Posts Tagged ‘a-room-jamming-’

Papa Roach, ‘The Connection’ – Album Review

Eleven Seven Music Papa Roach evolve their sound a little bit more with each album, but they still know what works for them and hit upon it with abundance on their latest disc ‘ The Connection .’ Singer Jacoby Shaddix told Loudwire earlier this year, “What ‘The Connection’ means to us, it’s our connection to the music. It’s the connection of this music to the fans. It’s the connection that we make onstage with our music … It’s just this connection that Papa Roach than us sitting in a room jamming. It’s larger than life now and we’re just the facilitators for that, so it’s just painfully obvious that this is what it needs to be.” With that in mind, the band mines the well of interpersonal connections again with their latest record. Shaddix, a master at baring his soul in tracks like ‘Last Resort,’ ‘Scars,’ and ‘Broken Home,’ puts his heart clearly on his sleeve with the standout track ‘ Before I Die .’ The song, which incorporates some early piano work before fully rocking out, talks about pushing a loved one away while still feeling the urge to live for them. And where ‘Before I Die’ is a more painful track, the misnomer ‘Leader of the Broken Hearts’ actually comes off as one of the more triumphant songs on the disc. On it, Shaddix revels in the pain that comes from a broken heart, knowing that even though a relationship has ended, there’s an elation that came from putting it all on the line that’s made him feel alive like never before. As Shaddix has stated, ‘The Connection’ is also about the relationship of the music to their fans, and there are a number of rocking tracks on here that should eventually connect on the concert stage. Tony Palermo’s ‘Dr. Feelgood’-like drumming and the riffage of guitarist Jerry Horton and bassist Tobin Esperance on ‘Where Did the Angels Go’ provide the intensity of a great live song. Esperance and Horton also drive ‘Wish You Never Met Me’ with a killer bass opening and wailing guitar solo. And for those who like the rap-rock sound of the band’s early work, ‘Not That Beautiful’ is a late album gem with Shaddix waxing poetic about putting a loved one on a pedestal. The other major connection P-Roach make is to their own journey to get where they are today. The band has seen the highs and the lows and emerged as one of music’s most consistently rocking acts, which makes ‘ Still Swingin’ ‘ not only the perfect song for a lead single, but essentially the anthem that describes their career path. Where many of their peers that started on the scene in the late ’90s and early 2000s have faded away, Papa Roach have survived, and are the ones still swinging and connecting with fans.

Papa Roach Preview New Song ‘Before I Die’ in Behind-the-Scenes Video

Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com With less than two weeks to go before the Oct. 2 release of Papa Roach ‘s latest album ‘ The Connection ,’ the band has released a behind-the-scenes video (watch below) that talks about the new album, and includes portions of the new song ‘Before I Die.’ It’s a revealing video that begins with vocalist Jacoby Shaddix in the hospital, holding up a post-it note that says ‘scared,’ as he prepares for surgery on his vocal cord. Papa Roach had to drop off the Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival after a week due to nodules on Shaddix’s vocal cord. Band members also talk about the meaning of the album title ‘The Connection’ in the video.  Shaddix told Loudwire  recently how they decided on that title. “What ‘The Connection’ means to us, it’s our connection to the music, it’s the connection of this music to the fans, it’s the connection that we make onstage with our music, it’s the connection from fan-to-fan on the social Internet marketing media world. It’s like when the Facebook fans start to get to know each other, they come to shows and meet each other and make friends.” He added, “It’s just this connection that Papa Roach makes is bigger than us sitting in a room jamming. It’s larger than life now and we’re just the facilitators for that, so it’s just painfully obvious that this is what it needs to be.” In the video, Shaddix also reveals that he split with his wife during the making of the record. “There was a point where she wanted to go experience life without me. That was the moment I feared in my life the most.  Something so dear to me was being taken away against my will.” His recovery from the procedure is going well, according to a message Shaddix recently posted on Facebook . “Things are lookin good!!! The doctor says my vocal cords look like they are healing very well. So happy so blessed so grateful.” It looks like he’ll be ready to go in time for Papa Roach’s European tour in November. Watch Papa Roach – ‘The Connection’ Part 1 [via  ArtistDirect ]