Getting the fundamentals right and then letting your experience carry you through is paramount. Becoming better at what you do takes determination, but fraying at the edges will always happen, it’s a fact. Californian band Papa Roach haven’t only frayed at the edges, they’ve fallen apart with their record Ego Trip. The album isn’t the band’s finest hour, that’s for sure, and it seems they’ve chosen to implement too much of a slant; a gear that has stuck, And that’s a shame as we have seen the band release quality in the past. The days of Papa Roach playing exclusively rock music have gone, and the days when lead singer Jacoby Shaddix bellowed out lyrics describing smashed love and torn dreams have definitely been forgotten. Ego Trip doesn’t rise on any occasions. There isn’t a hook, a driven riff or any melodic underpinnings to get the music soaring. It’s a drastic change for the band, it really is. Considering what they used to stand for – and what they used to create – it’s mind boggling on a massive scale that they’d let their music fall into obscurity and mediocrity. Although, on the basis of their two previous albums, it has been coming. Ego Trip’s inferiority comes from a lack of pulsation and a lack of intensity. The music is wrapped in a limp rap style too, which offers nothing new. Every song comes up short because of forgettable lyrics and instrumentals that offer nothing fresh or daring. It’s perplexing, and truly puzzling that Papa Roach let this go out into the cut-throat world with a music industry on you like a rash, with pincers sharpened and hurtful words. ‘Kill The Noise’ starts proceedings. It lacks style and progression, and the vocals from Shaddix get lost in a riff that has been done to death. Nothing great comes from the opener. ‘Bloodline’ goes along in the same fashion, with a lacking beat, and uninspiring lyricism, pushing the album through the gravel. ‘Killing Time’ has decent guitar moments, but loses the momentum instantly. ‘Shaddix’ seems enraged here while ‘Always Wandering’ seeks a better melody and sinks under the quality line, featuring lyrics conveying hopelessness. He does his best here, trying to salute past achievements, but to no avail. Papa Roach can’t get out of a slump. They may feel Ego Trip has the answers, but it falls flat almost instantly. This band has had times when the music seemed gracious, with a beating heart. But those days of wonder are long gone.
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