Ranking Sum 41’s 8 Albums
Sum 41 first arrived onto the scene in the late 1990s with a blend of punk rock energy and cheeky irreverence, hailing from the sleepy suburbs of Ajax, Ontario. The band, formed in high school with Deryck Whibley leading the charge as frontman, and fellow founding member drummer Steve Jocz.
With guitarist Dave Baksh and bassist Cone McCaslin joining not too long after, they quickly gained traction with their lively performances and sharp, infectious melodies. Their early work, particularly the breakout album “All Killer No Filler,” featured the anthem “Fat Lip,” which became a staple of early 2000s pop-punk.
As Sum 41’s fame skyrocketed, their sound evolved, dipping into heavier, more complex sonic territories. The early, carefree days were fading, replaced by a more introspective and defiant musical prowess.
However, the road was not without its bumps. In 2006, guitarist Dave Baksh announced his departure from Sum 41, citing creative differences and a desire to focus on his new band, Brown Brigade. This lineup change shook the band’s dynamics, but they pressed on with Whibley taking over much of the guitar work.
Despite these challenges, Sum 41 has remained a beloved fixture in the punk rock world. In 2015, Dave Baksh returned to the fold, reinvigorating the group with his dynamic guitar.
8. Screaming Bloody Murder (2011)
Sometimes, when a band spends a lot of time crafting an album in the studio, the result is a musical journey full of innovative creativity. Other times, a band spends so much time tweaking songs that they lose sight of what actually makes an album good. This is an example of the latter.
Screaming Bloody Murder isn’t necessarily a bad album, and there are a few bright spots such as the excellent AFI-esque “Jessica Kill”. But, despite a couple of higher points, the album is overall a bit of a mess — a collection of ideas roughly thrown together without a semblance of order.
The album opens on the dark, Terminator 2 sounding “Reason To Believe”, which feels forced and doesn’t set the record up very well. After that, you’ll find some of the album’s better songs in “Skumfuk” and the title track. But then you’ve got “Time For You To Go” (and later “Baby You Don’t Wanna Know”), which are a couple of testosterone-filled rock n’ roll tracks that just sound completely out of place on the record.
The record even makes a big attempt at writing a sort of epic rock opera in the 3-part “A Dark Road Out of Hell,” which slams together so many different melodies and riffs that it fails to create any recognizable framework of a song (or songs). This, to me, is one of the biggest failures of a songwriter — an over-reliance on melody jumping and multiple full stops within the course of a song.
The album’s worst moments are the cheesy ballads “What Am I To Say” and “Crash” (where Whibley channels his best Bret Michaels impersonation). Both songs are so over-the-top that I can’t help but cringe when listening to them.
As negative as the review may sound, I don’t hate the album. However, I do think they could have shortened it by around 10 minutes, focused more on song structure, and done better justice to “Blood In My Eyes” (which has a killer opening riff and then simply fizzles out).
Recommended Tracks: Jessica Kill / Screaming Bloody Murder / Sick of Everyone
7. 13 Voices (2016)
After a couple of albums that ventured into the more experimental, Sum 41 returned with 13 Voices, their first on an independent label, and a record that’s much more directly focused on heavier rock/metal. It also sees the return of Dave Backsh and the departure of founding drummer Steve Jocz.
Honestly, this is a pretty solid album throughout, with some excellent guitar work found on “Goddamn I’m Dead Again” and a really catchy rock riff on “Fake My Own Death” — a track filled with the type of teeth-grinding vitriol that I’m all for.
Besides those tracks, there is plenty of mid-tempo heavy rock that’ll keep you engaged and pumping your fists throughout. You can tell they really wanted to reclaim the energy from their earlier metal-influenced days. They even play around a little with some rap-rock on “The Fall And The Rise” and I gotta say, it’s a fun return to that style.
As the band tends to want to do, “War” is the token rock-ballad track and while I find the lyrics a little cheesy, it’s overall not too bad, but still one of the weaker songs on the album. Besides this song, the intro song seems utterly pointless and forgettable, like it was just shoehorned in to have an intro song. Closing track “Twisted By Design” is also overly long and kind of of a drag.
13 Voices is definitely a good album with some nice highs but also enough middle-of-the-road tracks to keep it from being a more memorable album within their discography.
