Papa Roach

Nirvana minus the punk sheen and jagged poetic obscurity, Papa Roach’s  “Last Resort” was nu metal’s apex. Its “Back In Black” chords and OCD riff were the hard-rock equivalents of nervous pacing and nail-biting, and its refrain, “Wish somebody would tell me I’m fine,” was a fair distillation of adolescent insecurity. It was all downhill from there, with Papa Roach’s nadir the ludicrous chorus of “Scars”: “My weakness is that I care too much.” (Try that at your next job interview.) Jacoby Shaddix and the boys mounted a minor comeback recently, following up the No. 1 “mainstream rock” hit “Lifeline” (all strain, no catharsis) with last year’s half-new, half-live Time For Annihilation. (What? Already?) 

Updated 04/27/2011