Anyone For Sum Punk-Pop? (All Killer, No Filler - Sum 41)

Member Name: jamiemchale

Product:	All Killer, No Filler - Sum 41
Date:	08/09/01 (347 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great punk-pop sound, Nice Guitars, Sing-Along Chorus'

Disadvantages: may be over-hyped

Sum 41 are the "new punk pop sensation". After touring with the likes of Blink 182, and The Offspring they are starting to gain critical acclaim. Their first EP “Half Hour of Power” got them that far, so what’s all the fuss about with “All Killer, No Filler”. Is their first full-length album really as good as everyone says it is?

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Tracks:

1. Introduction to destruction;
This is basically a filler (!) intro to the album,

"Children of the beast embrace,
to scorn and hate the human race,
consume the light that hugs the earth,
and aid the womb in giving birth,
to a group that will appear,
and guide you through this final year,
the dark armies then will come,
when the Sum is 41!"

all set off to the eerie sound of the wind blowing and church bells tollin'.

2. Nothing on my back;

After the intro a sharp guitar riff, breaking into little drum rolls and fills, then vocals. A catchy little chorus that you can sing to (as you can to many of the tracks on the album). The track breaks down to more drumming, then builds up on the bass, then guitars on top. A quick break for a quieter chant of the chorus, then back to the crashing rendition...

3. Never wake up;
Just a short track, crashing in at 50 seconds, quick punk with "ooooOOoo" and "aaAAAaaaa"'s in the background.

4. Fat lip;
Opening with a distinctive little guitar riff, then fuller on with the bass and other guitars. The vocals come in, almost like a rap, with each of the band members taking turns at lines, another sing-a-long chorus. The song breaks down to a short guitar appregio (if that’s the correct term), with forced vocals over the top, back to the almost-rappin' and the chorus...

Many of people will know this song as the first single from the album, this is the track
that sparked my interest in Sum 41. I saw the video, and it looked like no-nonsense, fun, punk-pop rock! (which it is!)

5. Rhythms;
Quick drumming and guitar, just bass for the first verse, then guitars come back in. Very upbeat, fairly quick and happy.

6. Motivation;
The last track fades into this one, with a little on-off guitar noise, then into the main riff of the track, back to the palm-muted power chords for the verses and pre-chorus. Fuller guitar sounds for the more instrumental bits.

7. In too deep;
This is one of my favourite tracks on the album, none of the tracks particularly stand out, its all fairly good, but the guitar at the start of this has a very nice rhythm to it...

The intro reminds me of another song, it may be Offspring, but then it may not be...It starts quiet, then another great sing-a-long chorus...There is a little quick guitar solo in the middle to break the song up, quite a nice touch. It ends on yet another little guitar riff, very nice to listen to.

8. Summer;
This is quite upbeat and fast (most of the tracks on the album are), a chanting lyrics and that great punk-pop "woaaahh" vocal style on the chorus etc.

9. Handle this;

A little slower (but not romantically slow, just laid back slow). This is still in sing-along territory. Little guitar riff all the way through breaks up the slower bass & drums verses.

10. Crazy Amanda Bunkface;

palm muted chords open this, with vocals, the drumming then edges in, with cymbals, a little pause, then the bass and drums fully come in. Another fairly crashing song, using the layering of different instruments well.

11. All she's got;
Punk-pop chorus. Little guitar melodies...(I'm now running out of distinctive and original things to say about each track!!!)

12. Heart attack;
I really like this track, a little guitar appregio, moving into quick mu
ted chords, breaking into a wonderful shouty, chant chorus.

13. Pain for pleasure
This is a bit of a fun track to add on the end of the album, it's also attached onto the end of the "Fat Lip" single video. It's a retro death-metal, 80's hair style rip.

Opening with a little quick riff, getting louder, bass kicking in....Little guitar solo bits then...the lyrics

"...a killing spree through eternity, the devil stabs you in the back...."

and so on. Funny to watch on the video, and funny to listen to on the CD.

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So there you have a track-by-track recount of the album. It may seem from the descriptions I gave that the album basically sounds the same from track to track, well yes, it's all punk pop, but no, they're all originally different.

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Enhanced CD Version:

Something that I've only just got around to trying...

The CD loads with an install of the movie player software (Quicktime), which most PCs will have already. An intro animation, to the tune of fat lip...the album cover bounces across the screen. Unfortunately it seems you cannot skip this sequence, but it only lasts about 30 seconds...

The enhanced CD basically is three videos, Fat Lip, Pain for Pleasure and the “Cutting Room Floor”, with a link to the Sum 41 web site. Good to watch once…

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So is this CD worth the money? Yes, it is. I believe that there is a little too much hype around the album. It's not revolutionary, its nothing particularly special, however, it's a collection of anthems for the summer, for those who are feeling happy. It's a band that you can get into. If you like bands like Blink 182, Green Day, and the genre of punk-pop then I think that you'll like this, if not, then it may be a good starter album to get you into that sort of
thing!

Try it, chances are you'll like it...I see no real reason to hate it...



Jamie

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