Recommended Tracks: Fake My Own Death / Goddamn I’m Dead Again / 13 Voices
6. Underclass Hero (2007)
Underclass Hero, the band’s first album without lead guitarist Dave Baksh, is an interesting release, but in many ways, a step back despite being very stylistically ambitious.
Although an overall pretty good album, Underclass Hero doesn’t feel particularly genuine. Rather, it often sounds like the label was maybe pulling the strings a little on this — pushing the band to make a record that could check all the right boxes to make it a hit.
To illustrate my point, the album’s clear similarities to Blink-182’s TOYPAJ and Green Day’s American Idiot are overtly obvious and much more than just coincidence. I’ll let a similar melody here or there slide, but there are vast periods of this record that clearly derive their inspiration from those 2 albums.
The album opens with the title track, a clear return to their pop-punk roots and follows it with 3 songs (“Walking Disaster”, “Speak of the Devil”, and “Dear Father”) which could’ve easily found a place on TOYPAJ (as well as “Pull the Curtain”, found later on the album).
“Count Your Last Blessings”, the fifth song on the record, is where the band really finds their sweet spot. An energetically charged track with an aggressive and catchy chorus that just begs to be heard live.
From here, the album enters American Idiot territory with the trio of “Ma Poubelle”, “March of the Dogs”, and “The Jester”. “Ma Poubelle” applies a vocal modulator that makes Deryck sound almost indistinguishable from Billie Joe while the other 2 songs take on a critical and aggressive stance against George W. Bush (kind of late considering he was near the end of his second term). “King of Contradiction”, again using a vocal modulator, is another very Green Day-like track.
The album as a whole is far too long. I would’ve booted the overly long and cheesy rock ballads “With Me” and “Best of Me”.” The closing track, “So Long Goodbye”, could’ve also been shelved, but it’s almost worth it to hear the hilariously bad way that Deryck sings ‘goodbye’.
I know this review sounds quite critical, but the album is actually quite a bit of fun and was clearly a challenge to make despite the overtly clear inspirations. It’s a record I definitely liked, but certainly didn’t love.
Recommended Tracks: Count Your Last Blessings / March of the Dogs / King of Contradiction
5. Order in Decline (2019)
This was the album I was hoping 13 Voices would have been. I guess it took a bit more time for the band to become fully cohesive after some lineup shakes, but the wait was worth it because Order In Decline goes hard and features some of the band’s best shredding yet.
Having toyed around with heavier, metal-inspired songs throughout the years, Order In Decline leaves behind any doubt that these guys love the genre. It’s also refreshing to hear them fully go for it instead of the tip-towing and then diverting they’ve often done on other releases.
The album begins enigmatically with a piano, before the before band arrives in full force, leading to Deryck singing in a haunting falsetto. The rest of “Turning Away” hits heavy, and features some excellent soloing and double-bass before transitioning to the equally heavy and stellar “Out For Blood”.
“The New Sensation” finds the band playing a Muse-esque space rock song that fits the album pretty well and “Heads Will Roll” has a nice heavy rock n’ roll riff that has an easy mid-tempo melody to sing along to.
The band even manages to get political and take on the Trump White House with “45 (A Matter of Time)” and “The People Vs…”, and both are fittingly vitriolic and heated. It’s nice to hear that level of anger in Deryck’s voice, as his passion can be addictive when he really puts emotion into his work.
As consistently excellent as Order In Decline is, there are a couple of give-or-take songs in the rock ballad “Never There” and the fairly boring closer “Catching Fire”. Outside of those 2 tracks, this is one of the best releases the band has put out. Keeping the tracklist slimmed down to only 10 seems to certainly weed out the filler fluff.
Recommended Tracks: A Death In The Family / 45 (A Matter of Time) / Out For Blood
4. Heaven : x : Hell (2024)
It’s not often a band knows when they’re making their final album, so in Sum 41’s case, it made sense to make the closing chapter of the band a double album. Representing the 2 core styles of the band, the ‘Heaven’ half made up of pop-punk jams, while ‘Hell’ is full of heavy-hitting metal-inspired tunes.
