Pop Evil Frontman Leigh Kakaty Opens Up on What Remains, Mental Health, and the Band’s Heaviest Era Yet
In a candid conversation with SNSMix.com, Pop Evil frontman Leigh Kakaty opened up about the band’s explosive new album What Remains, marking a raw and emotional turning point for the Michigan hard rock outfit.
“It’s bittersweet, right?” Kakaty reflected. “It’s been my album for so long, and now I have to let it go. It becomes a part of the world—public domain. But no, it’s exciting to finally have it out. So much work goes into these records, and you never want to take it for granted. The response we’ve had from fans has been through the roof. I’m just excited to be back on tour and to add some new material to the setlist. We’re pumped.”
What Remains is Pop Evil’s eighth full-length studio album—and arguably their heaviest to date. While many veteran bands mellow with time, Kakaty and company have doubled down on hard-hitting riffs and cathartic lyrics.
“Yeah, we’re definitely getting heavier. We’ve always wanted to showcase more of our metal and hard rock influence, but we came up in a different time. Streaming wasn’t what it is now, and we were a radio band. If something wasn’t going to make it onto radio, where was it going to go?”
Kakaty traced the roots of the album’s aggression and vulnerability to moments of profound personal struggle—including the loss of his father and the emotional fallout of the pandemic.
“Once I started writing the lyrics, it became clear I was dealing with mental health issues I’d buried over the years,” he admitted. “As the leader of the band and the family, I hadn’t had time to process them. But now, with the current lineup, we’ve got this support system that’s never been there before. Once I got encouragement from the band, it was a whole new mindset for me.”
That sense of rebirth extended into every aspect of What Remains, including the band’s updated logo and renewed approach to songwriting.
“I shut my eyes and just let my soul speak. Once the song ‘What Remains’ was written, everything spilled out from there. Every song felt personal… This time it was all first person—‘I am What Remains,’ ‘I’m on my Deathwalk,’ ‘Wishful Thinking.’ Stuff that just needed to come out.”
Unlike previous albums focused on collective themes of unity, What Remains finds Kakaty writing from a deeply individual perspective. “I wasn’t even thinking about Pop Evil—I was just writing songs,” he said. “But once the band heard them, they said, ‘This feels different. This feels honest. This feels like you.’”
Part of what made the process so refreshing was the organic energy surrounding the sessions, bolstered by new members Joey and Blake—who even wrote the deeply personal track “Criminal” with Kakaty in mind before officially joining the band.
“They pitched me ‘Criminal’ and said, ‘We wrote this for you.’ I was blown away,” Kakaty recalled. “That kind of support was so refreshing. It’s never happened before, and it helped shape this album.”
While longtime collaborator Drew Fulk returned as producer for parts of the record, Kakaty said the creative approach was more collaborative and sonically adventurous than ever before.
“I’m a melodic singer, so we really wanted to experiment with my vocals… Take ‘Wishful Thinking’—those verses, that’s my real voice. It was great to finally sing like that.”
Amid the dark lyrical themes and sonic aggression, Kakaty found a sense of purpose that reignited his passion.
“In any long career, there are ups and downs—things that can be damaging if you don’t have a healthy outlet,” he explained. “But every time I felt that way, a song would bring me back… It’s like a sign from the universe.”
The album’s creation also provided an opportunity to reflect on band dynamics and the reality of staying creative in the modern era of digital production.
“You see band members come and go all the time… The days of all five members sitting in a room writing a song together are rare. Everyone has home studios now. Everyone has ideas.”
Despite the challenges, Kakaty has never been more grateful for the journey.
“COVID really changed that for me,” he said. “The fear for all of us in the music business is getting off the tour bus and realizing it’s over. What are you going to do in the real world?”
Now more than ever, Kakaty is driven by a desire to grow—not just as a frontman, but as a songwriter and performer.
“Even if someone’s not a Pop Evil fan yet, maybe this album will change that. Maybe the next one will. But we want to be a band that people can stick with—just like the bands we admire. Look at Sevendust or Cheap Trick. Totally different sounds, but both are built on passion and consistency. That’s what we want. You can’t control whether people like you or how big your fanbase is. But you can control your musical journey, your growth, and your commitment to the craft—whether it’s songwriting or live performance. Right now, we’re chasing perfection. In such a competitive business, we’re competing with ourselves.”
Looking ahead, Kakaty sees What Remains not as a final statement, but a new beginning.
“It does [feel like a rebirth]. If anything, it gives me more excitement moving forward… It’s a new era, a new chapter, whatever you want to call it. And from an excitement standpoint, it’s definitely something special.”
With a heavier sound, renewed energy, and a fearless vulnerability, Pop Evil is charging into a bold new era—one riff, one lyric, and one fan at a time.
