Having collaborated with Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump and Maroon 5's Adam Levine, Gym Class Heroes have some credit with those fan groups, and having Busta Rhymes and Estelle guest on 2008 album The Quilt earned them a few hip-hop fans. Strangely, though, they're claiming this fourth album is "four dudes sitting in a room, vibing off each other and making organic, dark metal".
Well it's not dark metal, in fact The Papercut Chronicles II is musically a bit all over the shop - a track like Martyrial Girls might appeal to Linkin Park fans, and there's some guitar riffs that could appeal to RHCP fans if they didn't feel so out of place, while Holy Horseshit, Batman leans more towards Eminem. Though I admire their lack of genre restriction, the lack of commitment to really push in any direction makes it unconvincing. The computer speaking on opening track Za Intro is annoying rather than fun, and their rhymes are predictable and full of cliches - a few can be useful, but an entire song's worth (like on the R&B-ish Life Goes On) is grating.
The production however is solid, if not inventive, and when they embrace the pop sound on single Stereo Hearts (featuring Adam Levine) they've got the catchy thing going, even if it feels like a track that should've come out in the early 2000s. Seems they might be at their best when collaborating with pop stars.
Stars: 2.5/5
Verdict: Unconvincing fourth album from pop/rock/rap outfit
But this album here.
