Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley watched from his hotel rooms as the world descended into havoc over the course of the rock bandB次元官网网址檚 last tour.
The Canadian singer-songwriter can place the exact moments when he sensed the political divide growing wider. The first time, his rock band was in England on a European promotional tour as the Brexit vote dropped and B次元官网网址漨ayhemB次元官网网址� ensued.
Months later, he saw Donald TrumpB次元官网网址檚 rise to power in the U.S. election, which polarized the nation across party lines, and witnessed the heated 2017 presidential election in France that led to violent clashes in the streets.
B次元官网网址淚t seemed to get worse and worse wherever we went,B次元官网网址� the performer said in a phone interview from Los Angeles ahead of Sum 41B次元官网网址檚 new album release.
B次元官网网址淚 would wake every day and start my morning routine. YouB次元官网网址檇 have the news on, and youB次元官网网址檙e just kind of watching the chaos of the day B次元官网网址� from Donald Trump to whatever else is going on.B次元官网网址�
Whibley would occasionally dip into writing new songs to distract himself, but as the turmoil picked up in the outside world, he said he found it harder to escape. Trump had winnowed into the recesses of his mind, and he was seeping into the lyrics.
B次元官网网址淢y first thought is IB次元官网网址檓 not going to let this (expletive) take over my music too,B次元官网网址� he said.
B次元官网网址淚 tried to stop it and tried to fight itB次元官网网址� I tried to change the words, and it just felt really disconnected. After about a week, I said, B次元官网网址榃ell, (expletive) it. It is what it is, IB次元官网网址檓 just going to write words and weB次元官网网址檒l figure it out.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
Hearing Whibley talk about politics can be jarring at times.
While Sum 41 built its reputation throwing stones at authority, their rowdy pop-punk anthems mostly ignored specific targets in favour of pushing back on The Man and nameless conformity, like on the title track of their 2007 album B次元官网网址淯nderclass Hero.B次元官网网址�
These days, the 39-year-old songwriter observes the world with more specificity.
His work on the bandB次元官网网址檚 previous album B次元官网网址�13 VoicesB次元官网网址� was an exercise in self-reflection as Whibley clawed back from years of unaddressed alcohol abuse that led him to be hospitalized in 2013 with nearly fatal health problems.
Sum 41B次元官网网址檚 latest studio release B次元官网网址淥rder in Decline,B次元官网网址� due on July 19, inches closer towards an edgier sound for the band that started in Ajax, Ont. ItB次元官网网址檚 their heaviest, most hardcore effort to date, and Whibley produced and engineered the album in his home studio.
Signs this project is different begin with the album artwork, an apocalyptic illustration of a puppet master operating overtop a man whoB次元官网网址檚 enveloped by flames. Beneath him, a skull looms with glowing eyes.
While the songs donB次元官网网址檛 directly address Trump, the 45th president of the United States, some come incredibly close to calling him by name. On B次元官网网址�45 (A Matter of Time),B次元官网网址� Whibley sings about a man who rises to power unexpectedly, but he quickly shifts the narrative onto the people who got him there.
And on B次元官网网址淭he People VsB次元官网网址次元官网网址� he breathlessly chastises a failed leader between guitar shreds: B次元官网网址淚 know a bad man when I see his face, and now we suffer as a human race. And heB次元官网网址檚 a bad man, but I got faith. To rid this misery heB次元官网网址檚 got to go.B次元官网网址�
Whibley says he doesnB次元官网网址檛 necessarily consider B次元官网网址漁rder in DeclineB次元官网网址� a political protest record, despite the occasional pointed lyric.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 not really talking about specific policiesB次元官网网址� ThereB次元官网网址檚 no specific song about gun control, so I say itB次元官网网址檚 not really political,B次元官网网址� he said.
B次元官网网址淚 guess you could call it a personal protest.B次元官网网址�
David Friend, The Canadian Press
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