Back in 2000 nu metal was at the height of its fame. Bands were doing something a bit strange to rock and they were mixing it with hip hop. They had emcees instead of vocalists and they had a DJ. Or at least these were the conventions of nu metal.
But then there were bands like Papa Roach who could mix rock and rap with just one man at the forefront. They didn’t have a DJ either but they were still playing what was considered nu metal. The guitar riffs were simple but heavy, the drums had a funky hip hop flair to them and the bass brought it all together in one nice little angry sounding package.
Papa Roach’s Infest album was put together when the band were so young and all the topics were easily relatable for teens who wanted a new angry sound to latch onto. The sound of being bullied at school for being different, the sound of the confusion shared between teens and their parents. It was the soundtrack to their youth.
Jacoby Shaddix wrote about some very personal issues on the bands first album and it’s a theme that would always stick with him throughout the bands later albums. The man always speaks his mind and opens up his heart. The album was loaded with hit after hit from the likes of Last Resort to Broken Home, Dead Cell and Between Angels and Insects. Any nu metal or Papa Roach fan will easily tell you that they can’t pick a song that they dislike from this album.
9/10
