Canadian punkers Sum 41 will begin tracking the follow-up to their 2001 breakthrough, All Killer No Filler, in late April. They have been writing and demo-ing new material during the Tour of the Rising Sum, the band’s first headlining jaunt. Following the conclusion of the tour – which finds the boys rocking the U.S., Japan and Europe – the foursome will enter the studio with plans for a late 2002/early 2003 release.
Greig Nori – who manned the board on Sum 41’s debut EP, 2000’s Half Hour of Power – is expected to produce the album. He also serves as the band’s manager.
Among the songs slated for possible inclusion on Sum’s upcoming album is a new version of Half Hour’s “It’s What We’re All About,” re-recorded two weeks ago in a Los Angeles studio with super producer Rick Rubin.
As for what to expect sonically, singer/guitarist Deryck Whibley expects the new album to lean harder – way harder – towards the band’s metallic tendencies. “Some of it sounds like melodic Slayer,” he says. “It’s got more, like, Slayer-type drumming. This pop-punk style of music is becoming boring for me. All the stuff we’ve already written I still love, but I don’t know if that’s what I want to keep on doing.”
According to drummer Steve Jocz, Sum’s directional shift is a natural one, not a pre-meditated move to escape the Green Day/Blink-182 comparisons that have dogged the quartet since its single “Fat Lip” hit the charts last year. “Writing songs just to get away from all those comparisons is silly,” he says. “We’re just trying to write good songs.”
This summer, Sum will release a live DVD of a show recorded this past September in London. The release will also feature bonus material spotlighting the band’s infamous drunken shenanigans.
