ALBUM REVIEW: Heaven :x: Hell – Sum 41
As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Iconic pop-punk band SUM 41 – also known for integrating metal riffs and the occasional rap verse – are about to release their final album Heaven :x: Hell. As the title suggests, the album itself is split in two, with 20 songs in total (!); the first half is more focused on energetic pop-punk, while the second half focuses on the heavier side of things with elements picked up from classic rock and metal. Most of all, on both sides you feel a powerful element of nostalgia.
Whether you were there around the time Fat Lip and In Too Deep were released, consider yourself more of a casual fan, or just someone who can at least acknowledge SUM 41’s influence and legacy within rock music, this album should have something for you. The first half, the Heaven section, offers pop-punk galore that feels both reminiscent of the band’s early days yet also draws on modern elements heard in the scene today. Kicking things off is Waiting On A Twist Of Fate that solidifies that nostalgic vibe as you’re transported back two decades. While it has everything that screams SUM 41 there’s a slight mature aspect to it, reminding us that they too have grown up, but they can still rock out when they feel like it.
That’s the general feeling heard throughout the first half: feel-good pop-punk with plenty of anthemic choruses and instrumentals as heard in the likes of Time Won’t Wait and Johnny Libertine, yet at the same time showing the more serious side of things in tracks like Radio Silence and Not Quite Myself, with the latter probably being the moment where the emotions hit you most powerfully that this is their farewell album.
Moving into the Hell section, things go exactly as one might expect as the band show off their love of, and influence from, classic rock and metal. For the most part, it has you ready to fight and pumped to face whatever is coming your way, as heard in tracks like You Wanted War and Rise Up. Sure there are slight moments that feel a little stereotypical when it comes to integrating 80s rock and metal, but it’s all good fun, and if you liked their track Pain For Pleasure all the way back on their debut album, All Killer No Filler, then you will fully enjoy these moments too.
Things then reach an emotional point on the appropriately titled How The End Begins, the final farewell track. It has nostalgia, sadness, looking back over the years and the acceptance that, while it hurts, all good things come to an end. Heaven :x: Hell is a perfect goodbye from such an iconic band.
Rating: 8/10
Heaven :x: Hell is set for release on March 29th via Rise Records.
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