Papa Roach's angst-fuelled classic Last Resort is one of the enduring anthems of the nu metal era. It's racked up an astonishing 800 million streams of Spotify alone (not to mention almost 170 million views on YouTube), remains a staple rock club banger and has taken on new life as recently as last year, when it was given a rejig and rerelease courtesy of its newfound popularity on TikTok.
Now, in a new interview with AXS TV (as transcribed by Blabbermouth), Papa Roach frontman Jacoby Shaddix has opened up on the significance the song has taken on with rock fans suffering from depression and mental health issues.
"It is a song that you can just turn up in the car and rock out to, but the beauty of it is there is depth to the song," the singer explains. "I sing the song in the first person, but the song was about my roommate I'd lived with as a teenager and he came to a point where he wanted to take his life. He did not succeed, thank God, but the song is about that downward spiral of emotion and contemplating suicide. That's a hard place to be, it really is. But the real story, the beauty in this thing is that he didn't take his life. He wasn't successful in that mission. And he has a beautiful family now."
"The silver lining in this song is it's been a lifeline to a lot of people out there," Shaddix continues. "Somehow, this song has spoken to a lot of people's hearts. And I've met thousands of people around the world who have told me that this song in particular has saved their life. And for a moment, I'm, like, 'That's awesome.' And then when I really take a moment and really reflect on just that simple statement that 'this song saved my life'...like, phew."
Papa Roach hit the UK with Don Broco next March.
