Metal Anarchy

During a recent interview with Audacy Check In, Papa Roach singer Jacoby Shaddix discussed the band’s new album plans. According to him, the group’s next full-length will likely surface in late 2025 or early 2026.

Shaddix said the following while discussing the band’s latest single “Even If It Kills Me“:

“It’s just got such a cinematic feel to it and it’s just got the big riffs that we are known for. And it’s got a hooky chorus. I really love the chorus. And it’s just one of those songs that when I heard the demo, when the band wrote the music, I just instantly picked up the phone, I called [PAPA ROACH bassist] Tobin [Esperance]. I’m, like, ‘Dude, I don’t even have to think twice on this one. It’s go time on this track.’

When we land on those moments when we’re making music, when I just know there’s an inner knowing, there’s something magic in that. And it sets a tone for then what’s to come and what we’re gonna write after that. And we kicked it off with this one and it just was so inspired. It was the first song that we wrote after we had been touring on our last album, [2022’s] ‘Ego Trip’, and it was the first one that we went back into the studio and we were, like, ‘All right, let’s start writing music again.’ And it seems like when we’ve kind of been out there working and playing songs live and been out on tour and hadn’t been writing new music in a while, it’s like when the levee breaks, and it’s just this flood. And that’s what happened when we wrote that song, and we’re so proud of it. And I’ve gotta tell you, just wait till you see the music video for this one, ’cause it’s leaps and bounds levels up of what we’ve done lately with our music videos. And I’m so excited about this one.”

He continued when asked about a new album:

“So we’ve been in the studio throughout 2024 working on a bunch of music, and we have songs in a lot of different states. There’s songs that are completely finished. We have other songs that are like verses and choruses, and we’ve gotta write maybe a bridge or get back there and kind of retweak ’em and work ’em. And so they’re in all these different states. There’s another couple of songs that are just acoustic guitar and vocal, and it’s, like, ‘All right, this one’s gonna be a banger. We’ve just gotta go in there and, like, bandify the song.’ And so we have a ton of material demoed out. And so throughout this year, we’re just gonna keep jumping back into the studio and finishing up those pieces. Management’s going, ‘Let’s try to hit it later this year.’ And I’m, like, ‘I wanna release music throughout the whole year.’ And it’s going to lead up to an album eventually. Whether it’s the end of 2025 or early 2026, there will be a new PAPA ROACH album.

The music we’re making right now is very inspired and it’s got us all pumped up. When you go back in the studio, you just don’t know what’s gonna come. And after we wrote ‘Even If It Kills Me’, I’m just, like, ‘Oh. It’s on. Let’s go.’”

He also added the following about the band’s evolution:

“We have definitely come a long way since 1993. And over the last six months, I’ve kind of been diving back into the old early, early, early releases of PAPA ROACH ’cause I just was doing some purging of things from my home and just clearing stuff out. And I found all these old demo CDs of early iterations of ‘Last Resort’ and stuff well before that. And just kind of seeing where we started as a band and where we’re at right now is definitely… We’ve grown so much, and to be as inspired as we are these days, it’s exciting. Being this deep into our career and still making music that feels current — it feels like we’re pushing the bar, honestly, and raising the bar, and to be doing that, I’m grateful for it. And it’s a testament to our passion to this craft of what we do. And also, I think for us, our willingness to shake things up and try working with different producers and seeing how they reflect the mirror back at us and we break this thing down and we build it back up. And yeah, man, I’m fricking stoked where we’re at right now, especially we’re on the precipice of one of our biggest tours throughout Europe, and I’m just, like, ‘We turned up over here.’ It’s gonna be good.”

[via Blabbermouth]