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Underclass Hero

Sum 41 - Underclass Hero Audio CD

A fair review of the Sum 41 "Underclass Hero" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Sum 41 reviews here, or go back to the Sum 41 tabs.

Band: Sum 41
Title: Underclass Hero
Rating:

Release Date: 2007-07-24
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Underclass Hero 2: Walking Disaster 3: Speak Of The Devil 4: Dear Father 5: Count Your Last Blessings 6: Ma Poubelle 7: March Of The Dogs 8: The Jester 9: With Me 10: Pull The Curtain 11: King Of Contradiction 12: Best Of Me 13: Confusion And Frustration In Modern Times 14: So Long Goodbye

Sum41 just as good as ever
Since then they have not had such big hits as the ones on that CD but their music has remained just as good. Sum41 came into the popular punk rock scene big with their All Killer, No Filler album with high energy, fast paced, raw rock songs like "Fat Lip", "Motivation" and "In Too Deep". They have given up the young, high energy music for a more meaningful and higher quality of music. It's definitely different but it's something any punk lover would enjoy.

Sadly, Well Below All Expectations
Sometimes it will work and sometimes it won't. First and foremost, it's within the capacity of every band to try something new. In the case of 'Underclass Hero', the new formula to devolve and attempt to simply mimic the success of other pop-rock acts just doesn't work whatsoever.

I think what's the most disappointing is that what should have been the next step in the bands legacy - in their evolution, instead, is in reality just another angst-ridden documentary about post-teens upset with America. That's not to say it's a bad formula as of late; Green Day's American Idiot revived the band from obscurity and threw them back into the spotlight.

However, what separated Sum 41 from the rest of pop-rock, for me, was their hard rock edge. On an interview on Conan O'Brein, singer Deryck said that they were going to overthrow ACDC as the next rock stars. That was immediately after the release of Chuck.

With the departure of guitarist Baksh, the band is merely a shell of its former self. The metal-riffs and guitar solos are gone and so is the wall that separated Sum 41 from other pop-rock bands. On it's own, for a new listener, this album may sound fun and uplifting. The songs have a solid flow to them and everything sounds rather tight.

To anyone who liked the steps Sum 41 made with "Does This look Infected?" and "Chuck" you should probably just not purchase this album. Sure, the lyrics are great on some songs - but without the music to support it, it might as well be spoken word.

Here's hope that Sum 41 can rekindle it's flame for the next album and actually release something worth buying.

Read Below
But, suddenly I started really listening to it non stop. I never hated this, never loved it. It's actually a very good album. Granted it does tend to go down hill after track 5. They also sound a lot like green day. That explains why I didn't give it 5 stars. Originality is not their fortay. I must admit though track 3 is all killer and no filler.

Still trying to get back on their feet
" It's not gonna sound like "Does This Look Infected?" Chances, are, it won't even sound like "Half Hour of Power" or "All Killer," this is a new band. After taking the pop-punk formula to the politcal/hardcore style that they saw on their last two records and then, suddenly losing a guitarist, you already know when you buy this CD, before you open it up or play any of the tracks, that it's not gonna sound like "Chuck.

Well, it is a new band. It's definitely not as good as the old Sum we used to love, whether that had before or after the dividing line that was "Fat Lip" This is the bands worst CD, even if it was their most valiant effort.

The first thing that comes to mind is that without Dave, all the metal/hardcore/whatever influence is gone, it's back to the poppy-punk and it's more on the poppy side. The first couple tracks almost sounds like a return to form, except after that it regresses into ballads and we realize that this is not the case.

The CD has it's moments. There are catchy guitar lines here and there from Deryck and Cone stepped it up to make up for the lack of a second guitarist (even though some of the songs are still recorded with 2 guitars). Cone's backup vocals are a new twist to the CD and I actually like them a lot. They should have utilized him earlier.

Biggest problem, too many ballads, too many slow songs, makes this CD relatively boring. This CD would have been a great EP if it had consisted only of "Underclass Hero" "Count Your Last Blessings" "March of the Dogs" "The Jester" "King of Contradiction" and "Confusion and Frustration in Modern Times" Everything else is skipable but those songs are truly amazing. We can tell that Sum 41 is still here, burried in the rubble of all the drama and bull. I wouldn't be surprised if they rose to the occasion a few years from now and put out a truly outstanding CD, but for now they're still trying to construct that old fasion Sum sound without Dave, they'll get there, but they're not there yet.

All the die hard Sum 41 fans will find this touching, anybody else, stick with any of the other 4 CDs.

Out of sight, out of mind, I don't know if It's for sure...
Unless you've been living under a rock for the last bit of time, you'd realize that they lost a member. You will most likely agree with this review if:

a) You consider All Killer No Filler to be their best album (even though I don't)
b) You hate bands like Fall Out Boy and Dragonforce
c) You think Chuck is their worst album
d) you hate almost every mainstream band out there

Sure the cover of the album is bowling-shoe ugly, but die hard fans of S41 will undoubtably LOVE this album.

UCH is the fifth Sum 41 studio album. As I was expecting it to be better than Chuck, it was, but that's not saying much. This album was pretty interesting, but nothing to get hyped up over. The verdict on the songs:

UNDERCLASS HERO: 10/10: A song that really sounds like their AKNF stuff. Good work guys.

WALKING DISASTER: 8/10: Good, catchy song.

SPEAK OF THE DEVIL: 5/10: Killer musicianship, filler lyrics.

DEAF FATHER (COMPLETE UNKNOWN): 4/10: A whiny song by Deryck about his dad. . .

COUNT YOUR LAST BLESSINGS: 2/10: The chorus is 90% of the reason why people call Sum 41 "emo" nowadays. Really, just some lame and depressing song about some kid not having friends.

MA POUBELLE: 0/10: Deryck attempts to sing in French in this song. . . what else needs to be said.

MARCH OF THE DOGS: 8/10: Despite being an Anti-Flag and Green Day ripoff, still is a great song.

THE JESTER: 10/10: The best song on the album, and the only song that manages to score a 10/10.

WITH ME: 7/10: Good song, great lyrics.

PULL THE CURTAIN: 6/10: Gah. They're doing something wierd with this one. Good first half, the second half comes around and rapes what could have been an otherwise decent song.

KING OF CONTRADICTION: 8/10: Good song, just as I was falling asleep this woke me up. Nice, catchy tune.

BEST OF ME: 1/10: Now I'm really starting to get annoyed here. This is ANOTHER ballad. Perhaps emo kids or your depressed girlfriend would like this. I've tried liking this song so much, I just can't. It makes me cry thinking about it. . .

CONFUSION AND FRUSTRATION IN MODERN TIMES: 5/10: I really agree with "A Reviewer". This could have been left off the album, and really should have been left off the album.

SO LONG GOODBYE: 0/10: *snooze*. . .

LOOK AT ME (HIDDEN TRACK): 0/10: An extra slow song about nothing. NOTHING!!!!!!!! Had a hard time keeping awake while listening to this song, I just couldn't wait for it to be over. Not interested. NEXT!!!!!

I saw them on the Strength in Numbers 2007 tour (0ct. 15th at the Shaw Confrence Centre in Edmonton, AB, Canada), and there are a lot of weak songs that sounded AMAZING live. As usual, S41 always deliver the goods live. I still have my T-shirt from the concert, and still wear it with pride. But amazing live sound aside, this is an overall decent-at-best CD. Yes, it's worth buying, just be prepared to skip a lot of tracks. .

You can see a complete list of all Sum 41 discography, or go back to the Sum 41 tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.