Papa Roach - Ego Trip (LP)

Papa Roach’s eleventh studio album, Ego Trip, landed on April 8, 2022 via the band’s own New Noize Records, and it shows a group that has figured out how to celebrate its past while sounding locked into the present. More than two decades on from Infest, they still know how to write a chorus that sticks, but the palette is wider, the rhythmic ideas sharper, and the edges haven’t been sanded off.

The first thing that jumps out is how confidently the album moves between lanes. “Kill The Noise” is the calling card, a thick, mid-tempo bruiser that pushed to the top of Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart and reminded radio why this band continues to punch above its weight. “Stand Up” swings with a chant-ready hook built for arenas, and the hip-hop snap of “Swerve” brings in Jason Aalon Butler of Fever 333 and Sueco for a true three-way volley. That one feels like summer concrete, bright and loud and a little dangerous, and it works because the personalities fit together rather than fight for space.

Jacoby Shaddix has long worn his heart on his sleeve, and Ego Trip keeps that tradition intact. “No Apologies” circles forgiveness and fallout with a directness that plays to the band’s strengths, while “Dying to Believe” digs into connection and the tug-of-war between frustration and empathy. The quieter cut “Leave a Light On” is the record’s soft center, a song that later took on a second life in 2023 when the band reworked it as “Leave a Light On (Talk Away the Dark)” in partnership with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. That decision underscores something the album telegraphs again and again. Even when the riffs hit hard, there’s a humanist streak running through these songs.

The players sound dialed in. Jerry Horton’s guitar tone is tight and purposeful, toggling from palm-muted crunch to widescreen lift without fuss. Tobin Esperance’s low end and programming give the heavier tracks modern weight, and Tony Palermo’s drumming keeps everything punchy but breathable. The production favors clarity and punch, which lets the verses flex and the choruses explode on cue.

Ego Trip also arrived with a live plan that made sense. The Rockzilla Tour, a co-headline run with Falling In Reverse in 2022 and a second leg in 2023 with Hollywood Undead and Bad Wolves, put these songs in front of packed sheds and amphitheaters. “Kill The Noise,” “Stand Up,” and “Swerve” slotted right into the set like they had been there for years, which is always the real test for new material from a legacy act.

If you are curious how the album has evolved beyond release day, the 2023 deluxe edition adds some fun wrinkles, including a version of “Cut the Line” with Caleb Shomo of Beartooth. That feature makes sense on paper and lands in the speakers with extra grit, offering a new angle without turning the song into a Frankenstein. It’s a smart way to keep the conversation going around a record that already delivered a handful of live staples.

As for the collector angle, this one belongs on the shelf. If you collect Papa Roach vinyl, Ego Trip vinyl is an easy recommendation alongside Infest and Crooked Teeth. It is available through the usual retailers, so it is simple to buy Papa Roach records online, and anyone hunting Papa Roach albums on vinyl should be able to track it down without a scavenger hunt. Even crate diggers outside the U.S. will have options, with shops that ship vinyl records Australia wide keeping it in rotation.

What makes Ego Trip work is balance. The band nods to the bounce and bite that first put them on festival bills, yet they lean into pop craft where it counts, and they are not afraid to color outside the lines when a guest adds spark. The result feels lived in rather than calculated. Papa Roach has always been a gateway band for listeners who sit at the intersection of rock radio, alt-rap, and hard rock. On Ego Trip, that intersection feels busy again, and the band sounds like it is thriving in the traffic.