Sum 41 have officially confirmed their split after 27 years, revealing that the upcoming album will be their last.
The rock band, responsible for this including The Hell Song and In Too Deep, broke the news in a statement on earlier today.
‘Being in Sum 41 since 1996 brought us some of the best moments of our lives,’ the message began.
‘We are forever grateful to our fans both old and new, who have supported us in every way. It is hard to articulate the love and respect we have for all of you and we wanted you to hear this from us first.
‘Sum 41 will be disbanding. We will still be finishing all of our current tour dates this year, and we’re looking forward to releasing our final album “Heaven :x: Hell”, along with a final worldwide headlining tour to celebrate. Details will be announced as soon as we have them.
‘For now, we look forward to seeing all of you skumfuks on the road and are excited for what the future will bring for each of us.
‘Thank you for the last 27 years of Sum 41.’
Fans were devastated over the announcement, and thanked the group – currently made up of Deryck Whibley, Dave Baksh, Jason McCaslin, Tom Thacker and Frank Zummo – for their music.
‘I love you all so much, thank you for growing up with me,’ a follower replied.
‘You all got me through so me serious times! Thankful for all your work [sic],’ another agreed.
‘No way! Your music has always hit hard and been filled with raw emotion, thanks for making 27 years worth of great music,’ one penned.
‘Can’t believe this,’ a devastated fan wrote. ‘Thank you for everything you’ve done and for making great music that we all enjoyed. We love you guys.’
As a commenter added: ‘Damn, I wish you all the best. THANK YOU for being a big part in my life.’
Sum 41 first started out as a NOFX cover band in 1996, with Deryck joined by former members Richard Roy, Steve Jocz and Jon Marshall – but underwent some line-up changes before signing their first record deal three years later.
Their debut album, All Killer No Filler, was released in May, 2001 and included some of the group’s biggest hits, including Fat Lip, In Too Deep and Motivation.
It became an instant hit – going platinum in the US and the UK, and triple platinum in Canada – leading to huge tours around the country.
Does This Look Infected? served as the band’s follow-up album and was met with praise from critics when it was released in 2002.
The lead single, Still Waiting, soared up the charts around the world, and claimed the top spot in the UK’s Rock & Metal charts that same year.
However, Deryck recently opened up about the process of recording the album, admitting that it was a ‘torturous’ process behind the scenes.
Appearing on the Tuna on Toast podcast, he recalled getting back to work right after returning home from a tour, explaining that he was writing all the time and not sleeping very much.
‘It was the worst experience I think I’ve ever lived through – in terms of writing. It was torturous for sure. And there was so much anxiety and so much panic and so much self-doubt.
‘There’s things I don’t like about it. I still, to this day, hate the way it sounded. I don’t like the way it was mixed, I don’t like the production of it.’
He added: ‘It can be remixed, it can sound better and maybe we’ll do that one day.’
Sum 41 went on to release even more albums, including Chuck, Underclass Hero and Order In Decline over the years.
They announced their eighth album, Heaven and Hell, last March, following a tour with Simple Plan, promising to bring them back to their pop-punk roots.
The release date is yet to be confirmed, but Deryck shed light on what fans could expect from the record, explaining that half of the double album would have a pop-punk feel, while the other would be more metal.
‘Some of the metal stuff comes with a lot of anger for people who have stolen from me and hurt me in the past,’ he told Rolling Stone. ‘I can deal with stress and the issues that go on in life probably because I write about it and I get it all out.’
Discussing the Heaven side, he shared that the inspiration came from the global pandemic and being stuck in lockdown.
‘A lot of other people were retreating to things that made them feel good in the past,’ he added. ‘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.’
