SUM 41: Heaven :x: Hell
Just in case you weren’t already feeling your age, Canadian pop-punkers Sum 41 are gearing up to embark on their farewell tour. You read that right: Provided they don’t pull a Who or a Crüe, this could be the end of their live career, a full 28 years after they started. Even in a genre that embodies youthful piss and vinegar, Sum 41 were always somehow, relatively ageless. Green Day grew up (at least, somewhat musically), Blink 182 broke up (and got back together, ad nauseum), but Sum 41 have long managed to ride the line between playful adolescence and maturity. Maybe it’s because, unlike those other two bands, they never reached total cultural saturation.
Their farewell tour is preceded by Heaven :x: Hell, a concept album of sorts that finds the band leaning into both sides of their musical personality- their penchant for radio friendly pop hooks and their unabashed love of the classic metal sound. And it’s a shame that both the album and the tour are being marketed as the band’s swan song- because if that’s true, they’re going out on a particularly high note. Not since 2001’s breakout All Killer No Filler have so many tracks sounded this, well, killer…
Lead single “Landmines” is an infectuous instant classic; it could have been the soundtrack of a MySpace page twenty years ago, and yet sounds perfectly suited to modern rock radio, here in 2024. “Dopamine” hits harder with its angular guitar hooks, but with melody to spare. “Not Quite Myself” is the type of song that would have fit right into an American Pie soundtrack, a singalong fit for the shopping mall crowd. Even on the record’s second half- the metal-driven Hell side- the cranked up noise and distortion never get in the way of songcraft. Deryck Whibley’s lyrics are reliably clever and playful, no matter what sonic sandbox he’s playing in.
Maybe Sum 41 needed to announce their farewell just to sound this revitalized. There’s a palpable energy on Heaven :x: Hell, like a dive bar that suddenly gets rowdier as soon as the bartender announces “last call.” If this is truly the band’s last call, it’s a fitting send off. Still plenty of killer hooks, relatively light on filler, and far more heaven than hell. A-
