“It’s Pop Evil for a reason, you know?”Leigh Kakaty joined Loudwire Nights on Tuesday (April 8) to celebrate Pop Evil’s latest studio album, What Remains, and spent some time reflecting on the band’s evolution over the years. Listen to the full conversation in the player near the end of this article.”We’ve had the melodic side and we’ve had the hard rock influence and we’ve had the metal influence,” Kakaty explained to Loudwire Nights’ Chuck Armstrong.”But when we came up, the time when we came up, we were a radio band. Radio was a different place, wasn’t playing stuff as heavy, so we were kind of pushed and shaped in the studio in different directions.”Kakaty said the band was never forced to do anything it didn’t want to do, but he and the other members figured out what kind of songs were working for them and rolled with it.”When you look at the third album, which was our heaviest probably before this one, that kind of launched us up with ‘Trenches’ and ‘Torn to Pieces,’ ‘Deal With the Devil,’ you know,” he said.”It was a dark time. I just lost my father, so there was a lot of anger. There’s a lot of frustration, a lot of confusion. I was in a dark place for a long time.”He explained that he eventually moved out of that, partly because he couldn’t put himself through the intensity of that anger any longer. That led to songs like “Footsteps,” “Take It All” and “Be Legendary.””That reminded me about the good things in my life,” Kakaty admitted. But just as he was being reminded of the good things, the pandemic hit and he was flooded with uncertainty about the future of Pop Evil.”You’re upset all over again.”READ MORE: Chevelle Discuss New Song, Dive Into 10th Studio AlbumWith What Remains, Kakaty said it was important to get back to that heavier sound that they had explored on their third record, 2013’s Onyx.”It’s time to get back to the guitar tone and almost like looking at these songs from a mix perspective,” he said.”Turn the vocal down, turn the guitars up and let’s roll … It really feels like we’re tipping the iceberg of what we can create with Pop Evil and [we’re] definitely excited about this album and the ones moving forward.”What Else Did Pop Evil’s Leigh Kakaty Discuss on Loudwire Nights?Why he’s grateful for Pop Evil’s roots in the Midwest: “You got a lot of that effort with the sound of Pop Evil. We were kind of all over the place because we were listening to everything all over the place. And so for the first time in these past three records since COVID, we’ve really been trying to show fans now and really step into our identity and own it.”The story behind Pop Evil’s latest single, “Wishful Thinking”: “It’s just kind of an ode to some of the darkness that I’ve dealt with and the anxiety to be like, I’m wishful thinking. I was just wishful thinking … I want to be able to hold myself accountable and be able when I look in the mirror to be like, ‘Yeah, I gave it the best I thought I could.'”Why What Remains is therapeutic for him — and why he hopes it’s therapeutic for fans: “Anyone can understand when the world feels like it’s crumbling. So what version of yourself do you want to put out there? Do you want to get out there in the world and take it out on someone? Or do you want to show people the better version of yourself than you were yesterday?”Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player BelowLeigh Kakaty joined Loudwire Nights on Tuesday, April 8; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.2025 Rock + Metal Tour GuideThe bands that are touring in 2025, who is opening and how to get tickets.Gallery Credit: Lauryn Schaffner
