Underclass Hero

Sum 41 | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 24, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Island
• ASIN: B000RIHBIE
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,341 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #81 in Music > Alternative Rock > Hardcore & Punk > Punk Revival
  • #89 in Music > Alternative Rock > Hardcore & Punk > Punk-Pop

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Rise up, pop-punk fans, and salute Sum 41: With Blink-182 broken up and Good Charlotte going for a rock vibe, the boys from Ontario stand a chance at reinvigorating the entire stalled subgenre. Not just because the competition has thinned, but because Underclass Hero is just that great. Though nobody would accuse lead singer Deryck Whibley of sounding like Green Day's Billy Joe Armstrong, he bites into the politically charged lyrics that course through this 14-track set as hard: "March of the Dogs," "The Jester," and "Confusion and Frustration in Modern Times" are served up with a spasmodic sneer (and, in the case of the latter, a lyric that will resonate with legions of the exasperated: "Confusion's all I see/Frustration surrounds me/Solution's bid farewell/Sedation? What the hell"), and the title track comes bounding out of stereo speakers with both outrage and lit-up energy. On the lighter side, the ballad "With Me" is sweet and simple enough to recall Plain White Ts, and "Ma Poubelle," a French ditty, strikes a weird Beatle-y chord before rapidly dissolving. Does Sum 41 add up to the hottest pop-punk band going, then? For sure. Do the math. --Tammy La Gorce

Product Description

UK pressing of the Canadian punksters 2007 album features one bonus audio track: 'No Apologies'. Underclass Hero marks a step in a bold new direction for the group, whose three full length album's, 2001's All Killer, No Filler, 2002's, Does this Look Infected and 2004 Chuck have sold over 7 million units worldwide. 'You Can't help buy grow a little', says Whibley about the band's musical and lyrical maturity. 'We now see the artistic side of music. We wanted to make this the most artistic punk-rock record we could. We approach music differently now. Things now have a purpose. We care about the craft of it now.' The is Sum 41, better than ever...and this time no regrets. Universal. 2007. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm glad I misread this album, July 24, 2007

By 

B. Forrester "RandomDude" (Maryland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Underclass Hero (Audio CD)

I remember reading an article where Sum 41 claimed their band was more like All Killer No Filler than their previous two albums. Then I heard "Underclass Hero" which albeit is a catchy song it sound way too similar to "Fat Lip" from their first album.

So today I bought the album with some apprehension. I feared that with their last album, Chuck, receiving poor sales and reviews (even though I loved that album) and Dave leaving the band they would revert to their old sound in an all or nothing attempt to be MTV friendly and gain some mainstream appeal.

I am glad I was oh so wrong about my assumptions for this album.

Normally I would never review an album without giving it four or five listens, but I was lucky enough to have to make a six hour round trip with this album playing about 5 times before I finally switched CDs.

Its as if the track "Underclass Hero" is a joke track to fool us all into believing they are trying to make All Killer No Filler 2. Then "Walking Disaster" pops up and hits you like a punch in the gut, and the rest of the album grabs and doesn't let go.

What makes this album so great is that there is a confidence and maturity to this album. Lyrically they have never been better, and their music has never been this varied, while also remaining somewhat simplistic. They do this by using a more varied and diverse take on their old pop-punk sound, a sound that many bands use currently to pollute the airwaves (I'm looking at you Paramore).

Will this albums skyrocket their fame? Maybe. I think there will be a lot of petty complaints against it. For one their will be people who will be angry that this ISN'T All Killer and No Filler 2 (even if it is something much, much better), there will be people who despise them simply for the fact that *GASP* they have a handful of politically charged songs, or the really ignorant idiots will complain that ballad style songs like "Best of Me" and "So Long Goodbye" will like TOTALLY mean they sold out, even if those songs are incredibly well done.

But I think "Underclass Hero", along with Yellowcard's "Paper Walls" will prove to many people that pop-punk didn't die with Blink-182's break up, it CAN be mature AND keep the uplifting energy of punk music generally displays, all while being more diverse musically than the punk sub-culture allows.

To sum this review up (no pun intended) "Underclass Hero" is a truly wonderful surprise of this year music-wise for me and I highly recommend this album. It's easily their best.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Still trying to get back on their feet, May 1, 2008

By 

Nick Colosi "Nick" (Chesterland, OH, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Underclass Hero (Audio CD)

After taking the pop-punk formula to the politcal/hardcore style that they saw on their last two records and then, suddenly losing a guitarist, you already know when you buy this CD, before you open it up or play any of the tracks, that it's not gonna sound like "Chuck." It's not gonna sound like "Does This Look Infected?" Chances, are, it won't even sound like "Half Hour of Power" or "All Killer," this is a new band.

Well, it is a new band. It's definitely not as good as the old Sum we used to love, whether that had before or after the dividing line that was "Fat Lip" This is the bands worst CD, even if it was their most valiant effort.

The first thing that comes to mind is that without Dave, all the metal/hardcore/whatever influence is gone, it's back to the poppy-punk and it's more on the poppy side. The first couple tracks almost sounds like a return to form, except after that it regresses into ballads and we realize that this is not the case.

The CD has it's moments. There are catchy guitar lines here and there from Deryck and Cone stepped it up to make up for the lack of a second guitarist (even though some of the songs are still recorded with 2 guitars). Cone's backup vocals are a new twist to the CD and I actually like them a lot. They should have utilized him earlier.

Biggest problem, too many ballads, too many slow songs, makes this CD relatively boring. This CD would have been a great EP if it had consisted only of "Underclass Hero" "Count Your Last Blessings" "March of the Dogs" "The Jester" "King of Contradiction" and "Confusion and Frustration in Modern Times" Everything else is skipable but those songs are truly amazing. We can tell that Sum 41 is still here, burried in the rubble of all the drama and bull. I wouldn't be surprised if they rose to the occasion a few years from now and put out a truly outstanding CD, but for now they're still trying to construct that old fasion Sum sound without Dave, they'll get there, but they're not there yet.

All the die hard Sum 41 fans will find this touching, anybody else, stick with any of the other 4 CDs.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars First Time Disappointing, Third Time SWEET, September 26, 2007

By 

Kelli S. Arendt - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Underclass Hero (Audio CD)

While it's no All Killer No Filler, nor is it a Does This Look Infected?, Underclass Hero, upon the third or fourth listen, definately holds its own. At first you'll be completely unsatisfied, as it holds a lot of songs that are quite unlike sum41 (imo)... but after a few listens, you'll be amazed at how you thought poorly of it before. A strong 4/5.