Before I get into this I must say sorry for not having any reviews on my blog recently. For this one I am not going for a new release but with an album that holds a special place in my heart, not because it's the best album I've ever heard but oddly it is what inspired me to write some of the music I have written over my time as a musician. The album is Sum 41's 2004 album 'Chuck'.
When a friend of mine lent me Chuck I was very skeptical of the album after he'd said that give a few of the songs some tweaks it would make a basic (in terms of technical skill) but good Metal album.
When I actually took the time to listen to it I understood as while (apart from some of the drumming and the lead guitar work) there is not much in terms of blistering technical skill he was absolutely right. Yes there are more 'traditional' pop punk songs but this, as a work on the whole, is actually fairly unique to the genre to this day. The closest any artist has come to making a pop punk/metal record is Madina Lake with 'The Dresden Codex EP' with crucial difference being this (in my view) is better in almost every department.
Lyrically a lot of it is typically 'pop punk' so really quite dull in some aspects. But some of the songs. Looking particularly at two of the singles here 'We're All To Blame' and 'Pieces' there is actually some deeper, more meaningful lyrical skill on display. I'm not saying it's the most genius lyrical work ever but it definitely shows some long term thought has gone into it.
Generally the lyrical themes displayed in the songs fits in with the music quite well. For example 'The Bitter End' and '88' fit perfectly and it makes the songs, in my opinion at least, flow exactly the way I think the band intended it to.
The singer is neither amazing nor terrible. But this album proved he could be versatile. In various songs he could turn his hand to delicate singing, shouting, screaming and even euphoric spoken word whenever the need takes him. It's a well crafted, mature and diverse record vocally.
Generally the lyrical themes displayed in the songs fits in with the music quite well. For example 'The Bitter End' and '88' fit perfectly and it makes the songs, in my opinion at least, flow exactly the way I think the band intended it to.
The singer is neither amazing nor terrible. But this album proved he could be versatile. In various songs he could turn his hand to delicate singing, shouting, screaming and even euphoric spoken word whenever the need takes him. It's a well crafted, mature and diverse record vocally.
Quick note: Now unfortunately I will go on to do what I always do, and meticulously (perhaps dully for some of you) go through each track and attempt to relate it to what I have said earlier
1) Intro - Does what it says on the tin but has the strange ability to fit in perfectly with more than one song on the album. 7.5/10
2) No Reason - Euphoric, partially apocalyptic and with some really good simple riffs. A very appropriate opening song to the album. Shows a maturity that runs through the record and is missing on the whole from everything else the band has written before or since. 8/10
3) We're All To Blame - Reversed stereotypical dynamics much like Metallica's 'Unforgiven' with the very heavy (almost Metal-like) verses and quieter choruses (until the third one) and very good lyrics. Almost like a follow on from 'No Reason' lyrically. 8/10
4) Angels With Dirty Faces - The first genuine surprise of the album. The Drop tuned guitars could have been an indication this song was going to be slightly different but the heaviness after the soft vocal intro and the proper thrash metal drumming in the chorus make this one of the albums stand out tracks. 9.5/10
5) Some Say - The best thing about the are the vocals. It's not my kind of song generally and seems a bit to much like generic 'pop punk' ballad in my view. 5/10
6) The Bitter End - I've heard many things said about this song: It's a rip-off of Metallica's 'Battery', it's a fake Metal song and it's just plain wrong. I'll admit it is structured basically identically and includes some similar phrasing but it stands out as it's own song. First of all it is a very convincing Thrash song as all the elements are there and it's put together in a very convincing and logical manner. Oh and the main guitar solo is absolutely incredible in my opinion. Yes it's not the fastest or the most melodic but it strikes a very fine balance which is important in my opinion. This is best song on the album in my view. 10/10 (yes i know it's frowned upon to give anything 10 but I've done it now)
7) Open Your Eyes - I must admit I haven't listened to this song as much as the others but it is a good song musically. Works really well with seeming maturity that has been hinted at with the music. Just a shame it's the worst track lyrically and it comes quite close to ruining the song as a whole. That said the Middle 8 is actually quite fantastic. 7/10
8) Slipping Away - The True Acoustic number of the album. This song takes pride of place on my chillout playlist on my computer. It's quite a beautiful song which is also structured not like a traditional song in the sense that it only has the one verse. Vocals shine out really well on this one. 8/10
9) I'm Not The One - Another very heavy song. When I first heard this song the intro reminded me very heavily of Linkin Park tracks like 'One Step Closer' or 'Crawling'. The actual proper screaming vocals in the middle section of the song are pretty remarkable and show a complete diversity from most of the rest of the album in terms of vibe and texture. 9/10
10) Welcome To Hell - Very much more like a traditional punk song from decades previous. It's a very short, shouty, fun song basically telling us to jump around like morons and it would be a very good song in the mosh pit. The Bass stands out on this track as being fast, spikey and, much like the rest of the track on the whole, just damned good fun. 8.5/10
11) Pieces - The rating for this song would be so much lower if it did not have really good lyrical content. I find the song incredibly dull if i'm not paying particular attention to the words as there is really not very much to the music that I haven't heard from 'Some Say' or 'Slipping Away' earlier in the record. 6/10
12) There's No Solution - Another song which I have not spent a lot of time listening to. There can be no doubt that this song actually has one of the best choruses on the album. It's almost like a big stadium rock track scaled down a bit. Just missed a bit of lead guitar would be my one problem with it. 7.5/10
13) 88 - The Schizophrenic song as I like to call it now. It contains all the styles present in the album. From a very punk rock-ish intro. To an acoustic verse, a massive chorus and the massive Metal breakdown towards the end. Had it ended on that big Eb chord at the end of the breakdown it would have been another 10/10 song in my view but there is simply the fact that the ending sounds strained and rather bizzare. Did not seem neccesary. 9.5/10
From the US the album ends here but the version I have houses 3 other songs, which I shall also take a look at.
