SUM 41 / 13 Voices [2016]

After a second brush with death, Canadian rock act Sum 41 made a full sober recovery (with a new drummer and the return of guitarist Dave Baksh) to release their sixth studio album, 2016's 13 Voices.
For a guy who had to relearn how to walk, talk and nevermind play guitar, frontman Deryck Whibley has managed to put together a pretty solid record brimming with passionate urgency and furiously harsh melody.  It starts out with seething anger that rivals Screaming Bloody Murder's finest moments but slowly morphs into suspicious hope as the record comes to a close, making it feel almost as if were a concept album.  The Sums, with their fusion of hard rock and melodic metal, have no interest in re-living in their goofy Beastie Boys-esque pop-punk past and it's a very welcome addition to the sudden 2016 pop-punk revival.

4 phony friends left in the dust out of 5

Songs of Note: Fake My Own Death; War