Album Review: Sum 41 - 'Screaming Bloody Murder'

When bands have been around for as long as Sum 41, it's hard not to approach them with expectations. The promise of a new Sum 41 album excited and put promise into those of us who spent our early teenage years fist-pumping and moshing to tracks like "Fat Lip" and "The Hell Song". With new Sum 41 material comes expectations of the glorious, anthemic pop-punk they once embodied, alive with fuck-you lyrics and teenage defiance. If these are the kind of expectations you have, step right away from Screaming Bloody Murder.

This is far from a triumphant return for these ex pop-punk heroes. An overly clean, too polished, overproduced mess lacking in any real depth, this may be a 'maturing' for a now grown-up band, but it's not one that will keep old fans interested.

This is not to say there aren't a couple of decent tracks on the album. Opener "Reason to Believe" is nu-metal-esque, with a catchy pop-punk chorus and some beautiful vocals in the bridge. "Time For You To Go" shows some potential within its indie rock swagger and damn catchy chorus. "Jessica Kill" is the most definitively Sum 41 track on the album, a little heavy with screaming chorus vocals. Highlight of the album is definitely ballad "Crash", showing off the maturity of Deryk Whibley's vocals, while perhaps being the only song with any major emotional depth.

To be fair, we can take a step back and forget that this is an album by Sum 41, and just view it as an album in its own right. But even so, Screaming Bloody Murder is average at best. Overproduced, unoriginal and hardly exciting. In fact, it's kind of a mess of songs that sound exactly like other bands. The sound of My Chemical Romance underlying this album is undeniable. In fact, in "What Am I To Say", Deryk seems to be doing his very best Gerard Way impression. This track in particular sounds like it could have been pulled straight off the Danger Days album. Similarly the opening piano/vocal combo in "Holy Image of Lies" screams MCR. Deryk's vocals are far too clean, and there's hardly any edge or emotion within the tracks of Screaming Bloody Murder. The title track opens with your typical emo-rock piano intro, before leading into the usual heavy drums/fast guitar combo. "Skumfuk" is a little bit Green Day with some piano thrown in, while "Happiness Machine" is a little bit Killers with a heavier chorus. Sure, there are glimmers of aggression and some promisingly catchy riffs, but Screaming Bloody Murder will tease you and then let you down. Over and over.

There are some decent tracks on Screaming Bloody Murder, and this isn't a complete horror of an album. It just feels like a bit of a mess, for lack of a better expression. Far from cohesive, this doesn't feel at all like the band that Sum 41 once were. The defiance, spirit and party-rock energy they once embodied is gone without a trace, replaced by a more mature but far less interesting mesh of emo-rock tracks. Screaming Bloody Murder throws little teases at you- several tracks show incredible promise but end up undeveloped and underwhelming.

It might be finally time for Sum 41's retirement, and time for us grown-up brats to accept that pop-punk is dead.

1. Reason To Believe 
2. Screaming Bloody Murder 
3. Skumfuk 
4. Time For You To Go 
5. Jessica Kill 
6. What Am I To Say 
7. Holy Image Of Lies 
8. Sick Of Everyone 
9. Happiness Machine 
10. Crash 
11. Blood In My Eyes 
12. Baby You Don’t Wanna Know 
13. Back Where I Belong 
14. Exit Song