Punk rock titans Sum 41 are back with a brand new studio album. You know, Sum 41? The other early-2000s pop punk band with a number in their name? Yeah, they’re still a thing. In fact, for the most part, they’ve been releasing music fairly consistently since their 2001 debut, All Killer No Filler. But you probably didn’t know that. I barely even knew it. Not that any of their most recent material has been bad, per se, but it certainly hasn’t measured up to their early work, or garnered much mainstream popularity. So the question is, how does the newest outing from discount Blink-182 compare?
Pretty well, actually. No seriously, I was really surprised by this album. With Order in Decline, Sum 41 have taken the metal elements they have integrated into their sound since the beginning, and made them the centerpiece of the album. Tracks such as “Turning Away,” “Out for Blood,” and “Eat You Alive” will knock you on your ass with thrashing riffs, blistering guitar solos, and bass and drums you’ll feel deep in your chest. These songs, among others, trade Sum 41’s usual generic skate punk lyrics about hating school and causing trouble, for more interpersonal and existential themes, as well as antiauthoritarian anthems aimed at the modern political establishment. These lyrical themes and musical textures are fairly repetitive throughout the album, but between a few more unique cuts we’ll discuss below, and the album’s total run time of only 36 minutes, the project manages to avoid becoming too monotonous.
While the heavier side of Sum 41 rules the majority of this album, there are a handful of notable deviations. “The New Sensation” is an anthem of rebellion with a slow, swinging rhythm, something of a strange hybrid between Green Day’s “Holiday” and Muse’s “Uprising.” Not the most inventive or memorable track on the album, but an infectious toe-tapper, nonetheless. “Heads Will Roll” is a more blues-tinged hard rock jam. “Never There” is an emotional piano ballad about lead singer Deryck Whibley’s estranged father. Yet another anti-authority anthem, “The People Vs…” is a callback to the band’s 2000s punk roots, drawing from the stylings of Rise Against and the later Offspring albums. The album’s closing song, “Catching Fire” is another emotional ballad, this time about missing someone who is gone from your life, and having regrets about your time together.
In Sum 41’s 2001 smash hit “Fat Lip,” Whibley chants “Heavy metal and mullets it’s how we were raised; Maiden and Priest were the gods that we praised.” Undoubtedly a strange line to hear in a bratty rap-rock song. Nearly two decades later, Order in Decline oozes with 80s metal influence. Whibley has said that he intended for this project to be Sum 41’s heaviest yet, and I think it’s safe to say he was successful. This is Sum 41 at their rawest, most intense, and most emotionally powerful. Earlier in this review, I asked rhetorically, how the new outing from discount Blink-182 measures up. Well I’m hear to tell you that Sum 41 is NOT discount Blink-182. Blink-182 has new music on the way, as do their punk rock peers The Offspring and Green Day. And while overall, Sum 41 is my least favorite of these four bands, I will be very surprised if any of the other three come up with anything nearly this good. Not only is Order in Decline Sum 41’s best album since 2004’s Chuck, it’s one of their best albums, period.
Score: 9/10
Favorite Song(s): Turning Away, Eat You Alive, Never There, Catching Fire, Out for Blood
Least Favortite Song(s): The New Sensation
Phil Klinker Music Reviews 