Infest (UK Version) - Papa Roach > Reviews > Dick, Infestation, Angels and Martini

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Standard
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Not applicable
Value for Money

Advantages:	See op
Disadvantages:	see op

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I got this album around June of this year, from good ol’ Tescos. I was not sure if I should bother getting it; I had never bought anything to do with metal before and didn’t really think it was my thing. However, it was only a tenner, and I was feeling rich, so I chucked it in the trolley.

Having no idea of Roaches background, and having not read any rants against nu-metal, I listened to the album with an open mind. If it were crap, I would admit it was crap, and if it were amazing I would say it was amazing.

Track by track rundown now…

Track One – Infest: Good introduction sets the tone for the rest of the album. It starts with a (literally) monotonous dull tone, which gradually gets louder until it reaches a crescendo. At this point, Papa Roach start playing, and we start with the vocalist telling us his name – ‘My names Coby Dick / Mister Dick if you’re nasty. The track is about Papa Roach getting infesting your mind… it makes little sense, but these lyrics are compensated for later in the album. Nice guitar riffs, nice and fast.

Track Two - Last Resort: Released as a single, which made it onto the R1 playlist. All about suicide, which is pleasant. Simple but effective guitar, fits in well after the first track, and has a nice raspy vocal bit. Good track, nice to see they didn’t make the mistake of putting this one first just on the strength of its intro.

Track Three – Broken Home: My personal favorite. Coby Dick (Yeah, that wasn’t just a lyric) sings about his childhood, which wasn’t a pleasant one. Heartfelt, the guitar perfectly captures the emotion in the lyrics, going from quiet to loud to show anger. I think. Top track, download it if you don’t have the album. Or you could, you know, do the legal thing and actually go out and buy some music of your own.

Track Four – Dead Cell: Energetic. Once again, the lyrics don’t make a great deal of sense, but it’s a great one to shout along to with your mates. This would be amazing live, the amount of energy in the song is astounding – it goes from start to finish without slowing down at all. Chorus is catchy, and at this point the album is very good, not a dull track.

Track Five – Between Angels And Insects: Was my favorite track, until I realized that the lyrics were a rip-off of Fight Club. ‘Cluck your money, cluck your possession, cluck your obsession, I don’t need that Ship’, which is pretty much the theme of the film. They even go so far as to say ‘the things you own, own you’ – EXACTLY what Tyler says in the film! Despite this, it’s still a great song, if a little heavy on the cussing. There’s a real sweet bit at the end where someone plays the riffs in a really slow guitar. Again, a pretty emotional song, and better for it.

Track Six – Blood Brothers: You might remember this one from Tony Hawks 2. This one is pretty dark, with lyrics like ‘It’s in our nature to kills ourselves’. Solid track, nothing too special but not too bad either.

Track Seven – Revenge: It is at this point I must congratulate myself, for I have proved I am able to count to seven. This one is where the album starts to slow and mellow a bit, as you can tell from the riffs. For no discernable reason, the riffs remind me of a fairytale… Dang, I am messed up. Coby is talking about some woman that got abused by her husband… Dang, he is messed up. Guess you would be with a name like Coby Dick though.

Track Eight – Snakes: If you’re listening to the alb for the first time, this is where the songs start to merge into one another. It sounds quite similar to what has already been played – but that’s not a bad thing, that’s a good thing, because the earlier songs are great. On it’s own, this song is great with some vaguely understandable lyrics, but it gets lost in the midst of the album.

Track Nine – Never Enough: Features one of music’s all time top lyrics – ‘somebody kick me in the face’. It’s all starting to get slightly repetitive at this point, and this song is pretty much a filler track. A darn good filler track, but a filler track nonetheless.

Track Ten – Binge: This reminds me of straight Martini. It’s probably something to do with the songs lyrics – ‘When I’m sober life bores me / so I get drunk again’, and it’s possibly to do with some real life experience. Either way, you don’t care. The worst track on the album (it’s still pretty good though, if that makes any sense), just because the chorus has Mr. Dick whining. That said, it’s easy to relate to the lyrics if you’ve ever been drunk and depressed.

Track Eleven – Thrown Away: The final track, secret Nirvanay bonus track notwithstanding. Excellent, Coby does some whispering thing that really adds style. Feels apocalyptic – and once again, I don’t know why.

Secret Track – Tightrope: Hell yeah! Similar to ‘Something In The Way’ on Nirvanas Nevermind, this track is slow, sad, and depressing. Which, in my book, means it’s a great way to end the album.

So, overall, this is one album you WILL enjoy if you listen to it with an open mind. If you listen to it thinking it’s going to be more Linkin Parky nu-metal rubbish, you won’t enjoy it.

One of just three albums to ever get 5/5 from me.