I'm just going to come out and explain my conclusion after listening to this album for this review: 'Screaming Bloody Murder', Sum 41's belated follow up to 2007's incredibly lacklustre 'Underclass Hero' is one of the most unsettling, difficult to listen to but somehow utterly brilliant records I have come across for some time. To explain my logic behind this further the lyrics for the album were written in the middle of what was apparently (I don't know first hand obviously) an incredibly messy and painful divorce between vocalist Deryck Whibley and Pop Rock star Avril Lavinge and this gave rise to some different musical directions that this massive album lurches around towards taking the listener on an uncomfortable, bumpy and extremely emotional 15 of some of the most well crafted songs I've heard in a very long time. The humour and light hearted nature of some of the early work, which was only somewhat present in the previous album has completely gone and this changes Sum 41 into a totally different, more mature beast as a band.
While it can be seen to be a similar musical deviancy Green Day went on with '21st Century Breakdown' and MCR went on with 'The Black Parade' it is not only more honest but also more interesting. While two aforementioned bands went on about concepts bigger than (in my view) could really handle with songs which seemed to be strained and false, Sum 41 stay with song lyrics they know, problems of the heart with an added bite of post divorce bitterness and somehow this makes the songs on the whole all the better. There really is a stunning mix of theatrical pop punk in songs like 'Holy Images of Lies', beautifully crafted ballad's like 'What Am I To Say' to the simpler yet equally spectacular Rockier tracks like 'Sick Of Everyone'.
Whibley is, in my mind at the very least, the best of the pop punk vocalists and with this album he shows off his talent to blending to many different song types. His powerful yet emotionally strained high notes in the chorus to the title track and the wonderful melodies in piano led track 'Crash' really does show how he can put above his peers in bands like Green Day and even the reuniting Blink 182. That said I would not consider this band a pop punk band after this record because o the style. The closest band I can find in terms of a record like this is actually a band like Biffy Clyro or the smaller but still fairly epic Twin Atlantic.
This album is the first to feature new lead guitar player Tom Thacker but his influence on the album is not felt as surprisingly Whibley, who does not have a reputation as the best guitar player that there is recorded all the guitar parts and some of, while not especially inventive of ground breaking do take a lot of good technique and that makes his lead guitar work, not only better than his lead work on 'Underclass Hero', but also one of the highlights of the record as a whole.
Album opener 'Reason To Believe' starts like it's falling down into a nightmare. It's a good precursor to the rest of the album and it helps that the track really is as simple as simple can get. The simple riff in the opening minute or so of the song sets the mood of the album but cleverly does not set up for what the rest of the album is going to deliver at all. It is the perfect opener for this album especially with the juxtaposition of the heavy riffs in the beginning and the piano and acoustic guitar in the last minute of the song.
Title track 'Screaming Bloody Murder' is perhaps the first sense of theater as it starts and ends with piano and clean-ish guitar tones but neither end gives you any evidence of the massive song that explodes in the middle. From the very heavy guitars to the spectacular vocals and the utterly fabulous break down and a very commendable guitar solo the song is a fantastic choice as a single and one of highlights of the album.
'Skumf*k' is one of the more surprising songs on the album. The title would give the impression of a fast angry punk number but it is actually more of a complete emotional powder-keg of a song which ends as the faster punk track. It's a track with multiple personality disorder but it works with that sense of epic theater within a bigger work.
'Time For You To Go' is a more traditional Sum 41 song in construction but don't be fooled into think that it is a happy go lucky song as the relatively cheerful sounding song hides a dark lyrical underbelly much like Biffy Clyro managed to do on their album 'Puzzle'.
'Jessica Kill' is a simple song, perhaps the simplest of the album. It is actually fairly similar to Chuck's 'Angels With Dirty Faces' in terms of construction and the fact the song in it's instrumental passages is actually rather heavy. It's an absolute mosh-pit number with particularly commendable drum parts.
'What Am I To Say' is a beautiful ballad. The uses of effects in this song do not cloud the overall effect but add to it really effectively. Although musically there is nothing to individually be excited about it is a case of a song that is greater than the sum of it's parts.
Now the next 3 songs are actually part of a greater work which was the first material played live from the album called 'A Dark Road Out of Hell'. To review this properly it does have to be seen as one whole work. Part 1 is 'Holy Images Of Lies', a disjointed, slightly mental song featuring fast piano parts and a fantastic set of modulations in the final 4 seconds or so and about as bleak as a band can get in terms of personal lyrics. The best bit about this song is the seamless segue into Part 2 'Sick Of Everyone' which is a much more simple and riff based number with a particularly strange verse and strong vocal performance. However the highlight is the final part 'Happiness Machine' which uses a massive grunge based verse to a largely acoustic verse which builds into a spectacular D minor guitar based harmony before it reaches a rather bombastic conclusion with the heavy guitars followed by the radio effect piano and vocal harmonies over the lyrics 'So here I stand at the end of a dark road out of hell'.
'Crash' is another well constructed, beautiful ballad. This one in a way is the most positive of the album as it seems to show some good memories of Whilbey's marriages but the in the end the song ends with the line 'But It ain't gonna happen' which proves the song was another obviously emotionally draining lyric writing session.
'Blood In My Eyes' is structured like a traditional song in terms of it's building blocks but in terms of tempo changes and even vocal styles it is rather disjointed. From the really heavy main riff to soft guitar based vocals and the stadium sized chorus it's a song that can very easily easy catch a listener not paying proper attention off guard. I like that about the song.
'Baby Don't You Wanna' is a weird one. It could almost sound like a track by Avril Lavinge with the simple, rather happy chord structures and vocal melodies but this song a bitter song which seems to be about the process of the divorce. I must say this is not my favorite song on the album but in way it is actually the most intelligent on the album.
'Back To Where I Belong' is a song which is really all about it's chorus. It's a heavy, triumphant song that recognizes the dark place where the rest of the album has been and shows that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. A very appropriate album closer drawing to a close this roller coaster of ride by a band that has challenged any notions of music they've written in the past and even more so with the short ending track 'Exit Song' keeping the musical idea of the previous track and showing a resignation of the situation described in the rest of the album and the effect of the major chord is a sign of hope possibly, but I could be reading into that too much.
You already know that I love this album. There is not one best song but I have to say the 3 part epic 'Dark Road Out Of Hell' is absolutely amazing and the best thing the band has ever produced. It might be very difficult to listen to throughout and it might a massive departure from the fun loving band they used to be but it has changed Sum 41 from just another Pop Punk band into a band finally realizing their potential as a band that have gone on to bigger and better things. The only words I can think of to properly describe this album are Unhinged but Bewitching.
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