Papa Roach

Papa Roach began with a sound rooted in hardcore punk and rap before shifting into a direct hard rock approach marked by pronounced metal influences and an ability to fuse unyielding force with pop sensibility. The band surfaced in the mid-1990s and achieved widespread attention in 2001 through their second album and major-label debut, Infest, which earned triple-platinum status behind the nu-metal- and hip-hop-inspired single “Last Resort.” Subsequent releases lovehatetragedy (2002) and Getting Away with Murder (2004) leaned more heavily into rock arrangements yet maintained strong sales—the former certified gold and the latter platinum—and by the arrival of their ninth and tenth albums, the industrial-metal-flavored Crooked Teeth in 2017 and Who Do You Trust? in 2019, the Grammy-nominated outfit had moved more than twenty million records while outlasting nearly every peer from the alt-metal era. Their eleventh studio set, Ego Trip, surfaced in 2022.

Formed in 1993 by Coby Dick, Jerry Horton, Dave Buckner, and Tobin Esperance, the group issued early EPs such as Potatoes for Christmas (1994) and Caca Bonita (1995). After original bassist Will James departed in favor of Esperance and a new manager came aboard in 1996, Papa Roach delivered their debut full-length, Old Friends from Young Years, in 1997, which unexpectedly gained traction on local radio. That regional momentum opened doors to higher-profile shows alongside Suicidal Tendencies, Sevendust, and Powerman 5000, culminating in a Dreamworks Records contract that yielded Infest in early 2000. The album reached triple-platinum certification on the strength of the massively successful single “Last Resort,” establishing Papa Roach among the era’s most prominent hard rock acts. In 2002 frontman Coby Dick began performing under his birth name, Jacoby Shaddix, and the band issued lovehatetragedy that June; the record reflected a move toward a more mature, melodic, and streamlined hard rock style while still retaining echoes of their rap-rock origins. That summer they joined Eminem’s Anger Management Tour alongside Ludacris and Xzibit.

Getting Away with Murder, their fourth studio album, arrived in 2004 and achieved platinum status largely due to the hit single “Scars.” Two years later the group recorded at Hollywood’s historic Paramour mansion, once owned by silent-film star Antonio Moreno; the resulting The Paramour Sessions, released in fall 2006, carried a pronounced L.A. rock atmosphere and spawned two Top Ten rock singles, though sales leveled near 400,000 units. Drummer Dave Buckner left in 2007; Unwritten Law’s Tony Palermo filled the vacancy, and Papa Roach toured in support with Seether and Staind before appearing on Mötley Crüe’s Crüe Fest in 2008. Additional writing sessions returned them to the Paramour mansion and produced Metamorphosis, issued in early 2009, which reunited the band with Infest producer Jay Baumgardner and reaffirmed their metallic hard rock direction.

After parting with Interscope in 2010, Papa Roach signed with independent label Eleven Seven and released Time for Annihilation that August, mixing new material with live renditions of earlier hits. The career-spanning compilation The Best of Papa Roach: To Be Loved also appeared that year. Their seventh studio album, The Connection (2012), featured production from Sixx: A.M.’s James Michael and Goldfinger’s John Feldmann, blending rap, straight-ahead hard rock, and emerging electronic textures. Those electronic elements intensified on the 2015 follow-up F.E.A.R. (“Face Everything & Rise”), which emphasized a radio-friendly, industrial-tinged pop-metal sound.

After extended studio work the band returned in May 2017 with Crooked Teeth, their ninth album, produced by Nicholas “RAS” Furlong and Colin Brittain and featuring the singles “Crooked Teeth” and “Help.” It peaked at number twenty on the Billboard 200 and topped the Top Hard Rock Albums chart. The singles “Who Do You Trust?” and “Renegade Music” preceded the January 2019 release of Who Do You Trust?, which reached number seventy-three on the Billboard 200 and number one on the U.K. Rock and Metal Albums chart. Standalone tracks “Domination” with Kayzo and Sullivan King, “Swerve” with Fever 333 and Sueco, and “Kill the Noise” appeared in 2021; the latter two tracks were included on Ego Trip, the group’s eleventh album, released in April 2022.