Sum 41 - Order In Decline (2019) [CD Rip]

Building upon the evolved sound and lyrical maturity of 2016's 13 Voices, Canadian punks Sum 41 unleash a topical rage brought upon by world affairs on 2019's fiery Order in Decline. Produced, mixed, engineered, and written by frontman Deryck Whibley, this seventh full-length is laser-focused and angry as hell, taking multiple shots at a certain United States president without ever explicitly wasting any breath on his name. Decrying division and a society seemingly on the verge of moral collapse, this is one of Sum 41's most earnest and thoughtful statements to date, a compact burst that recalls a wide swath of influences ranging from Linkin Park to Bad Religion to Muse. Tension and frustration course through these ten tracks, peaking on thrash-influenced assaults such as "Turning Away" and the riotous "Out for Blood" and abating on sweeping surprises such as "Never There" and "Catching Fire," which take a pause from the political to focus on broken relationships and lost friends. Otherwise, Decline sticks to talk of resistance, (not) building walls, and the perpetuation of lies on standouts "A Death in the Family" and "45 (A Matter of Time)." On these rallying cries, Whibley wonders, "Is it human nature or am I insane?" while contemplating the state of the world at the close of the decade. Later, on the punk blast "The People Vs…" he declares, "I know a bad man when I see his face.... He's got to go!" There's little ambiguity here and, compared to their earlier work, it's a refreshing evolution and maturation. That a group of Canadian punks would be the voices of reason in 2019 is a wonder in itself; that they've delivered one of the most accomplished albums in their catalog this late in their careers is another. ~ Neil Z. Yeung