By Michaela Maxey

Since 1993, Papa Roach has remained part of the nu-metal scene, combining heavy metal with other musical genres like hip hop, alternative rock, grunge, etc. In their tenth studio album Who Do You Trust, Papa Roach challenges musical genre boundaries, ultimately never settling into a particular sound. Yet, the title track “Who Do You Trust” is much more similar to the sound they’re normally known for with heavy guitar riffs and lots of energy. It’s abrasive and loud, starting off completely in your face and making it impossible to ignore. Then, it quiets down into a low techno feel that is completely unexpected after the energetic opening. The song weaves between these two sounds seamlessly, never feeling out of place. Yet, the genre of the lyrics remain the same despite differing sounds, “People going in and out of focus/ I’ma need to check all ya motives.” Although this song may be more on the pessimistic side, I’m loving it all the same.

To accompany this song is one of the best music videos of all time. It opens with a mock ad for braces, then each member of Papa Roach becomes part of “New at 6”, highlighting some ridiculous made-up stories and offering some of the best weather commentary I’ve ever heard. As the song continues, the “news anchors” can be seen dancing to the tune. Despite this being hilariously great, it also adds to the seriousness of the song by ultimately underscoring that you really can’t trust anyone as even the news, which is supposed to be strictly factual, is riddled with biases and misinformation. This is definitely a nice touch, and I give the band and director major credit for coming up with this.

So if you haven’t heard this song already, turn your stereo up and enjoy this track as it’ll have people of all musical genres singing along.