Next PAPA ROACH Album Will Be Out In 2026: 'We're Gonna Be Releasing Music Throughout The Year', Says JACOBY SHADDIX

In a recent interview with Claro Música México, PAPA ROACH frontman Jacoby Shaddix spoke about the band’s latest single, “Even If It Kills Me”. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Oh, man. I’m so excited about this song. When we went back into the studio after touring on [PAPA ROACH‘s latest album, 2022’s] ‘Ego Trip’, this was the first piece of music that the band had written. And Tobin [Esperance, PAPA ROACH bassist] sent me the song, and right off rip, from the moment I played it, I was, like, ‘Oh.’ ‘Cause sometimes when you hear a demo, it’s, like, ‘Okay, cool. Let me get into it.’ This one was, like, right when I started playing it, I was like, ‘Oh, this is special. There’s something in here.’ And then when the music, when the band comes in and just drops on the heavy riff, I was just, like — I turned it all the way up in the truck, just rocked it out. And so I knew the music was very special, so I wanted to do something that matched that energy. And I find myself, a couple weeks later, I’m in the studio cutting a vocal on this thing, and it took a couple evolutions to land exactly where we are in the finished product. And I really enjoy that creative process of taking something that’s inspiring and then trying to match it with my energy and my lyric and really take the song to another level. And, yeah, when we finished this one, I was, like. ‘All right. I’m excited to see what we do for a music video for this thing, ’cause I think like there’s something special in the sound of this one that would be cool to visually, what could this be?'”

Asked who composed “Even If It Kills Me”, Jacoby said: “Myself, Jerry [Horton, PAPA ROACH guitarist], Tobin, Anthony [Esperance, PAPA ROACH touring guitarist] and Drew [Fulk], the producer himself. Five dudes in a room just making rowdy noise, man. It was a good time.”

Jacoby went on to say that “Even If It Kills Me” is “the first piece of music that we’re releasing to eventually be on our next album. The album will be out in 2026,” he revealed. “I just was in the studio before I came down here, and recorded two more songs. We’re gonna be releasing music throughout the year. And the stuff that we have coming that we haven’t released yet is just — it’s so good. I’m so happy.”

According to Shaddix, the next PAPA ROACH LP will contain “probably 11 [songs] — 10 or 11. Usually that’s around where we sit, is around 10 or 11 songs in an album,” he explained. “I like an album to feel like you get in the car and you play that thing and it’s, like, by the time you get where you’re going, it’s, like, ‘We’re done.’ I don’t like to make records that are so long. I like an album that feels like it’s just quick and to the point. You know what I mean? We’re not that type of band that makes these 20-song albums or double LPs and shit like that. I’m, like, ‘Eh.'”

On the topic of PAPA ROACH‘s plans for the coming months, Jacoby said: “So we’re gonna be ripping out there on a tour. We’re doing a U.S. tour right after I leave. We go down Guadalajara, go rip down there, and then we’ll go back up to the states and start a tour. We’re taking out RISE AGAINST and UNDEROATH in America. And then I’m going back in the studio this summer to finish up the album and then go back on tour, finish up a tour in America, and then next year we’ll be coming — Europe, Latin America, Australia, maybe Japan, but Southeast Asia; I’m hoping for Southeast Asia. But, yeah, it’s a world tour, man. I mean, I’m always on a world tour, dude. I never stop.”

Last week, PAPA ROACH released a brand-new version of “Even If It Kills Me” via their own label, New Noize Records/ADA. The band and Joshua Landry again produced “Even If It Kills Me (Reimagined)”. The original single reached No. 1 at U.S. Rock Radio, marking PAPA ROACH‘s 13th appearance at the top of the charts.

“Even If It Kills Me (Reimagined)” is a fresh take on its heavier counterpart, showcasing the hit song in a new light, with a melodic arrangement and signature vocals delivered by Shaddix.

In a recent interview with the I-Rock 93.5 radio station, Shaddix spoke about the lyrical inspiration for “Even If It Kills Me”, which was released in late January via the group’s own label New Noize Records/ADA. He said: “This one was started about two years ago, the music part of it, and I heard it first from the first musical just vibe with the strings. I was, like, ‘It sounds cinematic. This sounds like it’s about to be a journey we’re taking the fans on.’ So I hit the boys up instantly. I’m, like, ‘Dude, I can’t wait to get in the studio on this one.’ Then life happens, and some stuff goes down. My older son went through this really traumatic heartbreak breakup. Just his whole world was leveled, and I watched my son just crumble. And that was a tough one. But to also have to go, ‘Hey, man, there’s some hard truths about life, and sometimes people aren’t what they show themselves as, and there’s two sides to people sometimes. And you got one, and then eventually discovered that other dark side of them and you were hurt.’ And that was really hard for me to watch my son just fall to pieces. And that song was born from that moment of going, ‘I wanna be able to help you, but I also know that you kind of gotta walk through the fire.’ And knowing that, ‘I’m not gonna leave you. I’m here for you, but I’m also gonna stand in that fire with you.’ And I wanted to shoulder the pain. I wish I could, but sometimes we have to go through those moments in life that build character. Who are you? Can you get back up? Well, my son got back up.”

PAPA ROACH recently completed the European leg of the “Rise Of The Roach” tour. The trek saw PAPA ROACH bring its biggest-ever production and journey deep through their vast music catalogue, including a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the band’s iconic breakthrough album “Infest”. Special guests for the global tour were WAGE WAR in Europe and will include RISE AGAINST and UNDEROATH in the U.S.

PAPA ROACH are two-time Grammy-nominated, platinum-selling leaders in alternative hard rock music. PAPA ROACH are not unfamiliar with calling attention to mental health and have been doing so since the seminal release of their first hit single “Last Resort”. Since then, the band has gone on to create 10 studio albums, their most recent, the aforementioned “Ego Trip”, on their own label New Noize Records.

Photo credit: Bryson Roatch