Sum 41 have outdone themselves with this late career masterpiece. This is easily the best thing they've ever done to date, and as much as I enjoy the occasional Sum 41 single I was not expecting them to ever release a record as consistent and fantastic as this. This record is just one searingly intense jam after another, and it's got ten times the bite of anything else they've ever put out. Their 2016 release "13 Voices" saw them start to embrace secondary Hardcore influences foreshadowing a darker tone to their music, but with this they've been fully engulfed by a fresh and well-suited Melodic Hardcore sound that's not only a reinvention, but an evolution. They've never sounded this staggeringly confident, not even on their previous career highlights, and it's super refreshing to see a band as established as them prove that they hadn't yet peaked.
Throw out just about everything you know about this band, because they're far closer to A Day To Remember than they are Blink 1-82 here. They're no longer a Pop Punk band that flirts with their big brother Hardcore counterparts, but a full blown mosh-pit instilling powerhouse complete with occasionally screamed vocals and Metalcore riffs peppered throughout the track listing. Derek Whibley is a totally different beast here, channeling levels of sheer aggression that I didn't know he had in him. He's clearly got a fire burning underneath him that's fueled with much more than teenage angst, and the unfortunate experiences he's gone through recently have clearly simmered and singed him into a much more focused, intense and impactful artist. The guitars here bear no resemblance to the overplayed Good Charlotte-esque licks of "In Too Deep", as they've traded that sound for double the distortion, drop-tuned Alt. Metal decimation and blistering guitar solos that put Dave Baksh into a whole new ballpark. The dirty, pummeling riffs of songs like "45 (A Matter of Time)" and the relentless shredding of the solo in opener "Turning Away" are just a couple of the many examples of why this is by far the best guitar work in their discography. The rhythm section is no slouch either, with drumming that can easily keep up with the change in pace and then some. Everybody pulls their weight and fully commits to forming themselves into a whole different band, and that jump paid off tenfold with this incredible record.
The songwriting on this album has not skipped a beat with their transition, and I think it's undeniable that they're even better at writing this kind of music than they were at writing big singles to compete with the dominating Pop Punk acts of their era. That's saying a lot too, because tracks like "Motivation" and "Still Waiting" are still fantastic songs in their own right, and they certainly have plenty of huge, well-penned hits under their belt. The writing here feels so much more focused, ferocious and streamlined though. They don't spend a single second catering to anything but their own primal instincts, and they aren't writing music that's intended to find itself on the radio or top the hits of their supposed heyday. The hooks are just as polished as they ever were when they were trying to be as big as Green Day, and I'd argue they're even stronger here than they ever have been on their best material prior. Throw in guitar riffs that eat anything else they've ever made for breakfast and a newfound passion and ferocity for the material they're writing and you get the most structured, consistent and hard-hitting batch of songs they've ever put to paper. The lyrics, while not the best I've ever heard, are a definite improvement over much of their past as well. The political focus and grandiose, serious themes is a much better fit than the angst and teenage-isms of their past, and it's refreshing to hear them tackle more mature stuff and finally grow with their audience, though they certainly began to do that with their last album as well.
The pool of influences they draw from is finally much deeper than the small pool of larger bands they always were stuck in the shadow of. No longer are they following the trends Blink 1-82, Green Day and My Chemical Romance set, but instead they're blazing their own path and finding themselves in a much better spot than any of those guys. While I love all three of those bands the same, I have to say there's something satisfying in seeing Sum 41 be the one of all of them to still be alive and kicking with fresh sounding music in comparison to the turmoil both Blink and Green Day are facing. Instead of jumping back and forth between selling out and trying to capitalize on nostalgia, these guys have trumped all of that floundering by going back to the drawing board entirely. There's some soulful Alternative Rock influence sprinkled in here with songs like the closer and the very Muse-esque "The New Sensation". Of course, there's a healthy dose of Hardcore decibel-devastation, and at least just a little shred of the traditional Sum 41 charm that was present in their most memorable moments. All of these influences come together to create, as I've said many times, the absolute best iteration of Sum 41 I think they could ever be. This is the identity this band has always been destined to wear the shoes of, and it's so good that I'm honestly fine with the fact that it took 19 years. The only slight sore spots there are on here are the slower moments, and that's only because the band has never been terribly good at the sensible, soft parts. However, these slight hiccups only make up a negligible handful of minutes, and in the grand of scheme of things hardly halt the flow and consistent delivery of the album.
I'm super hyped to hear these guys capture lightning in a bottle like this so late in their career, and I've never been looking forward to new Sum 41 music this much in my life. Over a decade since their supposed peak, I think this band has finally reached their golden age and blossomed into something genuinely fantastic. This is not only the best Sum 41 album, but easily one of the best Punk records of the entire year, if not the best. Regardless of your prior opinion on this band, positive or negative, I highly suggest giving this one an honest chance. Order In Decline is a massive triumph for not only Sum 41, but the old guard of the 2000's Rock scene as a whole.
9.1/10 (Best Songs - Out For Blood, A Death in the Family, 45 (A Matter of Time)
