Papa Roach – Who Do You Trust
Release Date: January 18, 2019 via Eleven Seven Music
17 January 2019
It’s been nearly twenty years since the album, Infest and its smash single, Last Resort was unleashed upon the world. From then on, I was a fan of the band. While my favorite song came an album later with She Loves Me Not, the band has not only kept releasing killer records, they’ve had a run of eight straight top 20 albums. In today’s ever changing landscape of music, that’s pretty incredible. I mention my favorite song because I may have found one on this new album that is closing in on replacing She Loves Me Not as my favorite from the band. The song is the title track for the band’s brand new album, Who Do You Trust.
I don’t know if that run of top twenty albums will continue with this latest release, but it should. What singer Jacoby Shaddix, guitarist Jerry Horton, bassist Tobin Esperance and drummer Tony Palermo have done here is put out twelve diverse songs. They definitely warrant a listen by any rock music fan.
The second song, Renegade Music, has a huge anthem feel to it. In fact, if some WWE Wrestler doesn’t use it for their entrance music, then they are missing out on what could be a huge pop from the crowd every time it comes on. The third song, Not The Only One, gave me the Blur vibes and really turns into a solid song and by the end, it’s full throttle and I couldn’t have been happier with the outcome.
Credit: Bryson Roatch
Onto the absolute crusher of this album. Who Do You Trust starts with a Tobin Esperance fuzzy bass riff that let’s you know you’re in for something bitchin’. Shaddix hits you with plenty of swag before going with some electric infused vocals that sit just right. But for me it’s the notes he is hitting, working down the vocal scale. Great job all around on this track.
The song Come Around had me missing those early to mid 2000’s songs. That’s not to say it sounds dated. It sounds like a new song but it has those bones and while it might be a little soft for some hard core rock fans, it plays extremely well. In a perfect world, it would be a massive single for the band.
The album ends with two songs that have that Papa Roach emotion but with some really good melodic sensibility. Maniac has a nice big, fat sound to it. I am absolutely in love with drummer Tony Palermo’s snare on this song. The last song is Better Than Life. Honestly, when it started, it felt a little out of place but as it went on I found myself getting into it more and more. When Jerry Horton brings in those heavy guitars, the song completely compliments the rest of the album. Horton’s guitar tone throughout the entire album has been outstanding. I don’t know if he changes it up, either in the mix or different guitars, but it never gets stale for me.
Overall, I think the band has accomplished satisfying their fan base as well as putting out an album that is sure to bring in new ones. (Seriously WWE – get on it) I’m looking forward to seeing the band plays these new songs in concert and getting to experience the energy they put into the album in a live setting.
-Tommy Marz
Follow Tommy and SoundVapors on Twitter. Follow SoundVapors on Facebook
Track list for Who Do You Trust
01. The Ending
02. Renegade Music
03. Not The Only One
04. Who Do You Trust?
05. Elevate
06. Come Around
07. Feel Like Home
08. Problems
09. Top Of The World
10. I Suffer Well
11. Maniac
12. Better Than Life
For More On Papa Roach Visit:
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM