Papa Roach ‘Ego trip’ album review
It’s almost twenty-two years since some nu-metal upstarts going by the name of Papa Roach literally exploded onto the scene with their “Infest” debut, an album that even in 2022, still stands strong. Since then, Papa Roach has had an interesting rollercoaster career which has produced some great albums and some less memorable moments. However, what you can always guarantee from a Papa Roach album is banging tunes and, thankfully, there are plenty of those on this new album.
Whereas recent material has seen the band veer off into territories that have included r&b and pop, “Ego Trip” is Papa Roach back at their thumping best. Always a top-quality live band, every single track on “Ego Trip” that won’t absolutely rip live. Tracks like the title-track and Kill The Noise are packed with edgy alt-rock guitars, massive beats and even bigger hooks and that’s the beauty of this record. “Ego Trip” is Papa Roach exploding out of the restraints of lockdown bigger, brasher and louder than ever before. “Ego Trip” is an absolutely humungous sounding rock album by not only Papa Roach’s standard but for rock in general. Songs like “Swerve” see the band team up with Fever 333 frontman Jason Aalon Butler as the band meld together thumping hip-hop with edgy alt-rock to create something that will literally shake your walls.
Yes, there are moments where “Ego Trip” does sound a tad over-polished but those are few and far between. For the most part, as demonstrated on tracks like “No Apologies”, Papa Roach has got the balance of hip-hop and an almost “Infest” like guitar sound absolutely spot on. Add into the mix frontman Jacoby Shaddix’s angst-drenched lyrics and “Ego Trip” almost has you feeling like you did when the band first announced their arrival all those years ago with “Last Resort”.
The last two years have been fairly horrendous for everybody but, as we come through the other side, bands like Papa Roach are leading the charge with anthem-filled collections and, just as was the case all those years ago as we screamed along to nu-metal staples like “Broken Home”, Papa Roach and “Ego Trip” are going to provide the perfect soundtrack to get through 2022.
“Ego Trip” can be purchased from here.
