Sum 41 are a Canadian punk rock band from Ajax, Canada, formed in 1996 and active until 2025. Their sound moves across punk rock, pop punk, alternative rock, alternative metal and melodic hardcore.

Career

The band signs to Island Records in 1999 and releases its debut EP, Half Hour of Power, in 2000. Its first studio album, All Killer No Filler, follows in 2001 and brings mainstream success, led by the single “Fat Lip”, which reaches number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. “In Too Deep” and “Motivation” also become successful singles, and the album earns platinum certification in the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as triple platinum in Canada.

The second album, Does This Look Infected? (2002), continues that success with “Still Waiting” and “The Hell Song”. In 2004, Chuck reaches the Billboard 200 top ten and includes “We’re All to Blame” and “Pieces”. The 2007 album Underclass Hero becomes the group’s highest-charting release in the United States at the time. Screaming Bloody Murder follows in 2011. The band then releases 13 Voices in 2016 through Hopeless Records, earning a double gold certification from IMPALA for European sales. Order in Decline arrives in 2019, and Heaven :x: Hell is issued in 2024 through Rise Records.

Line-up and history

The final line-up consists of Deryck Whibley, Dave Baksh, Jason McCaslin, Tom Thacker and Frank Zummo. Earlier members include Steve Jocz, Mark Spicoluk and John Nicosia. The band begins as a new project after an earlier group, Kaspir, formed by Whibley and Grant McVittie in 1994, and the name Sum 41 comes from the 41 days between the start of summer holiday and a Warped Tour performance.

Baksh leaves in 2006 and Thacker joins, first as a touring guitarist and later as a full member. Jocz departs in 2013, leaving Whibley as the only remaining founding member. Baksh returns in 2015 and Zummo joins on drums, forming the line-up that records 13 Voices. The band disbands in March 2025 after a final world tour and its induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

Collaborations, touring and awards

Sum 41 tour extensively throughout its career and appears on the Vans Warped Tour. In 2004, the band travels to the Democratic Republic of the Congo with War Child Canada to document the effects of civil conflict; after fighting resumes, United Nations peacekeepers evacuate the group. The experience inspires the title of Chuck, and a documentary, Rocked: Sum 41 in Congo, is later released.

The band receives seven Juno Award nominations and wins Group of the Year in 2003 and Rock Album of the Year for Chuck in 2005. It is also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance for “Blood in My Eyes”.