This spring, Sum 41 announced that they would be officially disbanding after a tour to support their upcoming album, “Heaven :x: Hell.” Yeah, you read about that, you made your little joke about how you thought they broke up years ago, and you moved on with your day. Well, guess what, asshole: it turns out these guys have been working steady over the last twenty years, putting out six albums after their debut hit, “All Killer No Filler.” What’s more, you listened to two of them, even if you won’t admit it now. If you’re in a hurry to catch up on the Canadian pop-punk sensation that is Sum 41, look no further. We’ve ranked all of their albums for you below.
7. Screaming Bloody Murder (2011)
For an album with such a bold title, there’s not much going on here. It bounces around in a lot of directions, but none of them are very interesting. It’s one of those albums that seems like it was made just to trip up Name That Tune players, because few of these tracks will stick in your brain. They should’ve called it “Punk Goes Elevator Music.”
Play it again: “Screaming Bloody Murder” (Okay, sure, the title track is a jam)
Skip it: “Time For You To Go”
6. Does This Look Infected? (2002)
“Does This Look Infected?” was an intentional attempt to grow beyond the pop-punk sound that the band established in their breakout debut album. The result is a record stuck in an eternal, awkward adolescence, like it’s got a wispy little mustache on the cover. Sure, it’s “more mature” than their previous work, but when your last record’s hit single had a line about laughing at old people falling over, does that really mean anything?
Play it again: “The Hell Song”
Skip it: “No Brains”
5. Underclass Hero (2007)
If you need evidence that these guys are more than just Canadian Blink-182, look no further than this album: they’re also Canadian Greenday, circa “American Idiot.” Sum 41 has never been afraid to be a little derivative — sometimes to their benefit — but it doesn’t quite work out for them here. The production feels a little low rent at times, like the tracks were just normalized in Audacity. Still, one of the songs almost got frontman Deryck Whibley deported because some Republicans thought he was threatening to kill Bush, which is pretty fuckin’ cool.
Play it again: “March of the Dogs”
Skip it: “Ma Poubelle”
Honorable Mention: Half Hour of Power (2000)
You can’t really discuss Sum 41 without mentioning this EP. I probably got a dozen computer viruses trying to track it down on Kazaa. It was a pretty prescient glimpse of the band’s future, being a mainly punk work with a couple of metal songs tossed in for good measure. Fun fact: since the total playtime comes in at 26 minutes and 27 seconds, the title of the record is the most accurate accounting of time in punk history.
Play it again: “What I Believe”
Skip it: “Machine Gun”
4. 13 Voices (2016)
It’s a small tragedy that the moment Sum 41 had largely evaporated from the public consciousness, they started releasing some excellent albums. It took them a decade and a half, but these boys figured out how to fuse pop-punk and metal, and it freakin’ rips. The return of guitarist Dave Baksh certainly helps — the solos might not quite melt your face, but they’ll for sure soften it up a bit.
Play it again: “Goddamn I’m Dead Again”
Skip it: “War”
3. Order in Decline (2019)
If I told you Sum 41 wrote an album about how divisive politics are these days, you’d probably roll your eyes and do a jerk-off motion. But it actually works! Okay, maybe not as genuine commentary, but it’s a crystallized, laser-focused distillation of everything the band has been trying to do. It’s driving and intense, but still catchy. Plus, have you seen how divisive politics are these days?
Play it again: “A Death in the Family”
Skip it: “Never There”
2. All Killer No Filler (2001)
“All Killer No Filler” may have been the biggest thing to happen in 2001. Well, top three, anyway. It was impossible to escape this album. I’m pretty sure every single track was featured in a movie or TV show at some point. It’s the kind of album that could convince a 34-year-old comedy writer that he could still learn how to skateboard, despite the fact that he’s never done so much as an ollie. It is pure magic.
Play it again: “Fat Lip.” (Don’t overthink it)
Skip it: Do you not understand what “No Filler” means?
1. Chuck (2004)
After dragging themselves through the crucible that was “Does This Look Infected?” Sum 41 emerged on the other side ready to craft their masterwork. Part of me sometimes wonders if my affection for this album is just a vain attempt to gain cred on long-defunct online music forums, but my concerns fall away immediately whenever I listen to it. It’s varied without feeling directionless, intense without becoming grating. Exactly like everyone on the old message boards said.
Play it again: “We’re All To Blame”
Skip it: “Slipping Away”