of direction in sound can do a group good or not. In this case, I (and I emphasize I) believe that this change has given new quality to Papa Roach, who in this album offer aggressiveness and character but also reflection and melody. The quartet is growing, as can be understood from the quality of the lyrics, which at the beginning were completely “easy” and now show more maturity. After all, I like them like this. Then everyone sees it their own way.