Papa Roach’s musical experiment is a success

October 12, 2013 at 12:00a.m.

The last time Papa Roach rolled through Northeast Ohio, the after-party got out of hand. While for some groups this could mean debauchery and/or incarceration, this hard-rock act went geek.

“My father-in-law lived out in Niles, Ohio, for a while,” said frontman Jacoby Shaddix, calling from Regina, Saskatchewan. “It’s been quite a while since we’ve been there but I remember partying it up one night at a bowling alley after a show where we all wore superhero capes.”

This California group is feeling invincible these days with its recent string of albums that have successfully pushed the band’s creative spirit. It started with 2008’s “Metamorphosis,” which Shaddix said was one of the outfit’s most straight-up rock efforts to date. The album included No. 1 radio hit “Lifeline,” as well as top 20-track “I Almost Told You That I Loved You.”

From there Papa Roach went through a transitional phase careerwise, leaving behind a major label and becoming an indie act with the live recording “Time For Annihilation.” The combination concert and studio project showed the band experimenting with electronic and synth sounds.

This leads up to the group’s most recent studio album “Connection,” which is basically an amalgamation of its previous sounds ranging from heavy-metal grooves to hip-hop influences. The result goes from the rocking “Where Did the Angels Go?” to the introspective “Leaders of the Broken Hearts.”

“We’ve landed on something that just really works for the band,” Shaddix said. “It’s a real fine balance between all of the elements we were exploring musically. I’m just excited to see when we make another record where we take that.

“Songs that we’ve had success with, that our fans are really gravitating toward in the past, are like ‘Burn’ and ‘Where Did the Angels Go?’ We love playing those songs live so we’d like to write more songs in the vein of those tracks without losing some of the introspective vibe.”

For now, Papa Roach returns to the road — a show is booked Wednesday at Rodeo Music Hall in Austintown — where fans can get a special behind-the-scenes meet-and-greet with the band by purchasing a V.I.P. concert package. This includes a photo with the group, special stickers and a bus tour.

It’s the latter experience that truly could lead to some interesting exchanges between a fan and a rock star.

“Yeah, I like to take them on a tour of the bus and show them our underwear, socks, lotions and creams,” Shaddix said. “It’s pretty cool. Our days out here get mundane. When you’re on tour, you get stuck in this bubble, so it’s refreshing to shake it up.”

He quickly added, “And don’t get me wrong, there are some awkward moments.”

Naturally one assumed this involved fans seeing the band’s superhero capes. However, Shaddix isn’t divulging any details about the awkward moments. Instead, he points out one thing the VIP package doesn’t include.

“Well, I don’t cuddle,” Shaddix laughed.