Review Summary: Sum 41 can be a fun loving pop-punk band until you hear this CD. It is a side that some have never seen from a punk band, but a good one once they hear it.
Sum 41 is a band from Ajax, Ontario, and I am sure you have all heard the hits that these guys have done, like Fat Lip, In Too Deep and The Hell Song. This is a CD that takes the future of Sum 41 and puts it in a different direction. It has a lot more metal sound, but can still have that same, classic Sum 41 that all of us have come to love. There can be a lot to love about this sound, or a lot to hate about them. I think it shows the better talent that Sum 41 has, and it really shows how talented of a guitarist they had. He left to start his own band this year in 2006. They have released 5 CDs, 4 of them containing original tracks. They released
Half Hour of Power in 2000,
All Killer No Filler in 2001,
Does This Look Infected? in 2002, and
Chuck in 2004. They released another CD called
Go Chuck Yourself, which is a Compilation of many of their favorite songs, including the ones I mentioned above.
Sum 41 for Chuck
Deryck Whibley: Vocals, Guitar
Dave Baksh: Guitar, Vocals
Cone: Bass, Vocals
Stevo 32: Drums, Vocals
Dave also goes by the name Brownsound, as in AKNF. He is one of the two guitarists and I must say that he does a fine job at playing the guitar. His solos, although I have heard some say that he rips off Metallica, and even in doing so, he does a splendid job of doing soloing in songs such as
The Bitter End and
88. Sum 41 has stayed true to their pop-punk sound by adding a few ballads in there, like
Some Say and
Pieces. Pieces is a well constructed ballad, and the guitar melodies and harmonies blend in well with the song. Deryck sings well in this song, and really shows that he can be emotional in his songs.
For some reason,
Slipping Away sounds like the singer from Blink-182 is singing, but it does have some uniqueness to it, by adding some violins and adding a Yellowcard type sound to the band, except the violins don’t go all crazy. It just adds to the effect of the song. Something I read in another review for this album, on Sputnik, I agree with this. They said that for the single
We’re All To Blame, if it wasn’t for System of A Down, these guys would be the most creative and original for coming up with a such song. I agree with them because it is true. The guitar is fast, chunky, and then for the chorus is is soft, relaxing and melodic. It basically shows both sides of the band for you, and it shows them well. The
Intro and
No Reason stand out to be like this, and remind you of Sum 41 back when they recorded
Does This Look Infected?. All three of these songs are hard hitting, straight forward, fast paced Sum 41 at their best, while recording a catchy jingle. Another example of a song like this is
I’m Not The One, and although it starts off soft, it builds up to the verses and chorus. Deryck does a lot of screaming, and he does it well.
There is the more melodic side of Sum 41, as they have recorded meaningful songs in
There’s No Solution, and
Angels With Dirty Faces. The first one I mentioned is very strong, and shows the band working as a whole. They then give you the classic sound that you wanted to her in
Welcome To Hell. You all know that Sum 41 is famous for their tracks that are about 0:45 seconds long. Glancing at the title, you would think that this would be another. It is actually a pretty good song for only being under the two minute mark. You can actually hear his voice, and understand what he is saying.
As many others have said about these guys, it isn’t your classy, fun Sum 41 pop-punk that everyone learned to love, but with singles like Pieces and We’re All To Blame, Sum 41 can still keep your interest by creating some clever songs. It is still a great CD, and even though their guitarist has left them, they should be able to keep moving in the right direction.
Recommended Songs
We’re All To Blame
The Bitter End
Pieces
There’s No Solution
88
