Sum 41 has released new album 13 Voices, a pop punk effort that leans more on their heavy metal habits to appeal more to serious theme in nature. Personal struggles and a concentrated effort to fight through it all run rampant throughout the record. Yet as 13 Voices blends heavy metal and pop rock and pop punk all at once, the focused production only further supports their message.
Opening track “A Murder of Crows” lays on metallic pressure, wanting to be taken away since everyone around is considerably dead. Punk tinged heavy metal moves at frantic punk pace in “Goddamn I’m Dead Again” in a sort of gloomy metaphor of the king and the crown. Leading single “Fake My Own Death” rocks hard in an escape towards freedom towards something real, fill equipped with singalong choruses.
“Breaking the Chain” weighs in more heavily with themes of walking away from an old life, likely in a newfound perspective of front man Deryk Whibley. Chant filled anthem “There Will Be Blood” goes on about controlling "the little ones" with a gloom and doom and appeal that doesn’t quite catch. Title track “13 voices” has the rocky appeal, with the Burton-Tarantino darkness fueled lyrics on a world gone altogether wrong. Whibley gets especially earnest in track “War” with an outright confessional of struggling in a war with himself to get his priorities straight.
“God Save Us All” yet again revisits these theme of something real, filled with an actual heart and soul, nevertheless praying to be saved. Fight song “The Fall and Rise” is the band with its most honest moment, fully aware of the rat race laid out in front of them and amped to get going. Closing track “Twisted By Design” continues in earnest honesty, hoping that this moment is just the beginning of the band trying to find their way.
To be frank Sum 41 are no longer your happy go lucky kids full of All Killer No Filler that they once were. Be it progression from misfortune or constant evolution the band has notably matured. Though perhaps in the middle of the 13 Voices war that’s to be expected. You can only hope their next record in won’t be driven entirely by the same downtrodden story yet again.