lovehatetragedy

1	M-80 (Explosive Energy Movement) 2:26
2	Life Is a Bullet 4:05
3	Time and Time Again 2:58
4	Walking Thru Barbed Wire 3:04
5	Decompression Period 3:59
6	Born With Nothing, Die With Everything 3:49
7	She Loves Me Not 3:29
8	Singular Indestructible Droid 3:48
9	Black Clouds 4:01
10	Code of Energy 4:04
11	Lovehatetragedy 3:11

Barnes & Noble

When Papa Roach's frontman put his "Coby Dick" alter-ego to rest and began making music under his birth name (Jacoby Shaddix), it seemed as if he were presaging a sort of maturing process. Lovehatetragedy, the Californian quartet's sophomore outing, lives up to that promise, although the band hasn't entirely abandoned the adolescent aggro that permeated their multi-platinum debut, Infest. The latter quality is in full flower on "She Loves Me Not," the disc's only full-on "rap-rock" track, but the fury sounds too stagy and well rehearsed to really buy into. Shaddix is much more believable -- and effective -- when he waxes more personal, as on the one-two punch of "Walking Through Barbed Wire" and "Time and Time Again," both of which find him baring his personal life, abandoning his belligerent rapping for an appealing, throaty growl. The band widens its instrumental palette enough to allow for the inclusion of 12-string acoustic guitar (on the swooping "Black Clouds") and tribal chant (on "Singular Indestructible Void"). Not all of the experiments pan out, but the Roach, like its namesake, looks well suited for survival in the face of an ever-changing landscape. David Sprague

All Music Guide

Within the context of its times, lovehatetragedy is a gamble of sorts, as Papa Roach abandons their affiliation with rock/rap fusion (except for one highly effective moment on "She Loves Me Not") and hies back to their original pure metal- and punk-inflected hard rock stance. Lead singer Coby Dick certifies the change by reverting to his birth name, Jacoby Shaddix, but in other respects his performance sticks to its formula of gut-busting delivery and lyrics whose candor can get a little embarrassing. (On "Decompression Period," for instance, he essentially tells his band as well as his beleaguered wife that he's sick of being around them.) A few tracks, most notably "Singular Indestructible Droid," struggle toward metaphor, with mixed results. What can't be denied is that Shaddix's woes connect directly to a large and equally confused audience, and that nobody this side of Kurt Cobain communicates them with as much power. As always, his message rides a turbulent current of guitar/bass riffs whose militaristic precision only enhances their intensity. Robert Doerschuk