"Waiting on a Twist of Fate" Released: February 22, 2024
"Dopamine" Released: March 29, 2024
Heaven :x: Hell[a] is the eighth and final studio album by Canadian rock band Sum 41, released on March 29, 2024, through Rise Records. A double album, Heaven :x: Hell is divided into two discs; the first disc, Heaven, features a return to the pop-punk style of the band's early career, while the second disc, Hell, follows the heavy metal sound the band pursued in subsequent years. It is their only release on Rise, having departed from independent label Hopeless Records in 2023.
The band released the lead single "Landmines" on September 27, 2023. A second single, "Rise Up", was released on December 12, 2023. The third single, "Waiting on a Twist of Fate", was released on February 22, 2024. A music video for "Dopamine" was released on March 29, 2024, the same day the album was released.
Heaven :x: Hell was praised by music critics.
Background
On February 22, 2022, the band announced a U.S. tour with Simple Plan called the Blame Canada tour that ran from April to August 2022.[1][2][3]
On March 23, 2022, the band announced the album and its musical styles, with the "Heaven" side throwing back to their earlier pop punk style, and the "Hell" side continuing their recent heavier metal sound. However, they did not reveal a release date.[4][5][6] Vocalist Deryck Whibley described it as "somewhat of a nod to Black Sabbath", referring to that band's album of the same name:[7]
Obviously we know the record and love the record, and we knew that, you know, calling it this was... We kind of looked at it as "Well, you know what? They've had it for like, about 42 years. We'll take it from here".[7]
On February 22, 2023, it was announced that the band would be playing at When We Were Young on October 22, 2023.[8][9]
On May 8, 2023, the band announced that they would be disbanding after releasing the album and subsequently touring in support of it throughout 2024;[10] the tour titled Tour of the Setting Sum began on January 12, 2024, at the Uptown Park in Jakarta, Indonesia, and is set to end at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on January 30, 2025. They will be supported by the Interrupters on North American dates.[11]
On September 19, 2023, it was announced that Whibley was hospitalized for COVID-19,[12] and pneumonia, which led to heart failure.[13][14] The next day, it was announced that he was responding well to his treatments and was discharged from the hospital.[15]
The CD and vinyl of the album became available in the Netherlands and Belgium on March 15, 2024, two weeks before the official worldwide release, therefore causing a worldwide leak.[18]
Singles
The lead single, "Landmines", was released on September 27, 2023, along with a music video and the announcement of their signing to Rise Records.[19][20] The second single, "Rise Up", was released on December 12, 2023, along with its music video and the album's release date.[21][22][23] The third single, "Waiting on a Twist of Fate", was released on February 22, 2024, along with a music video.[24][25] The fourth single, "Dopamine", was released on March 29, 2024, along with a music video.[26]
Frontman Deryck Whibley originally wrote a lot of the Heaven songs for other artists, but decided to keep them for himself:
I was getting calls from labels and managers and artists asking if I would write some songs for them, and everyone was asking for something leaning pop-punk. We haven't really done any pop-punk in a long time, so I thought "I don't even know if I can write anything like that, it's been like 16 years, maybe I'll try to write some songs". I wrote about seven or eight, and once I listened to them, I realized that I actually liked them, and I didn't want to give them away.[31]
"I Don't Need Anyone" was the only song written and recorded after the band had decided on breaking up.[31]
Heaven :x: Hell received acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 85 out of 100 based on 5 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[33] Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic wrote that the Heaven side of the album "[finds] the sweet spot among Billy Talent, Green Day, and Blink-182," while the Hell side is similar to 2016's 13 Voices and 2019's Order in Decline as it is an "emotionally charged whirlpool of rage and frustration."[34] Anne Erickson of Blabbermouth.net called the album "the most complete and adventurous album of [the band's] career."[35] Charlotte Griffiths of Distorted Sound Magazine called the album a "perfect goodbye from such an iconic band."[36] Kelsey McClure writing for Dork felt that despite its runtime, Heaven :x: Hell never drags, instead firing through hit after hit; time flies when you're having fun, and Sum 41's discography is a testament to that. It's a grand culmination of their work so far."[27] Mischa Pearlman of Kerrang! called it "the album of their career" and felt it was a good way to wrap up their career.[37]
Rishi Shah writing for NME described the album as a "pot of soundscapes cherry-picked from their career," and a "fitting last hurrah for a band" but had some criticisms for songs like "I Don't Need Anyone" and "House of Liars".[38] Tom Bruce of Noizze was more mixed on the album stating that, "[the album contains] the best singles of the band's career as well as a handful of unnecessary and repetitive tracks."[29] Mercedes Chircop of Spill Magazine called the album "impeccably crafted" and said that "despite [the] distinct sounds [of Heaven and Hell], both sides remain unmistakably Sum 41."[39] According to Sputnikmusic, the album is "emblematic of who they are, showcases their greatest strengths, and represents their most popular eras as a band."[28] According to Paul Brown of Wall of sound, "[the album is] packed full of punchy, high-octane punk jams and tear-inducing, shred-filled metal anthems that'll withstand the test of time and remind us of the calibre of talent this band produced in their 28-year long journey."[40]
Track listing
All songs are written by Deryck Whibley, except where noted.