14) Noots - Incorporation of keyboards is very interesting. It in keeps with the theme of the album musically and has a humongous chorus to go with it. Lyrically however it is a bit of a disappointment but not terrible. 7.5/10
15) Moron - What else could be said about this song other than it is, much like 'Welcome To Hell' is a very good laugh. It is almost as simple as music gets and it shows. What else draws me is actually a very good vocal performance which suits the song perfectly.
16) Subject To Change - This song has foundations in both the title track from the next album (the chorus) and in 'No Reason' (the middle 8). It manages to be the angriest song on the disc but while it is a very good song it doesn't quite flow as a lyrical concept and it is quite easy to understand why it was not included on either this album or the next. Pity really. 8/10
2) No Reason - Euphoric, partially apocalyptic and with some really good simple riffs. A very appropriate opening song to the album. Shows a maturity that runs through the record and is missing on the whole from everything else the band has written before or since. 8/10
3) We're All To Blame - Reversed stereotypical dynamics much like Metallica's 'Unforgiven' with the very heavy (almost Metal-like) verses and quieter choruses (until the third one) and very good lyrics. Almost like a follow on from 'No Reason' lyrically. 8/10
4) Angels With Dirty Faces - The first genuine surprise of the album. The Drop tuned guitars could have been an indication this song was going to be slightly different but the heaviness after the soft vocal intro and the proper thrash metal drumming in the chorus make this one of the albums stand out tracks. 9.5/10
5) Some Say - The best thing about the are the vocals. It's not my kind of song generally and seems a bit to much like generic 'pop punk' ballad in my view. 5/10
6) The Bitter End - I've heard many things said about this song: It's a rip-off of Metallica's 'Battery', it's a fake Metal song and it's just plain wrong. I'll admit it is structured basically identically and includes some similar phrasing but it stands out as it's own song. First of all it is a very convincing Thrash song as all the elements are there and it's put together in a very convincing and logical manner. Oh and the main guitar solo is absolutely incredible in my opinion. Yes it's not the fastest or the most melodic but it strikes a very fine balance which is important in my opinion. This is best song on the album in my view. 10/10 (yes i know it's frowned upon to give anything 10 but I've done it now)
7) Open Your Eyes - I must admit I haven't listened to this song as much as the others but it is a good song musically. Works really well with seeming maturity that has been hinted at with the music. Just a shame it's the worst track lyrically and it comes quite close to ruining the song as a whole. That said the Middle 8 is actually quite fantastic. 7/10
8) Slipping Away - The True Acoustic number of the album. This song takes pride of place on my chillout playlist on my computer. It's quite a beautiful song which is also structured not like a traditional song in the sense that it only has the one verse. Vocals shine out really well on this one. 8/10
9) I'm Not The One - Another very heavy song. When I first heard this song the intro reminded me very heavily of Linkin Park tracks like 'One Step Closer' or 'Crawling'. The actual proper screaming vocals in the middle section of the song are pretty remarkable and show a complete diversity from most of the rest of the album in terms of vibe and texture. 9/10
10) Welcome To Hell - Very much more like a traditional punk song from decades previous. It's a very short, shouty, fun song basically telling us to jump around like morons and it would be a very good song in the mosh pit. The Bass stands out on this track as being fast, spikey and, much like the rest of the track on the whole, just damned good fun. 8.5/10
11) Pieces - The rating for this song would be so much lower if it did not have really good lyrical content. I find the song incredibly dull if i'm not paying particular attention to the words as there is really not very much to the music that I haven't heard from 'Some Say' or 'Slipping Away' earlier in the record. 6/10
12) There's No Solution - Another song which I have not spent a lot of time listening to. There can be no doubt that this song actually has one of the best choruses on the album. It's almost like a big stadium rock track scaled down a bit. Just missed a bit of lead guitar would be my one problem with it. 7.5/10
13) 88 - The Schizophrenic song as I like to call it now. It contains all the styles present in the album. From a very punk rock-ish intro. To an acoustic verse, a massive chorus and the massive Metal breakdown towards the end. Had it ended on that big Eb chord at the end of the breakdown it would have been another 10/10 song in my view but there is simply the fact that the ending sounds strained and rather bizzare. Did not seem neccesary. 9.5/10
From the US the album ends here but the version I have houses 3 other songs, which I shall also take a look at.
14) Noots - Incorporation of keyboards is very interesting. It in keeps with the theme of the album musically and has a humongous chorus to go with it. Lyrically however it is a bit of a disappointment but not terrible. 7.5/10
15) Moron - What else could be said about this song other than it is, much like 'Welcome To Hell' is a very good laugh. It is almost as simple as music gets and it shows. What else draws me is actually a very good vocal performance which suits the song perfectly.
16) Subject To Change - This song has foundations in both the title track from the next album (the chorus) and in 'No Reason' (the middle 8). It manages to be the angriest song on the disc but while it is a very good song it doesn't quite flow as a lyrical concept and it is quite easy to understand why it was not included on either this album or the next. Pity really. 8/10
Overall rating for the album I would say has to be 8/10. I love the majority of it as it is a massive departure from the general direction of Pop Punk around the time and to this day. The Stand-Out songs are the heavier ones, not just as a fan of Metal but as a musician they are better musically in my view and it shows that this band. Even in it's new guise can pull off a largely convincing live cover of the classic Metallica song 'Master Of Puppets'.
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