‘I love being one of the forefathers of nu metal’: why Papa Roach’s Jacoby Shaddix will never disown his past

Papa Roach frontman Jacoby Shaddix refuses to be shamed into disowning his band’s nu metal past, but is excited about the prospect of shaping “a new beginning” for the Californian quartet. 

Interviewed in the new issue of Metal Hammer magazine, on sale now, Shaddix is asked to nominate an “epic failure” in the Vacaville band’s career, but coms out swinging with his response. 

“In the critics’ eyes, our second [major label] album, Lovehatetragedy [2002], was an epic failure,” Shaddix admits. “But I look back on it very fondly. It was a necessary record to make to continue to build our identity. We felt like we were being pigeon-holed as a one-trick pony, and we felt there was so much more to our band than the nu metal tag. I love being one of the forefathers of nu metal, that’s fucking dope, but we’ve been able to outlive it and celebrate it at the same time.”

Shaddix’s band have been compiling a second ‘Greatest Hits’ volume, Greatest Hits Vol.2 - The Better Noise Years, for release on March 19, which the singer says has been “a really cool process.”

“I’m in eternal gratitude to our fans for sticking with us through the highs and the lows,” the singer says. “We’ve had great successes and great failures, but we’re courageous enough as creators to keep putting ourselves out, put our blood onto the dance floor and risk it. This is our way to put a pin in it, because we’re moving on.  We signed a new record deal, so this is a great way to bookend this period of our career. It’s an ending, but it’s a new beginning too.”

Speaking of new beginnings, Shaddix is set to make his acting debut this year, in new  horror thriller The Retaliators. Papa Roach’s recent single, The Ending (Remastered 2020), will also feature in the film.