The 10 Songs We NEED To Hear On Sum 41's Farewell Tour
Monday, 21 October 2024
Written by Rishi Shah
They soared to the top of pop-punk’s mountain in the early 2000s. They came back from the brink in the 2010s. Now, with eight albums under their collectivebelt and their legacy sealed, Sum 41 are set to call it quits. It feels only right that their UK victory lap will feature their biggest headline shows on this side of the pond, including Manchester’s 23,500-capacity Co-op Live and a mighty London show at the OVO Arena Wembley. Ahead of these dates – which kick off in Leeds on October 26 – we have rounded up the 10 songs that need to hear, just one last time.
Landmines
“And I don’t wanna believe that maybe this is the end,” Deryck Whibley sang on the lead single from their final album ‘Heaven :x: Hell’, introducing Sum 41 fans to the beginning of the end. The track delivered a perfect dose of nostalgia, with snappy, fiery production that helped contextualise it in their present day catalogue. With a music video that paid homage to the scruffy punk teens they once were, Landmines has come to symbolise their final chapter.
Underclass Hero
A return to one’s roots is a favourite phrase for musicians everywhere. In Sum 41’s case, no song suits that statement better than Underclass Hero – the title track of their fourth album in 2007. Despite being their first release after the departure of guitarist Dave Baksh (who would later rejoin) its rapid fire solo helped propel this anti-establishment anthem towards becoming a mainstay on their setlists, and an undying pillar of their signature sound.
The Hell Song
Reeling from the success of their breakout album ‘All Killer, No Filler’, Sum 41 still managed to turn in a stellar sophomore effort in 2002. The opening number from ‘Does This Look Infected?’ begins with an instantly recognisable riff. Coupled with its hilarious music video – which features a whole host of celebrity action figures from Korn to Snoop Dogg – the song was always destined to become iconic, even if it did have the task of living up to the previous single, Still Waiting.
Still Waiting
While we’re on the subject…Sum 41 would have had a better crack at success if they’d been named The Sums – well, at least, that’s according to the Strokes-baiting intro spiel of the Still Waiting music video. The song that followed put that proposition to bed, its aggressive verse accelerating towards another sensationally catchy chorus. There might be a split second of panic when you realise the show – and their career – is approaching its climax. But if there was ever a moment to lose your voice at a Sum 41 show, this is it.
Pieces
Ballads are not something you’d usually associate with the Canadian five-piece, but Pieces proved Sum 41 can make you well up just as easily as they can incite a mosh pit. Something of a sonic outlier on their metal-infused third album ‘Chuck’, the song grapples with the idea of perfection, its fragile first verse reduced to the stark bare bones of voice and guitar. Tissues at the ready.
Fake My Own Death
After Whibley came through his personal battles with alcoholism, Sum 41 returned with 2016’s ‘13 Voices’ – their first LP in five years. Baksh also announced his return to the band with the thrash-punk riff that kicks off Fake My Own Death, exploding into a pure ruckus of pace and fury. Symbolising a comeback that seemed impossible at times, the song represents their showing of strength in the face of adversity, which helped ensure the longevity of their career.
Out For Blood
Though 2019’s ‘Order In Decline’ was perhaps Sum 41’s most forgettable album, lead single Out For Blood persists as a highlight from this period. Continuing their descent into metal territory, the drawn-out intro is broken by some pounding double-bass drums, as Whibley experiments with vocal production like never before. Born out of the political turbulence in the US and Canada, ‘Order In Decline’ marks an important step in Sum 41’s story, and one that needs to be acknowledged.
Summer
One of the longer songs on their 2000 EP ‘Half Hour Of Power’ (and later on ‘All Killer, No Filler) Summer clocks in at two minutes and 40 seconds – surely there’s time to squeeze this one into the show? Perhaps the closest Whibley’s ever sounded to Blink-182’s Tom DeLonge, “It’s not in what you do, more in what you say,” is surely one of Sum 41’s most underrated singalong moments.
Nothing On My Back
Whatever burden gave rise to the hook “Nothing on my back, it’s still enough to bring me down”, Sum 41 are being dragged down no more: they’re bowing out on their own terms. Kicking off ‘All Killer, No Filler’ in powerful fashion, there’s room for a Foo Fighters-esque intro riff and bombastic drum solo before one of their quintessential pop-punk bridges. It’s a timely reminder that, as its title suggests, there are very few misses on their debut LP.
Fat Lip
Nobody can chant a riff quite like British crowds, so prepare yourself for the loudest “Duh duh duh duuuuuuh!” in Sum 41 history when this inevitable riff kicks in. Peaking at number eight on the UK Singles Chart, their breakthrough hit was actually the last song written for ‘All Killer, No Filler’, emerging from a eureka moment of magic into their biggest hit.
Sum 41 Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Sat October 26 2024 - LEEDS first direct Arena
Sun October 27 2024 - GLASGOW OVO Hydro
Mon October 28 2024 - MANCHESTER Co Op Live
Wed October 30 2024 - NOTTINGHAM Motorpoint Arena
Thu October 31 2024 - LONDON OVO Arena
Sat November 02 2024 - CARDIFF Utilita Arena Cardiff
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