Poor Papa Roach, destined to be written off entirely, because they entered the rap-metal game at its tail end. Yet Getting Away With Murder reminds us that the group were never really “rap� or “metal� to begin with. They’re even less so now, and though that’s likely a survival tactic after what happened to the rest of the genre, what remains is surprisingly decent if not particularly inspiring. The songs are still heavy, anthems about angst and alienation with decent melodies and an ever-so-slightly punk-roughed edge (that is to say, the prefab punk-roughed edge that can be added to any decidedly unpunk music; via the magic of production, it sounds both rough and over-produced at the same time). The record certainly doesn’t lack energy, though, to the point where it becomes unclear whether or not Papa Roach are calculated or sincere - but if they’re faking it, they’re faking it better than most of the groups that fell by the wayside. They even rock out the AC/DC riffs with “Be Free,� proving that either a/ they are actually rather cool guys or b/ they’re just trying to nudge into garage band territory now that rap-rock has faded away. In the meantime, Getting Away With Murder comes recommended as a mild pick-me-up for those still bothered about how awful the last Limp Bizkit was.

By James Hayashi-Tennant
Oct 17, 2004