Canadian pop-punks Sum 41 have revealed that part of their upcoming double album Heaven and Hell is going to be a metal record. Split neatly down the middle, the Heaven portion of the record was written to go back to the sunny pop punk of their first two albums, while Hell would be more metallic fare.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, vocalist Deryck Whibley explained why the band had decided to explore their heavier side. “Some of the metal stuff comes with a lot of anger for people who have stolen from me and hurt me in the past,” Whibley explained, going on to cite bad relationships, friendships and even a former manager as inspiration for the songs.
This won't be Sum 41's first flirtation with heavy metal however. The song Pain For Pleasure on their debut album All Killer No Filler was written as a homage to Iron Maiden (though admittedly in the accompanying video, the band look decidedly more like Mötley Crüe).
When Sum 41 played the MTV 20th Anniversary show in August 2001, they were joined by Crüe drummer Tommy Lee and Judas Priest icon Rob Halford, powering through a covers medley that included Beastie Boys' No Sleep 'Till Brooklyn, Mötley Crüe's Shout At The Devil and Priest's You Got Another Thing Comin'.
While we expect we'll have to take the 'metal' comments with a pinch of salt (we're not expecting a Dave Grohl/Dream Widow headlong dive into extreme metal), we can't deny that we're intrigued to hear exactly what the band have in store.
Fans of their early hits needn't worry too much either - Whibley also told Rolling Stone the sessions began when the band were asked if they had any In Too Deep or Fat Lip style bangers hiding in the vaults (they didn't).
He goes on to say, "A lot of other people were retreating to things that made them feel good in the past. There’s some weird nostalgia that kicked in because of the pandemic, it all made sense to me why pop-punk is coming back: it’s feel-good music. There’s something that’s happy about it. Something young and innocent and free.”
Heaven And Hell is expected later this year, though the official release date is TBA. Sum 41 play the UK's Slam Dunk in May.
