thought it would be a good idea to start a new thread for the various album reviews that will pop up over the coming days/weeks for Screaming Bloody Murder. if you find a review (good or bad) stick it in here for us all to read. I'll update this post with the ratings from various reviews that will be posted in here.
to start things off, here is the AbsolutePunk review as posted by Samuel
Sum 41 is without a doubt one of the more prominent names in the history of pop punk. The band's first three records made an influential dent in the formative years of many fans. Sum 41 was one of the first bands to really pursue and successfully use the aggressive pop punk format to make both huge hits and solid entire records in the early 2000s. But after 2004's Chuck, things took a turn for the worse for the Canadians. 2007's Underclass Hero was largely considered a failure by critics and fans alike, and now the four-piece is back with its first album in four years and fifth release for Island Records (in the US).
Screaming Bloody Murder is definitely a step back in the right direction for the band, but it really leaves listeners wondering where exactly the group wants to be. Underclass Hero was a departure away from the heavier sounds of Chuck, going back to the more traditional pop punk sound featured on the band's first records. But that record just wasn't executed very well, only surfacing a couple of worthwhile songs and mainly just providing listeners with a lot of filler.
Unfortunately, not too much has changed in that specific department. With 14 songs that total 49 minutes, the album feels unnecessarily long at multiple times. Sum 41 is clearly aiming for a more in-depth sound on their fifth record, not unlike the goals of Underclass Hero, and while the outcome is better than the last attempt, it's still not stellar.
There are several solid tracks on Screaming Bloody Murder - opener "Reason To Believe" kicks off an impressive first half that contains multiple standouts - but there are also a handful of songs that just shouldn't be hanging around. The opener starts with a booming build-up, and although it's sort of epic just for the sake of being epic, it's fun to listen to. The record is well produced, something that is evident right from the beginning. The song features plenty of opportunities for fist-pumping sing-alongs with frontman Deryck Whibley, but when the band slows things down in the bridge to round out the song, you sort of just wish they kept it going with their foot on the accelerator.
The title track is another standout, highlighted by the dueling forces of Tom Thacker's guitar work and Jason McCaslin's bass lines. On this particular song, it's Steve Jocz's drumming that keeps the chorus driving, focused and easily to fall in love with. Overall, the track is a perfect slice into what this band should be doing: making dirty pop punk that is easy to sing along to and even easier to adore from afar, with no delusions of grandeur or anything of that sort.
Unfortunately, the band does indeed offer up some filler songs, stretching far away from the once-upon-a-time mantra of All Killer, No Filler. "What Am I To Say" is the prime example of a track that seems out of place, starting with an ambience-focused acoustic guitar before fleshing out into some sweeping shenanigans with lots of extended vocals. Usually, a band whose best work lies in songs that sit under three minutes isn't going to be all that great when their songs run over four minutes, something that happens four times on Screaming Bloody Murder.
"Happiness Machines" comes across as somewhat hastily put together, giving the impression that there were a few too many ideas thrown around and not enough shot down. "Over Now" is a piano-led ballad that would have been better off as a b-side. Luckily, Sum 41 more than makes up for the misses with home runs on the catchier tracks. "Jessica Kills" is the best song on this record, definitely a throwback to Sum 41's older work with a chorus that is eerily reminiscent of "Still Waiting" from Does This Look Infected? That track follows "Time For You To Go," cementing the first half of Screaming Bloody Murder as the more impressive.
The second half, like I said, has some filler and has a few songs that aren't really true to the band's sound. Tracks like "Blood In My Eyes" and "Crash" give off the impression that Sum 41 wants to follow in the footsteps of Green Day, while others like "Sick Of It All" provide some shades of My Chemical Romance.
While it's understood that every band grows up eventually, and no band is expected to re-make the same album again and again, not all groups are meant to mature into huge, world-renowned rock opera conductors. "Blood In My Eyes" sounds like an American Idiot b-side, but Sum 41 doesn't pull off that sound nearly as well as Green Day. Screaming Bloody Murder shows that Sum 41 is more than capable of still writing an aggressive and catchy pop punk album, but leaving out the anthems and show-off-y songs is an important thing to note in the future.
Star Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
Author's Rating
Vocals 7.75
Musicianship 7.5
Lyrics 7.5
Production 8.5
Creativity 7
Lasting Value 7.25
Reviewer Tilt 8
Final Verdict: 76%
Deryck Whibley has been through a lot since the release of his band’s fourth album, Underclass Hero, in the Summer of 2007. Relentless negative feedback toward that album, countless flaring injuries while touring, and the evident divorce from his punk-rock better half, Avril Lavigne (you may have heard of her) are just a few of the obstacles Whibley has been forced to face during the past three and a half years. All of these mishaps and overall down days that have been pent up for years are finally being released to the world in the form of Sum 41‘s fifth studio album titled Screaming Bloody Murder.
