Sum 41 - Screaming Bloody Murder (2011) WMA320

Sum 41 is without a doubt one of the more prominent names in the history of pop punk. The band's first three records made an influential dent in the formative years of many fans. Sum 41 was one of the first bands to really pursue and successfully use the aggressive pop punk format to make both huge hits and solid entire records in the early 2000s. But after 2004's Chuck, things took a turn for the worse for the Canadians. 2007's Underclass Hero was largely considered a failure by critics and fans alike, and now the four-piece is back with its first album in four years and fifth release for Island Records (in the US). Screaming Bloody Murder is definitely a step back in the right direction for the band, but it really leaves listeners wondering where exactly the group wants to be. Underclass Hero was a departure away from the heavier sounds of Chuck, going back to the more traditional pop punk sound featured on the band's first records. But that record just wasn't executed very well, only surfacing a couple of worthwhile songs and mainly just providing listeners with a lot of filler. Unfortunately, not too much has changed in that specific department. With 14 songs that total 49 minutes, the album feels unnecessarily long at multiple times. Sum 41 is clearly aiming for a more in-depth sound on their fifth record, not unlike the goals of Underclass Hero, and while the outcome is better than the last attempt, it's still not stellar. There are several solid tracks on Screaming Bloody Murder - opener "Reason To Believe" kicks off an impressive first half that contains multiple standouts - but there are also a handful of songs that just shouldn't be hanging around. The opener starts with a booming build-up, and although it's sort of epic just for the sake of being epic, it's fun to listen to. The record is well produced, something that is evident right from the beginning. The song features plenty of opportunities for fist-pumping sing-alongs with frontman Deryck Whibley, but when the band slows things down in the bridge to round out the song, you sort of just wish they kept it going with their foot on the accelerator. The title track is another standout, highlighted by the dueling forces of Whibley's guitar work and Jason McCaslin's bass lines. On this particular song, it's Steve Jocz's drumming that keeps the chorus driving, focused and easily to fall in love with. Overall, the track is a perfect slice into what this band should be doing: making dirty pop punk that is easy to sing along to and even easier to adore from afar, with no delusions of grandeur or anything of that sort. Unfortunately, the band does indeed offer up some filler songs, stretching far away from the once-upon-a-time mantra of All Killer, No Filler. "What Am I To Say" is the prime example of a track that seems out of place, starting with an ambience-focused acoustic guitar before fleshing out into some sweeping shenanigans with lots of extended vocals. Usually, a band whose best work lies in songs that sit under three minutes isn't going to be all that great when their songs run over four minutes, something that happens four times on Screaming Bloody Murder. "Happiness Machines" comes across as somewhat hastily put together, giving the impression that there were a few too many ideas thrown around and not enough shot down. "Over Now" is a piano-led ballad that would have been better off as a b-side. Luckily, Sum 41 more than makes up for the misses with home runs on the catchier tracks. "Jessica Kills" is the best song on this record, definitely a throwback to Sum 41's older work with a chorus that is eerily reminiscent of "Still Waiting" from Does This Look Infected? That track follows "Time For You To Go," cementing the first half of Screaming Bloody Murder as the more impressive. The second half, like I said, has some filler and has a few songs that aren't really true to the band's sound. Tracks like "Blood In My Eyes" and "Crash" give off the impression that Sum 41 wants to follow in the footsteps of Green Day, while others like "Sick Of It All" provide some shades of My Chemical Romance. While it's understood that every band grows up eventually, and no band is expected to re-make the same album again and again, not all groups are meant to mature into huge, world-renowned rock opera conductors. "Blood In My Eyes" sounds like an American Idiot b-side, but Sum 41 doesn't pull off that sound nearly as well as Green Day. Screaming Bloody Murder shows that Sum 41 is more than capable of still writing an aggressive and catchy pop punk album, but leaving out the anthems and show-off-y songs is an important thing to note in the future. by Thomas Nassiff TRACKLIST: 01 - Reason To Believe.wma 02 - Screaming Bloody Murder.wma 03 - Skumfuk.wma 04 - Time For You To Go.wma 05 - Jessica Kill.wma 06 - What Am I To Say.wma 07 - Holy Image Of Lies.wma 08 - Sick Of Everyone.wma 09 - Happiness Machine.wma 10 - Crash.wma 11 - Blood In My Eyes.wma 12 - Baby You Don't Wanna Know.wma 13 - Back Where I Belong.wma 14 - Exit Song.wma WMA 320Kbps 44100Hz STEREO Follow me On Facebook Pages: MarcelodrgzTPB

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abhi.m (2011-03-27)

Good Audio quality!
But I don't understand why you refrained from encoding the same into mp3 or aac format instead. Now I can't transfer them into my ipod and can't transcode them into mp3 or aac either, without noticeable quality loss. Don't know why you go for wma only. Thanks for the effort though.

 MARCELODRGZ (2011-03-27)

Because WMA is far superior to MP3. At the same bitrate and the file size, better quality WMA. A track is 160kbps WMA to MP3 at 320kbps like (half the weight for the same result) Take this quiz: listen at full volume an issue in 160kbps WMA, then the same MP3 320kbps quickly and you will notice the difference in the bass mainly . With the first sound fair, the second, saturation. Try to do that and bury the MP3. In addition and as informative data, this and other discs that were originally subi FLAC or WMA lossless. Encode to MP3 would be a crime. Finally, I WMA is better to me because I can hear my CDs in the car or on the phone (they are my backup for daily life) Best wishes and thanks for your comment. I hope you enjoy this album as I do.

abhi.m (2011-03-29)

Ya sure am enjoying it by getting it transcoded to ALAC format for my ipod. And thanks for such a great info. Appreciable work and reply. Best Wishes!

epik151 (2011-03-30)

Thanks. lol @ ipod problems. Get a sansa ffs, it's 2011.

Padoogi (2011-03-30)

"Because WMA is far superior to MP3"... according to whom? MP3 will encode at 320 as well at the same sample as WMA. There's a FLAC out there that's lossless of this album.. torrent ranked down. Use FLAC or MP3 or don't post at all (they're the only two useful audio formats). WMA is so 1999 (and complete shit), but I guess some1 here bought the Microsoft hype.

 MARCELODRGZ (2011-04-01)

Before talking about formats, you should find something about it (I recommend google) Hint: MP3 is an old format and much lower. It is true that MP3 WMA 320 and 320 are equal in size but the result is very different sampling. Clean your ears of any obstruction and do the following test: put the same issue in both formats at the same bitrate and same volume, then you will notice the distortion at low quickly when you are with the MP3. Want to get this album in another format with or without loss? then later ... To me, WMA lossy format is ideal for sharing music.

jongardner (2011-04-04)

Great download, superb quality, thanks a lot for posting!
I don't agree with a lot of the write-up though...

 SnowCrash01 (2011-05-02)

Why is this -7 anyway. Great album, great quality.