Papa Roach vocalist Jacoby Shaddix spoke to El Paso, Texas radio station and Loudwire Nights affiliate KLAQ recently and voiced his opinions on why nu-metal has been given such a bad rap over the years, attributing it to people's dislike for Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst.

"A lot of people didn't like Fred Durst — really and truly," he says. "That was real bad, and everybody was hating on him. And he was kind of, like, [imitates Durst] 'Why do you wanna hate me?' And so, he was kind of the poster boy for the genre, and so if people wanted to take pot shots at it, it was easy, you know? But I got nothing but love and respect for him."

Shaddix continues, "For us, it's, like, at the time, we were the bands that were just selling millions of records, and when you're selling millions of records, people wanna…when you're on the top, everybody wants to throw rocks. You know what I'm saying? So, kick rocks, punk."

When Papa Roach broke into the mainstream at the dawn of the new millennia with the hit single "Last Resort," they were quickly classified as a nu-metal band along with not just Limp Bizkit, but the likes of Korn and Staind. Over the years though, the group has expanded its sound into other genres and is widely regarded to be an alternative hard rock act, which is one of the reasons they've been able to outlast the decline of nu-metal's popularity. When asked about the potential for a nu-metal resurgence and his decision to revisit some of the old-style rapping on the band's new album, Crooked Teeth, Shaddix said he "wanted to evolve again as a vocalist."

"For me, P-Roach, it's always about progression and evolution," he adds. "So we're not trying to bring back the old days at all, but we definitely went back [on the new album], I guess, brought some of the old-school elements into the music, but without trying to just go, 'All right. Now we're old school again,' 'cause we've gotta maintain a progressive vibe. But there are some rad bands that were influenced by the nu-metal genre back in the day, like Bring Me the Horizon, Of Mice & Men…I mean, countless other bands."

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