Whibley is pissed off, and this basic fact is quite straightforward from the start of Murder. It is made very clear that this isn’t the same Sum 41 that exploded onto the pop-punk scene ten years ago. The thumping drums and dark vocals on opener “Reason To Believe†are reason enough to believe that this band is well beyond the khaki shorts and spikey hair that they are known for. Very reminiscent of 2004′s Chuck, the heaviness of Murder is evident. Though the similarities are definite, this is certainly not Chuck Pt. 2. As the record that should have followed Chuck, Murder continues the natural progression that Sum 41 had started in 2004.
With a much more modern heavy rock feel to the entirety of Murder, Sum 41′s transition from skate-punk kids to true artists is official. First single “Screaming Bloody Murder†is a great example of what the rest of the record brings to the table. The sadistic guitar lick that kicks this song off sets the pace for the rest of the album as Whibley belts out lines about his loss of patience in God. Tracks like “Jessica Kills†and “Blood In My Eyes†carry out the intensity with raw guitar work and even more hateful lyrics (“I’m waiting for another day/Another way/I don’t believe that you can make all the pain go away/So I’ll leave it all behind/But I’m leaving with blood in my eyesâ€Â), while the classic Sum 41 ballads are still present in “What Am I To Say†and the obvious ode to Avril, the piano driven “Over Now.†With a good variety of dark and light in the instrumentation, along with the most vulnerable lyrics of Whibley’s career, Murder will definitely keep the attention of the listener.
While the collection of different songs makes for an interesting listen, that’s not to say that the album doesn’t have its duds. Pushing 50 minutes long, Murder‘s 14 tracks leave lots of room for filler tracks, which is exactly what we get. “Happiness Machine†carries an uncanny resemblance to a lost Korn track (yes, I said Korn) and “Time For You To Go†and “Baby You Don’t Wanna Know†being by far the most mainstream rock-sounding tracks come off as incredibly boring and monotonous.
The only component keeping Murder from being categorized under boring radio-rock album is the lack of any truly memorable choruses and the consistently strange tempo changes. In almost every song, the music suddenly shifts from fast and heavy to soft and dark. This one weakness emerges as one of the album’s greatest strengths as well. The odd start/stop formula creates an air of mystery as to what Sum 41 will throw at you next, and also allows Whibley to show off a rather impressive array of vocal delivery, from soft crooning to spine-chilling shouts.
Though going through an assortment of struggles in the years dividing Murder and Underclass Hero, Sum 41 have shown they can still rock hard well into their 30′s. If you’re expecting another attempt at digressing back to the All Killer No Filler sound, prepare to be disappointed by this release, but for those die-hard Sum 41 fans who enjoyed Chuck just as much as their other releases, you shouldn’t be let down as Sum 41 has released another enjoyable album, one of which could slingshot them toward mainstream success.
RATINGS
Absolute Punk - 3.5/5
Alt Press - 2.5/5
Kerrang! - 2/5
Playsound - 9/10
ReviewRinseRepeat - 2.5/5
Rocksound - 7/10
Rolling Stone - 2/5
Sputnkik - 1.5/5
TheyWillRockYou.com 3/5
Ultimate-Guitar - 9.2/10
UnderTheGunReview - 9/10
I hope it will be at least 4/5 without an opinion that is covered with bias all over itself ...but 3.5 is not bad,but I'd like to see 7.5/10 - it'd look better
This is Mark Allen Hoppus. He likes long walks on the beach. This, this is travis barker. He likes to be read poetry just before sunset. And me, I like to stick small pieces of furniture up my butt.
I spy on my dad while he is taking a shower just like everyone else
Mark: Sometimes when I talk in 3rd person i end up calling tom mark
Tom:Yea than he starts touching me and i think thats masturbation
Some people think were idiots or perverts dont argue were both.
"i think we're gonna be one of those bands thats around forever and even makes records, even if noones buying them and using them for toilet paper...but we'll still make them because we'll be the best fuckin toilet paper anyones ever used...." - Tom Delonge
The words "Sum 41" and “maturity†might seem mutually exclusive, especially considering the rather rudimentary regression of 2007's all-too-forgettable Underclass Hero. However, the band’s fifth full-length, Screaming Bloody Murder, sees the the Sums entering into adulthoodâ€â€unfortunately, that process also includes all of the inevitable missteps of adolescence. This is made obvious immediately from the opener “Reason To Believe,†an upbeat anthem that unexpectedly shifts into the kind of piano ballad that probably would've made frontman Deryck Whibley snicker only a few years ago. Screaming Bloody Murder certainly isn’t lacking in ambition; the problem is that for every hook-driven rager like “Sick Of Everyone†and the title track, the album is dragged back down by a sappy love song like "Crash" or a garage-rock lite tune like “Time For You To Go.†While we believe that Sum 41 have the potential to succeed without the aid of power chords, the fact that only a handful of the musical ideas on the album are fully developed makes for a frustrating listening experience.
182sins wrote:I didn't know Crash was a love song...
I haven't been keeping up to date with this album, but I thought Crash was the song Deryck wrote about that car accident he witnessed? (or something along those lines anyway!). if so, not exactly a love song! someone please correct me if I'm being a spastic!