This album could’ve easily been a self-indulgent navel gaze, spitting out tired tracks with the knowledge that their devoted fan base would still eat it up. Luckily for us all, this is instead a love letter to all the fans and a pretty great retrospective of the band’s 20+ year-long run. Yeah, there are some moments of filler, but for the most part, it consists of truly excellent songwriting.
Whether you prefer the first or second half will likely depend on your genre preference, but they managed to give both styles an honest effort. That said, I do prefer the Hell side as it sounds like the more natural output from the band (especially considering their previous 2 releases).
Heaven features a couple of tracks (“I Can’t Wait” and “Johnny Libertine”) that manage to sound like All Killer, No Filler-era Sum 41, which I can’t imagine was easy to pull off. They both find the band sounding like they’re having more fun than they have in decades. If you’re a fan of The Offspring, “Future Primitive” and “Bad Mistake” sound unmistakably similar to The Offspring’s “Hammerhead” and “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid” (which I don’t mind the similarity).
Hell is a tour de force of punk-metal, really giving their all on almost every track to produce some face-melting shreddage. The solo near the end of “You Wanted War” may just be their best ever, but it’s far from the only excellent one on the album. “Rise Up”, “Stranger In These Times”, and “It’s All Me” are all excellent A-tier tracks from the band — all showing off the band’s musical chops (all of Frank Zummo’s drumming has been great, but he just unleashes on this record).
As much as I understand them wanting to end on a high note with a big, 20-song double album, I can’t help but think how much better the album could’ve been had they cut it down to around 14 songs (cut 3 from each half).
It makes for a much better listen if you remove the overly poppy and radio-friendly tracks “Dopamine” and “Radio Silence”. I’d also kick out the relatively useless “Preparasi A Salire” and the needless cover of “Paint It Black” (it’s such an odd choice considering Tom Thatcher’s other band, Gob, also covered it 25 years ago and the Sum 41 version is very similar).
So, you trim this down to around 40 minutes and this is arguably the band’s 3rd best record. But, if you include the extra so-so to kinda bad 6 other songs? It falls to 4th.
Recommended Tracks: I Can’t Wait / Rise Up / Johnny Libertine / You Wanted War
3. Chuck (2004)
After a couple of successful releases to start their career, Sum 41 decided to take the band in a heavy, more serious direction. They almost completely said goodbye to the carefree fun that was found on their debut and instead focused more on their classic and contemporary metal influences.
When this record is hitting on all cylinders, it’s absolutely unstoppable, featuring some of the band’s best work while displaying how effortlessly they can adapt their styles.
“No Reason” starts the album off big with some anthemic chanting while “We’re All To Blame” beautifully blends metal with a melodic chorus and a hardcore breakdown.
Did you want some flat-out thrash metal? If so, “The Bitter End” sounds like it came straight from the golden era of Metallica thrash. What I love is that they pull it off so earnestly, clearly showing their adoration for the genre.
“Open Your Eyes” reminds me why I wish they had stayed with Greg Nori as a producer. While Deryck’s done a fine job, the sonic blending of melodies Nori is able to achieve on this track shows exactly why you want to work with a professional.
To varying degrees of success, there’s a very noticeable blend of Nu Metal spread throughout the album. From the Deftones-sounding intro of “Angels with Dirty Faces” to the Slipknot-esque yell/singing of “I’m Not the One”, the sound is unmistakably linked to the album.
While Nu Metal works very well in some songs, it sounds forced in others, like the over-the-top Linkin Park(ish) ballad “Pieces.” It’s certainly not terrible, but I could go without hearing it again (maybe I just needed to first hear it as an angsty teen).
Speaking of what doesn’t work on the record, “Some Say” may just be my most hated Sum 41 song. From its “Wonderwall” sounding intro (a song I absolutely loathe) to the overall, radio-friendly poppiness of it — it’s just a bad song. “Slipping Away” and “There’s No Solution” are also some pretty forgettable, soft-ballad rock songs that marked the beginning of every Sum 41 album having a tired ballad on it.
Despite over half of this album being absolutely stellar, its weak songs really bring it down and keep it from second place. Had they cleaned up some of the weaker material, this would’ve been a no-skip record.
