Papa Roach – Wake Up Call – Single Review – mercenarypublicity

Review By Darren McIntyre

Papa Roach are an alt rock / rap metal / alt metal rock band from Vacaville, California, USA. They originally formed in 1993; the band began life on the football field when Jacoby & Dave met and formed the band. This led them to enter the high school talent contest; they didn’t win, but this gave them the appetite to push on and bring their infectious brand of music to the masses. The band have shared the stage with the likes of Limp Bizkit, Eminem, Xzibit, D12, Ludacris and have toured the UK & participated in Ozzfest and toured with the likes of Guns n Roses. They have grown in stature, and this has given them the opportunity to share the stage with the likes of Mötley Crüe, Buckcherry, Seether, Staind & Red; the boys have given us 11 studio albums. The boys gave us Scars, Leave A Light On, Braindead & Even If It Kills Me. Fast forward to 2026, and the boys bring us their epic new single Wake Up Calling that they debuted last week in Nashville to an audience of artists & industry folk at Whisky Jam on Broadway. Please sit back as I walk us through this new offering.

Wake Up Calling – We get soulful, melodic vocals easing through the intro as sweet acoustic strumming chords allow the track to come to life as we feel the haunting tones ripple through the beginning of the track. The rhythm section leans in and hits us with bass kicks that let the snare drum punches take the track off down the road; the cool, mellow bassline is wrapping itself around us as we feel the depth coming from the boys as they really dig deep and let us feel the emotion pouring from this highly emotional piece of music. The sweet, melodic guitar licks are weaving their way through the arrangement as the powering vocals leave their mark as the boys shift through the gears and really give us a track that has lyrics that make you stop and think and melodies that fit the arrangement and let you feel the intense tone that has given this track a little swagger to appeal to us as the boys bring us a killer track that will have us reaching for the repeat button for sure.

Papa Roach –

                      Jacoby Shaddix  –  Lead Vocals

                      Jerry Horton  – Guitar / Backing Vocals

                      Tobin Esperance  – Bass / Backing Vocals / Programming

                      Tony Palermo  –  Drums

Track Listing –

                      Wake Up Calling