The Connection (Papa Roach album)

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The Connection
A skeleton wearing headphones with wires in the background. A heart and wires is coming out of his head.
Studio album by
Papa Roach
ReleasedOctober 2, 2012
Studio
Genre
Length44:13
LabelEleven Seven
Producer
Papa Roach chronology
Time for Annihilation
(2010) 		The Connection
(2012) 		F.E.A.R.
(2015)
Singles from The Connection
  1. "Still Swingin'"
    Released: July 24, 2012
  2. "Where Did the Angels Go"
    Released: November 20, 2012
  3. "Before I Die"
    Released: January 22, 2013
  4. "Leader of the Broken Hearts"
    Released: May 7, 2013

The Connection is the seventh studio album by American rock band Papa Roach. It was released on October 2, 2012, through Eleven Seven Music. The album was produced by Sixx:A.M. vocalist James Michael, who co-produced the band's previous full-length album Metamorphosis, and Goldfinger vocalist John Feldmann. The first single, "Still Swingin'", was released on July 24, 2012.

A lyric video to the song "Before I Die" was released on Papa Roach's YouTube channel on November 15, 2012.[4] On November 19, 2012, The Connection was released as a vinyl record, making it the first Papa Roach album to be released in that format.

The album features several songs with electronic influences. Some tracks on the album feature a return to the nu metal style rapping vocals of the band's early releases.

Background[edit]

Jacoby Shaddix has described the album as a "rediscovery of the basic elements of Papa Roach."[5] He states: "We kind of went back and looked at the history of our band and really thought about… Creatively, what evolutions have we gone through? When we came in, it was, like, metal and hip-hop and nu-metal, and then we kind of got more into straight-ahead rock and then we added pop elements to our band. So this record just encompasses everything we’ve done from the beginning to where we are currently as a band; it just kind of connects the dots of all the elements of our sound over the years."[6] "There's some hip-hop, more keyboards than before, sound loops, textures—it's dynamic, diverse and vulnerable. That is Papa Roach. We have never sounded better," said Shaddix.[7]

Regarding the album's title, Shaddix stated it was one of many different titles the band went through. "We always just kept coming back to ‘The Connection,’" stated Shaddix. "What ‘The Connection’ means to us, it’s our connection to the music, it’s the connection of this music to the fans, it’s the connection that we make onstage with our music, it’s the connection from fan-to-fan on the social Internet marketing media world."[5]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Papa Roach and James Michael, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Engage" 0:51
2."Still Swingin'"Papa Roach, John Feldmann, Tylias3:24
3."Where Did the Angels Go"Anthony Esperance, James Michael, Papa Roach3:10
4."Silence Is the Enemy" 2:53
5."Before I Die" 4:25
6."Wish You Never Met Me" 4:05
7."Give Me Back My Life" 4:00
8."Breathe You In" 3:07
9."Leader of the Broken Hearts" 4:12
10."Not That Beautiful" (feat. Shahnaz) 3:18
11."Walking Dead" 3:18
12."Won't Let Up" 4:00
13."As Far as I Remember" 3:42
Total length:44:13
Japanese edition
No.TitleLength
14."Set Me Off"3:28
15."What's Left of Me"2:58
Deluxe edition
No.TitleLength
14."What's Left of Me"2:58
15."9th Life" (co-written by Martin Johnson)3:13
iTunes deluxe edition
No.TitleLength
14."You Gotta Want It"3:39
15."Kick in the Teeth" (video)3:11
16."Burn" (uncut video)3:37
17."No Matter What" (video)3:50
18."Still Swingin'" (video)3:22
19."Constructing the Connection" (video)3:17
20."Behind the Scenes: Making of Still Swingin'" (video)2:12

Sales[edit]

"The Connection", sold 22,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 17 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD arrived in stores on October 2 via Eleven Seven Music. It charted higher and sold more than Papa Roach's previous album, 2010's "Time For Annihilation ... On the Road & On the Record", which opened with 16,000 units to debut at position No. 23 on The Billboard 200 chart, but underperformed compared to the band's 2009 CD, "Metamorphosis", which premiered at #8 with nearly 44,000 copies.

"The Connection" has sold more than 109,000 copies in the US as of 2015.[8]

Reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic62/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Kerrang![9]
The Independentnegative[3]
musicOMH[10]
Revolver[9]
Loudwire[11]
Ultimate Guitar5.7/10[2]

The album has received generally mixed reviews, with a 62% rating on Metacritic.

Allmusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5 saying: "[the album strikes] a balance between [the band's] early roots as a nu-metal/rap-rock outfit and its more recent interest in '80s-style Sunset Strip hard rock... The Connection includes some creatively slick sounds that flow from buzzy, processed distortion to pulsating, atmospheric electronic flourishes."[1]

Personnel[edit]

Chart positions[edit]

Album - Billboard

Chart (2012) Position
Austrian Albums Chart[12] 24
Belgian Ultratop (Wallonia)[13] 117
Belgian Ultratop (Flanders)[14] 106
Dutch Albums Chart[15] 83
French Albums Chart[16] 163
German Albums Chart[17] 27
Japanese Albums Chart[18] 134
Scottish Albums[19] 41
Swiss Albums Chart[20] 21
UK Albums Chart[21] 37
US Billboard 200[22] 17
US Billboard (Hard Rock Albums)[23] 2

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "The Connection - Papa Roach - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic.
  2. ^ a b "Papa Roach: The Connection Review".
  3. ^ a b "Album: Papa Roach, The Connection (Eleven Seven)".
  4. ^ "Papa Roach - Before I Die (Official Lyric Video)". YouTube. Archived from the original on March 18, 2013. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Papa Roach's Jacoby Shaddix Discusses Uproar Festival and Making 'The Connection'". Loudwire.com. Archived from the original on August 14, 2012. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
  6. ^ "Papa Roach Singer Jacoby Shaddix Reveals He's Battling Vocal Ailment". Loudwire.com. July 17, 2012. Archived from the original on August 22, 2012. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
  7. ^ "Papa Roach's Jacoby Shaddix on Being an Underdog, the UPROAR Tour and His Relationship With Randy Blythe". Noisecreep. Archived from the original on January 29, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  8. ^ "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on January 30, 2015.
  9. ^ a b c "The Connection by Papa Roach".
  10. ^ "Papa Roach - The Connection - Albums - musicOMH". September 30, 2012.
  11. ^ "Papa Roach, 'The Connection' – Album Review". Loudwire.
  12. ^ "Papa Roach - The Connection". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on June 20, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  13. ^ "Papa Roach - The Connection". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on March 21, 2016. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  14. ^ "Papa Roach - The Connection". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on April 24, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  15. ^ "Papa Roach - The Connection". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on September 20, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  16. ^ "Papa Roach - The Connection". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on July 26, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  17. ^ "Papa Roach - The Connection". PHONONET GmbH. Archived from the original on May 21, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  18. ^ "Papa Roach - The Connection" (in Japanese). oricon ME inc. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  19. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  20. ^ "Papa Roach - The Connection". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on July 27, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  21. ^ "Papa Roach - The Connection". The Official UK Charts Company. Archived from the original on June 10, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  22. ^ "Papa Roach Chart History". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  23. ^ "Papa Roach Chart History". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
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