Review by MartinDavey87 for Papa Roach - Lovehatetragedy (2002)

By 2002, nu metal had peaked. With world domination accomplished, the only way forward was down, and with that, so many bands that were “on top of the world” found themselves quickly discarded and back down from massive festivals to small clubs. And while a handful of groups, most notably Linkin Park, were able to outlive the subgenre, one of the bigger casualties was Californian quartet, Papa Roach.

The Roach’s 2000 major label debut, ‘Infest’, saw the band at the forefront of the scene, with a number of major hit singles, in particular, ‘Last Resort’, transcend the metal genre and branch out to casual radio listeners. In 2000, Papa Roach were arguably one of the biggest bands on the planet. But by the time they released 2002’s follow-up, ‘Lovehatetragedy’, nu metal was in decline, and unfortunately so was the group’s popularity.

Which is a shame, because ‘Lovehatetragedy’ isn’t a bad album, but it’s a clear reflection of where the subgenre was headed. There’s just something about the record that doesn’t quite have the same punch as before. It’s like ‘Infest’ made a huge statement, and now they’re just coasting the waves. Perhaps all the lyrical themes were already passé, or the lack of rapping and more focus on radio-friendly rock took away some of the edge of what originally made the band stand out?

Still, for what it’s worth, this release has its merits. There’s some catchy, hook-laden tracks, and vocalist Jacoby Shaddix has improved as a singer, especially with more melodic-based vocal lines. There's some nice guitar work too, though metal fans quickly tired of nu metals repetitive, de-tuned riffs, I personally think there’s some nice, tight playing here. Songs like ‘Black Clouds’, ‘She Loves Me Not’, ‘Time and Time Again’, ‘Life is a Bullet’, ‘Born With Nothing, Die With Everything’ and ‘M-80 (Explosive Energy Movement)’ are all decent tracks that show that the subgenre still had lots of potential left, even in its dying days.

And while Papa Roach will never reach the same heights they did in 2000, this album shows that they’re actually not as bad as most people will make them out to be.