Recommended Tracks: The Bitter End / We’re All To Blame / Welcome To Hell
2. All Killer, No Filler (2001)
It’s fast, fun, carefree, and after over 20 years, still holds up surprisingly well as one of the best (popular) pop-punk albums of the early 00s. That’s right, Sum 41’s debut is a testament to the fact that when there’s a clear amount of joy in the recording process, it can age gracefully.
With Jerry Finn in tow to produce the record (imagine getting Finn for your debut?), Sum 41 put together 11 pop-punk gems that remain fresh while still clearly displaying that turn of the century charm.
True to the album’s name, there isn’t any filler. Even the album’s weakest song, “Handle This,” isn’t too bad; it’s just a little bland. While the album’s singles “In Too Deep” and the infectious rock rap “Fat Lip” shoved the band into the spotlight, the record has plenty of other highlights, such as “Nothing On My Back” or “All She’s Got,” both of which are extremely melodic and immediately catchy.
Sure, it’s easy to draw comparisons to Blink 182 and other pop-punk bands of the era. Still, the band clearly has a solid ear for melody that keeps them from blending in too much with their peers (even if “Motivation” is maybe a little too similar to MxPx’s “Responsibility”).
As successful as the record was, it’s somewhat surprising that the band didn’t try very hard to return to this level of fun pop-punk, but kudos to them for taking their music in the direction they wanted to go.
What I really appreciate about this album, and something I wish they would’ve kept in mind on future releases, is that it’s not too long. Just a little over 30 minutes and then it’s done. For some bands, that’s not enough time, but for Sum 41, that 30–35 minute range seems to be the sweet spot where every song can receive the attention it needs.
Anyway, kick back, throw on All Killer, No Filler, and enjoy a nice and energetic 30-minute break.
Recommended Tracks: Fat Lip / Heart Attack / Rhythms
1. Does This Look Infected? (2002)
As good as many of their other albums are, this is the one I keep wanting to return to. There’s really no contest that Does This Look Infected? is Sum 41’s best record. It’s a front-to-back tour de force of excellence, capturing most of the band’s best elements.
Where do I even begin? First of all, it’s genuinely the only Sum 41 release with absolutely no skips. Sure, the first half is arguably better or at least more catchy and melodic, but the second half is also full of a bunch of bangers. I’m actually surprised I don’t hear this album come up more often when people are talking about their favorites.
Setting aside most of the pop-punk (both musically and lyrically) that defined their debut, Does This Look Infected? finds the band with a chip on their shoulder and with clearly something to say. The anger and intensity that Deryck applies to his vocals sound sincere and passionate throughout.
In lieu of a fancy entrance, the record begins immediately with the subtly catchy “The Hell Song” and maintains that same melodic memorableness through the next couple of songs. Sure, “My Direction” borrows a bit from the chorus of Rancid’s “Let Me Go”, but it’s still original enough to give that a pass.
“Still Waiting” shows the band at their absolute peak. This is a song that doesn’t get old. It’s melodic, catchy, and has absolutely amazing verses that seamlessly bridge the anthemic chorus. The song is also a terrific example of the stunning guitar tone found on the record, it again makes me wish they would’ve continued to work with Greg Nori more after Chuck. It’s honestly one of the best guitar tones I’ve heard on a punk album.
After the high bar set by the first 4 songs, the album ventures into some heavier territory with the short, hardcore “A.N.I.C.” and the hard rock “No Brains”.
Although they hinted at their love of metal on the debut (particularly the closing track), “Mr. Amsterdam” lets them wear their metal-love proud with a little screamo in the choruses and eventually a full-on classic metal breakdown at the end, full of the double-bass and galloping guitar that defined the era.
“Thanks For Nothing” sees Steve singing some verses again, applying a little of that rap rock that made “Fat Lip” so popular. While this song isn’t nearly as catchy as “Fat Lip,” it does provide some variety for the record.
The album closes with a couple more doses of hardcore punk-inspired tracks in “Billy Spleen” and “Hooch”, both of which hit hard and keep the adrenaline pumping.
Fact is, this is a phenomenal record and I would honestly put this above the rest of their other material combined. It’s just that good. Again, there’s not a skip to be found and besides the album’s obviously best song, “Still Waiting” the rest of the tracks are pretty much competing for second place.
Recommended Tracks: Still Waiting / Over My Head (Better Off Dead) / Mr. Amsterdam
