Infest

by

Papa Roach

Edit

Before I start my review, I must say that I am not new to Papa Roach. Although I don't live on the West Coast, I have been listening to them for quite a while now, and they have been one of my favorite bands for a very long time. So when I gave Infest a first listen, I was very suprised to find a rather new Papa Roach, for better or for worse.

The first thing I noticed was that it was clear they had used a new producer, and it didn't suprise me that it was Orgy's Jay Bumgardner. It was odd to hear a band that I was so used to making straight-out songs that could be duplicated in a live setting to be using so many overdubs, a DJ on two tracks, guest vocalists, guitar effects, and vocal effects. Now, this isn't necessarily bad, but definately different.

Thankfully, all of the tracks are great...so far, I have listened through the CD 3 full times without stopping, and I've loved every song. My least favorite so far is Never Enough, but I'm sure it will grow on me. My favorites are Infest, Between Angels and Insects, and Revenge. Suprisingly, only 4 tracks (not including the secret song) were old songs. I was dissapointed that they didn't put on Legacy, Barbed Wire, or My Bad Side, but that's alright. It was funny listeneing to songs like Revenge (formerly Revenge In Japanese on the 5 Tracks Deep EP) because I have heard the old version so many times, it really threw me off to hear new little nuances and slight tempo changes. Also, I love the song Tightrope, and I was shocked to find it on there as a secret song in the form of some laid-back, ganja smoking reaggae version. But it is still excellent.

All in all, this is a great CD, definately the best of 2000 so far. If I had never heard P-Roach before, I would probably be astounded by this release, but because I know they can do a little better, it didnt have quite as much appeal. But don't get me wrong, ... GO OUT AND BUY IT, YOU WON'T REGRET!

When I first heard "Last Resort" on the radio, the main riff sounded familiar...sure enough, lifted straight from Iron Maiden's "Hallowed be Thy Name". Then, after the incredibly moronic second single, "Broken Home", a third single has appeared, "Between Angels and Insects" I believe is the title. This riff? Straight from Iron Maiden's "Prowler". I read in an interview that these guys claim they don't listen to Maiden, but listening to their sophmoric lyrics, I doubt that they were smart enough to come up with the classical progressions by themselves. I haven't even heard the whole CD, but I don't have to. These guys are totally unoriginal and way too trendy.