PAPA ROACH's JACOBY SHADDIX: 'There Wasn't A Lot Of Honesty Coming From Our Leaders' During The Pandemic

In a new interview with Jorge Botas of Portugal's Metal Global, PAPA ROACH frontman Jacoby Shaddix spoke about how living through the coronavirus pandemic felt like being in a Stephen King movie. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Absolutely, man. Absolutely. My gut tells me that there wasn't a lot of honesty coming from our leaders. I'll tell you that. My gut tells me that this seemed like a great time for the rich to get rich and for the people that have control to just kind of tighten the grip. So, that's what my gut's telling me. Is that true? I don't know. But sometimes… My mama told me, man, you've gotta listen to your gut."

Back in May 2017, less than three years before the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Shaddix told NME that he didn't identify with any political party in the U.S. "I'm on the ticket of 'none of the above,'" he said at the time. "I am really not impressed with American politics and American politicians. The state of affairs is really fucking depressing, and it saddens me."

Shaddix went on to criticize the then-presidency of Donald Trump, saying he was unimpressed by the real estate mogul's administration of the executive branch.

"The current administration just seems like a fucking shit show and I am not impressed," he said. "I am not a fan and I think we have a long way to go."

In July 2019, Shaddix and his PAPA ROACH bandmates used their own lyrics to poke fun of Trump, turning the then-president's tweet about "NO COLLUSION, NO OBSTRUCTION, TOTAL EXONERATION. DEMOCRAT WITCH HUNT!" into the words of their 2000 smash "Last Resort".

Earlier this year, Shaddix told U.K.'s Express that he struggled to keep himself in a positive headspace throughout 2020. "The pandemic, for me, had an effect of me spending a lot of time alone in my head," he said. "And that's not really a good place for a person like myself. Ruminating on negativity is one of my downfalls, and I really had to stop myself from spiraling into a really dark space. I struggled for a while."

He revealed that, despite having his family and friends around him, the fact that the biggest aspects of his life (touring, writing, recording, performing, et al) were all "torn away" from him, was too much to handle. "I think a lot of people could identify right?" he went on. "We have this life and this routine and then all of a sudden it's like — nope, you're fucking locked away. It's not good for the spirit, not good for the soul."

PAPA ROACH recently announced the digital deluxe edition of the band's eleventh studio album "Ego Trip", and the long-awaited release date of "Ego Trip" standard edition on vinyl. The 20-track digital deluxe release features remixed versions of songs from the original record, as well as new music.

An album that sprouted almost by mistake in the throes of a global lockdown, "Ego Trip"'s seeds were planted when the quartet entered a COVID-secure mansion in Temecula, California in the summer of 2020. What started as an escape and an exercise in keeping the creative juices flowing, in a world that had completely ground to a halt, quickly grew into something bigger.

PAPA ROACH are two-time Grammy-nominated, platinum-selling leaders in alternative hard rock music, who in 2020 celebrated the 20th anniversary of their iconic album "Infest".