Sum 41
Underclass Hero

THE REVIEW

The Sum 41 return to the scene without the guitarist Dave and the absence is noticeable, actually, you can hear it! The Canadian quartet (now a trio), after the much-appreciated "Does this look infected?" and "Chuck," comes back with an album that testifies how much they've declined. A regression in my opinion without precedent, a return to the high school airs that had characterized them in the early years of their career.

But why, guys? Can you give me an explanation for all this? It's understandable that at 18/19 years old and in full adolescent/school age, one feels the need to cater to the tastes of the school kids eagerly waiting to mosh drunkenly at some private party; but after four albums and a very appreciable evolution towards more metal sounds in the third and fourth chapters (the already mentioned "Does this look infected?" and "Chuck"), why return to that melodic punkrock that's quite disappointing? I understand commercial appeal, the tastes of teenagers, but this is exaggerated. Where have the great creative moments gone that allowed you to create great tracks like "Over my head", "Thank's for nothing", "We're all to blame", and "There's no solution"?

In my opinion, this album represents a lack of ideas; the same ideas that were brought by Dave, the band's main mind. I only save track number 5 "Count your last blessing", as the piano intro allows the song to stand out a bit from the rest of the album, which is boring and repetitive. And the three singles released, "March of the dogs", "underclass hero" and "walking disaster", are evidence of that. However, I purchased the album out of fairness because I have always listened to and appreciated you, and anyway, an album can only be judged after careful listening. I feel like saying one thing: DAVE PLEASE, COME BACK!!

I strongly advise against this album to all guys, even the big fans of the genre.