A lot can be said about bands who change their sound. Many fans call their bands "sellouts" or "mainstream" because bands usually change their sound to better orient themselves with a larger number of fans, which isolates their original crowd. Changing your sound is commonly used in a negative connotation. Also, the change in sound is going away from the style of music that brought them the original fans in the first place. It's quite the opposite with Chuck, the latest album to drop from Sum 41.

Sum 41 has progressively become more and more metal/punk with each album. The best part about it?: that's what they feel comfortable playing. They may have had a lot of commercial success with All Killer No Filler but it wasn't until this album that you can see that catchiness is not what Sum 41 is looking for. Now that's a sign of maturity, they just wrote some heavy metal-infused songs and incorporated some passionate lyrics.

First track No Reason is the definition of addicting, fusing pop punk and metal guitars effortlessly. The chorus is fun to sign along to as well.

The lead single We're All to Blame is just not your typical rock song, it changes tempo so much and the chorus doesn't really fit with the actual versus or the bridge. That being said, the guitar is very impressive, major props to Dave Baksh again, he can really play.

Angels With Dirty Faces is another solid track featuring some nice drumming from Steve Jocz. This is followed by the most pop sounding song on the album, Some Say. That being said, even if it doesn't seem perfectly natural for Sum 41 to be playing a song like this, it still sounds incredible. The chorus is very touching as well.

The Bitter End opens very strongly with some intense guitar work and some really crazy drumming. This is the most metal-sounding song on the album and Deryck Whibley appears very comfortable in this setting. You can really tell that Sum 41 appreciates old school metal because they pay a deep homage to Metallica with a riff almost directly out of Battery. This song just rocks, and just wait 'til you hear the guitar solo. I was getting some goosebumps! This is not a normal style song, just like We're All to Blame but Sum 41 pulls this one off so much better.

The next track Open Your Eyes has a more punk style with some nice backup vocals from bassist Jason McCaslin aka 'Cone'. The chorus is very addicting, and it's more of a typical Sum 41 rock song.

I have no idea why Sum 41 even wrote the song Slipping Away. It's so slow and boring, and it doesn't pick up once. Very skipable and really, the only low point of the album.

I'm Not the One brings the listener right back with another punk infused song that keeps the listener on edge. The song kind of gets lost in the crowd with the next song Welcome to Hell which is similar musically

One of the best songs on Chuck is the timid ballad Pieces which laments on the common formula of not fitting in, and seeing others who seem to be having a better life than them. Deryk Whibley really shines on this song and all the other instruments take a step back to let him. The lyrics of the chorus are very touching, here's an example:

I tried to be perfect
But nothing was worth it
I don’t believe it makes me real
I thought it’d be easy
But no one believes me
I meant all the things I said

There's No Solution has no really problem musically, but it sure is depressing! How can someone sing about how the world can never be able to solve their problems? That's really the only knock I have on the song.

The album closes with an epic hard & heavy speed metal song, 88. It seems like the song was written just for Baksh to showcase his incredible talent at guitar. He just changes styles so much during the verses, bridges, choruses and the solo, it would be something amazing to see live. And right after Whibley yells "I hope someday you have it ALL!" You really get to listen to one hell of a show by Baksh. I skipped ahead to this part of the song and played it to several of my metal-head friends who rag on me for liking Sum 41 and they were astounded when they found out who it really was. They thought it was Maiden, or old school Metallica. I would pay to see that look on their faces again.

In conclusion, this CD to me was one slip up of a song away from being a perfect 10. Sum 41 has matured so much over their past albums and this is a great way to declare that they are done with the childish and sophomoric behavior. I was a fan of Sum 41 before back when they were pop/punk and this album brought out the metal in me. Not only that but this album really defines Dave Baksh as one of the top guitarists in rock/metal right now. Sum 41 just seems so perfect playing songs like this and I expect more and even better (if possible) from them in the future.

Tracks in Order (A+) = excellent
1. Intro
2. No Reason (A+)
3. We're All To Blame
4. Angels With Dirty Faces
5. Some Say
6. The Bitter End (A+)
7. Open Your Eyes
8. Slipping Away
9. I'm Not The One
10. Welcome To Hell
11. Pieces (A+)
12. There's No Solution
13. 88 (A+)

Final Grade: 4.5 stars

My Other Sum 41 Reviews:

Underclass Hero

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Hanging With Friends