Just over a month on from sharing new single "Landmines," homegrown pop-punk heroes Sum 41 have let slip some new details surrounding their forthcoming double album — including when it's expected to be released.
The latest update comes via vocalist Deryck Whibley in a recent appearance on Houston, TX-based radio station 94.5 the Buzz [via Blabbermouth], during which he reiterates that Sum 41's eighth studio LP will see one disc of songs where the band return to their pop-punk roots, while the other draws from their well-worn heavier influences.
"It's two totally different records. It's 10 songs each side," Whibley divulged. "I would call like early Sum 41 pop-punk, and the 'Hell' side is like newer, heavier Sum 41 that we've kind of done the past couple of records, that sort of style. I don't want to call it metal, but it's our version of what we do that's heavy and metal-influenced." Maiden and Priest were the gods that they praised, after all.
He continued: "Over the years, we've done both sort of styles. We've had more heavy music than pop-punk music, but since we started with that on those first two records, it's kind of like you're labelled that for the rest of your life. But there are fans of ours that don't really care for any of the pop-punk stuff and only like the heavier stuff, and vice versa."
Asked about a release date for Heaven :x: Hell, Whibley revealed: "There's no release date for it yet. No, not yet. I have a feeling it'll probably be early next year, kind of like spring. That's what I think. All that stuff's being worked out right now."
Whibley, who was hospitalized with pneumonia in September, also shared how the decision to have Heaven :x: Hell stand as a double disc release wasn't intentional, explaining, "The music just kind of came out that way. And I'm always a believer in the music tells you what to do. So I didn't have this idea of, like, 'I'm gonna write a bunch of pop-punk songs and write a bunch of heavy songs.' I was just writing stuff and collecting music, and I didn't know what it was for.
"One day I just decided, 'Okay, I've got all these songs. I'm gonna put 'em on a disc and go drive around in the car and listen to just see what I have.' And once I listened to it all, it kind of spoke to me. It was just, like, 'This needs to be a double album, 'cause they're two separate albums.' There was no thought of it. And even with the band, I didn't tell them, 'Hey, I think this is a double album.' I just sent them the music and said, 'Listen to everything that I've been working on. Tell me what you think.' And one by one, each guy came back and said, 'What do you think about doing a double album?' So the music spoke to all of us."
You can hear Whibley's appearance on 94.5 the Buzz in the player below.
Revisit "Landmines" ahead of the album's arrival. As previously reported, Heaven :x: Hell will be Sum 41's final studio album, and the group will disband following a world tour in support of the effort.
Read Exclaim!'s 2022 interview with Deryck Whibley.
The latest update comes via vocalist Deryck Whibley in a recent appearance on Houston, TX-based radio station 94.5 the Buzz [via Blabbermouth], during which he reiterates that Sum 41's eighth studio LP will see one disc of songs where the band return to their pop-punk roots, while the other draws from their well-worn heavier influences.
"It's two totally different records. It's 10 songs each side," Whibley divulged. "I would call like early Sum 41 pop-punk, and the 'Hell' side is like newer, heavier Sum 41 that we've kind of done the past couple of records, that sort of style. I don't want to call it metal, but it's our version of what we do that's heavy and metal-influenced." Maiden and Priest were the gods that they praised, after all.
He continued: "Over the years, we've done both sort of styles. We've had more heavy music than pop-punk music, but since we started with that on those first two records, it's kind of like you're labelled that for the rest of your life. But there are fans of ours that don't really care for any of the pop-punk stuff and only like the heavier stuff, and vice versa."
Asked about a release date for Heaven :x: Hell, Whibley revealed: "There's no release date for it yet. No, not yet. I have a feeling it'll probably be early next year, kind of like spring. That's what I think. All that stuff's being worked out right now."
Whibley, who was hospitalized with pneumonia in September, also shared how the decision to have Heaven :x: Hell stand as a double disc release wasn't intentional, explaining, "The music just kind of came out that way. And I'm always a believer in the music tells you what to do. So I didn't have this idea of, like, 'I'm gonna write a bunch of pop-punk songs and write a bunch of heavy songs.' I was just writing stuff and collecting music, and I didn't know what it was for.
"One day I just decided, 'Okay, I've got all these songs. I'm gonna put 'em on a disc and go drive around in the car and listen to just see what I have.' And once I listened to it all, it kind of spoke to me. It was just, like, 'This needs to be a double album, 'cause they're two separate albums.' There was no thought of it. And even with the band, I didn't tell them, 'Hey, I think this is a double album.' I just sent them the music and said, 'Listen to everything that I've been working on. Tell me what you think.' And one by one, each guy came back and said, 'What do you think about doing a double album?' So the music spoke to all of us."
You can hear Whibley's appearance on 94.5 the Buzz in the player below.
Revisit "Landmines" ahead of the album's arrival. As previously reported, Heaven :x: Hell will be Sum 41's final studio album, and the group will disband following a world tour in support of the effort.
Read Exclaim!'s 2022 interview with Deryck Whibley.
