Pop Evil were born in North Muskegon, Michigan in 2001, Kakaty drawing on the lessons of a youth first shaped not by music, but by high school basketball — leadership, team work, the drive to improve in the lonely hours put in at the gym at 5am, the will to win suppressing any fear — in order to fight tooth and nail for their break-out moment. I was hustling and learning every day to make my dreams come true,” Kakaty recalls of his time playing local bars and slinging early EPs out of the back of his truck. “Studying never interested me. Neither did getting a regular job. A knee injury wrecked my shot at playing sports. Music was all I wanted to do from that moment, and I didn’t give myself a backup plan. Pop Evil gave me a purpose, and a reason to get up every day. It became a crusade.”
Sonically, the new album ‘What Remains’ is a riotous explosion of life-affirming noise; a vortex of scything riffs and gut-punch drum beats that regularly give way to Pop Evil‘s hallmark anthemic choruses. “We set out to push boundaries,” nods Kakaty. “Metal has always been a part of our DNA, but we’ve never made it such a focal point before. A lot of writing on this record has been about listening to what my soul is saying and letting the songs find their own path, rather than chasing a sound that might fit in on the radio. I think you can really hear the mood and emotion of the album’s themes in the music.“
We caught up with Leigh to talk all about the new record and so much more…
WHAT REMAINS TRACK LISTING:
The Bullet That Missed
Deathwalk
What Remains
Wishful Thinking
Side Effects
Criminal
Enough Is Enough
Zero To None
Knife For The Butcher
Overkill
