 
The best thing about sum 41 is that you can follow their albums through as a life story; you’ve got the initial few which are generally pissing about as a child with things that were important and enjoyable at that time but then they came back with Underclass hero which I could feel a sense of comedown from the anarchy of young life with the realisation of responsibilities and a future which is uncertain, then we hit the really low time with Screaming Bloody Murder when the lead singer's life really started to plummet with a really bad breakup and alcohol addiction. People can say what they like about these guys and their music but I will always defend it as it has always been something real and relatable. What I’m about to dive into is the all important comeback to which I have no idea what to expect.
I haven’t been able to put this album down since I started, it’s absolutely fantastic! There is a little bit of everything here some angsty up tempo aggressive songs such as “Goddamn I’m Dead Again”, more heartfelt ballad style songs such as “War”, there is so much on offer here and it has a very mature feel to it which I wouldn’t normally attach to this band as a descriptive word, this could have been a very bad revival however there are only a couple that didn’t get a full 5 star rating on my media library Derek’s voice hasn’t changed a bit and their trademark sound is still unmistakable and distinctive as it ever was. The beauty of this is that when spliced together with their older material makes for a really dynamic walk through history, relive your childhood and follow through the tough times too.
I am very pleased that this album exists as after everything that fell upon Derek it wasn’t something that I ever saw making a comeback, I loved these guys growing up it really was feel good music that uplifted spirits amongst all the depressing stuff I also liked at the time, the fact that reality got shattered showing life isn’t always people (even if you belong to one of the most famous pop punk bands in the world). Sum 41 then, now, forever!
4.5/5
Review by James Webb
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