Whenever a band that’s been part of your life for almost 25 years decides to call it quits, you can’t help reminiscing about the good old days. For me, when I heard Sum 41 had decided to leave their boots in the middle of the ring and calling it a career, my mind immediately went to July 23, 2000. Having recently turned 20 years old, I attended the Michigan stop of that summer’s Vans Warped Tour with my now-wife and some friends. During the sets of bands we didn’t really care about, we hit up the merch booths.
While looking through stuff at The Mighty Mighty BossTones booth, I saw a stack of CDs with a cover I couldn’t place. It featured a guy in his underwear, wearing a beret, and wielding a Super Soaker in front of an explosion. The merch guy told me it was from a brand-new band on Big Rig Records. He talked me into buying the EP, even though I had no idea who the band was and even though they weren’t at Warped Tour for me to hear live before I purchased. What convinced me was that the EP was available a week before the scheduled release day and because it was only five bucks. On the drive home after an exhausting day, I heard Sum 41 for the first time.
Now, with Heaven :x: Hell, a band I grew up with has entered its final act.
Listening to this album initially proved to be a bittersweet experience. Knowing “This is it” for a band gives the music a certain finality. While it’s a bummer for this fan, it’s heartening when a band puts the period at the end of their career on their own terms. With this final batch of songs, the Canadian punk rockers give their fans a proper farewell.
It’s 20 tracks long and one of the best releases of their career. I guess if you’re going to go out, might as well go out on top, right? And, unlike the recent Blink-182 reunion album One More Time that felt like 45 minutes of pandering to nostalgia, Heaven :x: Hell is a celebration of Sum 41’s entire career.
Structurally, the album is broken up into two halves. Each half highlights the two major influences in Sum 41’s musical journey – pop-punk and metal. I’m sure you can guess which half is Heaven and which half is Hell. The Heaven offerings are extremely catchy, poppy, and filled with hooks and choruses that are sure to fill the venues the band plays this year on their final tour. While the songs aren’t as silly as they may have been in the very beginning, they’re still filled with the youthful energy the group created on Half Hour of Power and All Killer No Filler.
That half of the album starts with “Waiting on a Twist of Fate,” a fast-paced, high-octane punk ripper.
Deryck Whibley and crew jump in full speed ahead with a skate punk track in which the hooks match the melody and catchy lyrics. At face value, it feels like a song about moving on from a complicated relationship, I took it as more of a call to arms. In the song, Whibley sings about being done with the lies and growing up because he doesn’t have the time to waste for things to change. In my ears, it’s about living your life to the fullest and without regret. If you sit around and wait for things to be perfect, then you’ll let so much of your finite time on this Earth slip by.
Love, loss, relationships, and self-realization are common themes for the first half of the album.
A song like “Not Quite Myself” features a vulnerable Whibley understanding that something is wrong even as he struggles to get the help he needs. Another song that sticks out to me is the album’s final single, “Dopamine.” Though still super-catchy, the slower tempo gives more space to tell the story of a cheating lover and the personal growth that occurs when the relationship is over. Musically, this song reminds me of mid-2000s Unwritten Law, and it’s one of the more memorable parts of the album.
On Hell, Sum 41 shows off their heavier, more aggressive side.
Where a song like “Not Quite Myself” paints Whibley at a low point in his life asking for help, “Rise Up” blows that thought right out of the water. This metal-punk anthem of perseverance and triumph dares people to underestimate him. I can already visualize the circle pit that will erupt during this song, especially during the hardcore yell and tremendous guitar solo towards the end of the song. Dave Brownsound is one hell of a guitar players and has riffs for days. “Rise Up,” a song of accomplishment that becomes outwardly inspirational by default, will motivate anyone to succeed out of spite as a big middle finger to your doubters.
Other highlights on the Hell side of the album are “You Wanted War” and “I Don’t Need Anyone.”
They also deliver a cover of the Rolling Stones classic, “Paint it Black.” As my personal favorite from the Stones catalog, I’m very protective of it, but Sum 41 lived up to the task of honoring the original while giving it a heavier sound. Admittedly, I didn’t pay as much attention to the more metal side of Sum 41’s career in the past. I stood firmly in the punk side of their fan base. I will definitely going back now to give those heavier albums another chance. That’s how good my visit to Hell was.
While it’s a bummer that Sum 41 ending, I’m happy they gave fans so much over the years. Heaven :x: Hell provides a perfect exclamation point at the end of the sentence that is Sum 41’s career. I don’t know what the future holds for its members past their last tour, but whatever it is, they’ve built a lasting musical legacy.