“Abracadabra.” Gone are the uplifting, melodic and catchy outbursts and welcome solid rock songs. Papa Roach have changed a lot since their major label debut “Infest”. Not only their music, but also singer Coby Dick’s name has changed, he now uses his original name: Jacoby Shaddix. From playing in small garages in the early 90s until the big stadiums in the 21st century, Papa Roach has continually evolved. With this new record the band proves that they are no newcomers to the music scene. Unlike many people think “Infest” was not their debut album. The band had already released a handful of records and EP’s like “Old Friends From Young Years” and “5 Tracks Deep”.

Papa Roach gave an enormous melody boost to the nu-metal scene with their catchy, powerful and intense music. Too bad you don’t hear much of that back on Lovehatetragedy. It seems like Papa Roach wants to prove that they have to be taken seriously (maybe changing names is also part of this?) and that they can create nice and intelligent rock songs.

There’s nothing wrong with that, because songs as “Time And Time Again” (do I hear some 80s influences?) and “She Loves Me Not” are great songs, but most of the songs are a bit lean in comparison with their earlier work. The Pixies cover “Gouge Away” is a nice addition to the album though.

Lovehatetragedy is a nice album filled with groovy pessimistic sounding songs especially about relationships and about the tough side of life. This new album is totally different from previous releases; so don’t expect a second “Infest”. The lyrics (depressed kids will love it) for example have improved a lot. On the other hand they’ve dropped their catchy and diverse sound. This can be considered as a great improvement or as a huge loss (because this was one of the factors that brought Papa Roach to the top) although I prefer the last. Therefore I have my doubts if this new album will have the same impact as their previous album had.