I may not agree with the absolute punk review based on what I have heard of the album, but it's a fair review in my opinion. The writer explains his/her position well and makes critisisms I can understand even if I don't agree with them.
Or at least, until this statement.
"Blood In My Eyes" sounds like an American Idiot b-side"
Was he smoking crack when he wrote that?
Were his tracks mis-named?
Blood In My Eyes sound like it fell off Chuck for christ sake, it couldn't be further from American Idiot...
Last edited by sir_dandan on Mon Mar 21, 2011 3:19 pm, edited 3 times in total.
the review from altpress is extremely short,which makes me believe that the author has decided that this record is an average one before he even listened to it ...
This is Mark Allen Hoppus. He likes long walks on the beach. This, this is travis barker. He likes to be read poetry just before sunset. And me, I like to stick small pieces of furniture up my butt.
I spy on my dad while he is taking a shower just like everyone else
Mark: Sometimes when I talk in 3rd person i end up calling tom mark
Tom:Yea than he starts touching me and i think thats masturbation
Some people think were idiots or perverts dont argue were both.
"i think we're gonna be one of those bands thats around forever and even makes records, even if noones buying them and using them for toilet paper...but we'll still make them because we'll be the best fuckin toilet paper anyones ever used...." - Tom Delonge
182sins wrote:That's what I read too, it's about the accident he witnessed. So yeah, they are wrong on this one I guess.
According to the band it is about the accident, but apparently the Lyrics are very ambiguous. So alot of people will think it's about different things.
182sins wrote:That's what I read too, it's about the accident he witnessed. So yeah, they are wrong on this one I guess.
According to the band it is about the accident, but apparently the Lyrics are very ambiguous. So alot of people will think it's about different things.
so in other words, everyone will think this whole album is about Avril before sitting down and really listening to the lyrics!
182sins wrote:That's what I read too, it's about the accident he witnessed. So yeah, they are wrong on this one I guess.
According to the band it is about the accident, but apparently the Lyrics are very ambiguous. So alot of people will think it's about different things.
so in other words, everyone will think this whole album is about Avril before sitting down and really listening to the lyrics!
we can't stop that,there is plenty of fucked up retards who listen to the first two sentences of the lyrics of a one given song,and after those two sentences they will talk everywhere that the song is about suicide ...(Adam Song by B182)...
This is Mark Allen Hoppus. He likes long walks on the beach. This, this is travis barker. He likes to be read poetry just before sunset. And me, I like to stick small pieces of furniture up my butt.
I spy on my dad while he is taking a shower just like everyone else
Mark: Sometimes when I talk in 3rd person i end up calling tom mark
Tom:Yea than he starts touching me and i think thats masturbation
Some people think were idiots or perverts dont argue were both.
"i think we're gonna be one of those bands thats around forever and even makes records, even if noones buying them and using them for toilet paper...but we'll still make them because we'll be the best fuckin toilet paper anyones ever used...." - Tom Delonge
Could these reviews be anymore biased? They have to review what's given to them, not reference to other material they've heard.
A lot of these people are giving lower reviews because it doesn't sound like what Sum 41 did in the past. I actually love how the tempo changes and the song suddenly sounds like a ballad for a few moments. Sum 41 began their work with that with "We're All to Blame" and somewhat with "88".
Also that thing about "Blood In My Eyes" and Green Day...I'm fucking done.
Ashasx wrote:For whatever reason, Sum 41 has never been given many positive review on any of their albums.
Chuck and DTLI, the albums which are my favorite of all time, were not given good reviews. That doesn't change my opinion on them.
Yeah DTLI was given average reviews because it wasn't progressive enough and too many of the songs kept the same structure throughout. That is still the best Sum 41 to date. Chuck pretty much had the same for it as well.
We have to remember that this record is "for the fans". Deryck probably knows that the critics aren't going to rave about this album, as with Sum 41's past albums. When Sum 41 does one little mainstream song the critics give them shit for it. Then when they don't, they still give them shit for it.
Just from the previews I already think I'm going to like this record more than Chuck.
Ashasx wrote:For whatever reason, Sum 41 has never been given many positive review on any of their albums.
Chuck and DTLI, the albums which are my favorite of all time, were not given good reviews. That doesn't change my opinion on them.
Yeah DTLI was given average reviews because it wasn't progressive enough and too many of the songs kept the same structure throughout. That is still the best Sum 41 to date. Chuck pretty much had the same for it as well.
We have to remember that this record is "for the fans". Deryck probably knows that the critics aren't going to rave about this album, as with Sum 41's past albums. When Sum 41 does one little mainstream song the critics give them shit for it. Then when they don't, they still give them shit for it.
Just from the previews I already think I'm going to like this record more than Chuck.
Yep, I thought Chuck would be my favorite album of all time, but I have the feeling SBM will be even better.
I really don't care about the reviews, I trust the band, I've never been disappointed, and I'm sure this one won't break the rule
