The Papercut Chronicles II is the fifth studio album by American rap rock band Gym Class Heroes. It was released through Decaydance Records, Warner Bros. Records and Fueled by Ramen on November 15, 2011. It serves as a sequel to the group's second studio album, The Papercut Chronicles (2005). The album has sold 88,000 copies in the United States.

Singles

Promotional singles

  • The album's first and only promotional single, "Life Goes On" featuring Oh Land was released for download via iTunes on October 18, 2011.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic53/100
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic
Artistdirect
Entertainment WeeklyB
HitFixB
IGN7/10
Metromix
Rolling Stone
USA Today

Reception of The Papercut Chronicles II has been mixed. Kyle Anderson of Entertainment Weekly opined that while the album "too often chokes on revved-up aggro crunch and laughable lyrical raging against the machine, it works when they jettison their limp rap-rock instincts and plunge into crossover pop like the haunting 'Life Goes On' and stealthily sincere 'Ass Back Home'." Gregory Heaney of AllMusic noted that The Papercut Chronicles II will come as a "blast from the past" for the band's fans, adding that songs such as "Lazarus, Ze Gitan" and "Solo Discotheque (Whiskey Bitness)" feature the "infectious and highly polished sound that has made the quartet the pop/rap/punk crossover triple threat that it's grown into over the years." In a highly negative review of the record, Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone gave the record one and a half stars out of five, calling it "the year's most charmless album" and referring to McCoy as a "laughably inept MC".

Track listing

The track listing for all versions of The Papercut Chronicles II is as follows:

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Za Intro"Travis McCoyMatt McGinleyDisashi Lumumba-KasongoEric RobertsSie One1:33
2."Martyrial Girls"McCoyMcGinleyLumumba-KasongoRobertsEmile Haynie3:37
3."Life Goes On" (featuring Oh Land)McCoyMcGinleyLumumba-KasongoRobertsEmile HaynieAnnie ClarkEmile Haynie4:12
4."Stereo Hearts" (featuring Adam Levine)McCoyMcGinleyLumumba-KasongoRobertsAdam LevineBenjamin LevinAmmar MalikBrandon LowryDan OmelioBenny BlancoRobopop3:31
5."Solo Discotheque (Whiskey Bitness)"McCoyMcGinleyLumumba-KasongoRobertsTyler PurselGym Class Heroes4:02
6."Holy Horseshit, Batman!!" (featuring Nate Ruess)McCoyMcGinleyLumumba-KasongoRobertsNate RuessEmile Haynie3:41
7."Ass Back Home" (featuring Neon Hitch)McCoyMcGinleyLumumba-KasongoRobertsLevinMalikOmelioDavid SilbersteinBenny BlancoRobopop3:42
8."Nil-Nil-Draw"McCoyMcGinleyLumumba-KasongoRobertsPurselEmile Haynie3:15
9."Lazarus, Ze Gitan"McCoyMcGinleyLumumba-KasongoRobertsGym Class Heroes3:51
10."The Fighter" (featuring Ryan Tedder)McCoyMcGinleyLumumba-KasongoRobertsRyan TedderNoel ZancanellaRyan TedderNoel Zancanella3:49
11."Kid Nothing and the Never-Ending Naked Nightmare"McCoyMcGinleyLumumba-KasongoRobertsEmile Haynie8:23
Total length:43:29
UK bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Stereo Hearts" (featuring Adam Levine) (Soul Seekerz Retronica Radio Edit)McCoy, Lumumba-Kasongo, Roberts, McGinley, Levine, Levin, Lowry, Malik, Omelio3:36
13."Stereo Hearts" (featuring Adam Levine) (Dillon Francis Radio Edit)McCoy, Lumumba-Kasongo, Roberts, McGinley, Levine, Levin, Lowry, Malik, Omelio3:36
Total length:50:41
  • The song "Kid Nothing and the Never-Ending Naked Nightmare" itself ends at 3:53. There is then a few minutes of silence, then at 7:07 a hidden track outro starts, which involves a computerized voice asking what the listener thought about the album, then going off into random tangents.

Personnel

Gym Class Heroes Travis McCoy – vocals Matt McGinley – drums Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo – guitar, vocals Eric Roberts – bass guitar Additional musicians Jason Amsel – vocals (1) Austin Bisnow – Rhodes (4) Benny Blanco – additional drums, keyboards, and programming (4, 7) Emile Haynie – keyboard and drum programming (2, 3, 6, 8, 11) Neon Hitch – vocals (7) Adam Levine – vocals (4) Ammar Malik – background vocals (4, 7, 10) Phillip A. Peterson – strings (3, 4) Robopop – additional drums, keyboards, programming, and guitars (4, 7) Ryan Tedder – additional instrumentation (10) Noel Zancanella – additional instrumentation (10)Technical personnel Benny Blanco – engineer (4, 7), vocal editing (4) Smith Carlson – engineer (10) Rob Freeman – instrument engineer (2, 3, 6, 8, 11) Chris Galland – mixing assistant (2, 3, 6, 8, 11) Chris Gehringer – mastering Serban Ghenea – mixing (4, 7, 10) Mark "Exit" Goodchild – engineer (4) John Hanes – mix engineer (4, 7, 10) Jimmy James – vocal editing assistant (4), assistant mix engineer (7) Jeremy "J Boogs" Levin – production coordination (4, 7) Erik Madrid – mixing assistant (2, 3, 6, 8, 11) Manny Marroquin – mixing (2, 3, 6, 8, 11) Tore Nissen – engineer for Oh Land (3) Tim Roberts – assistant mix engineer (4, 10) Phil Seaford – assistant mix engineer (7) David "D Slib" Silberstein – production coordination (4, 7) Ryan Tedder – engineer (10) Andrew Wright – vocal engineer (2, 3, 6, 8, 11), engineer (3) Scott "Yarmov" Yarmovsky – assistant mix engineer (7)

Charts

Chart (2011–2012)Peak position
UK Albums (Official Charts)95
UK R&B Albums (Official Charts)10
US Billboard 20054
US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)10
Chart (2023)Peak position
Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ)30

Release history

RegionDateFormatLabel
United StatesNovember 15, 2011CD, digital downloadFueled by Ramen
United KingdomFebruary 27, 2012Fueled by Ramen, Atlantic Records