AMG Review of Getting Away With Murder

Johnny Loftus
All Music Guide

Getting Away with Murder offers Papa Roach fans more of the California combo's hard-hitting rage rock. Jacoby Shaddix (the name change stands) and crew have moved fully away from the rap rock blip that put them on the radar around the turn of the century. But they haven't lost their amplified intensity, nor the obsession with depressing, vaguely S&M-ish lyrics. (Example: "I'm a glutton for your punishment/You're the master/And I'm waiting for disaster") Production from Howard Benson and the mixing of Chris Lord-Alge ensure a crushingly compressed, radio-ready juggernaut, and the title track doesn't disappoint in that department. "Be Free" is also a standout, moving slightly away from the usual heavy mid-tempo sound for a scathing exploration of the ravages of alcoholism on Shaddix' tortured psyche. Fans of the Roach will certainly enjoy the loud, blustery Getting Away With Murder, even if it's not necessarily helping this fluxing genre through its growing pains.