In the summer of 2001, Sum 41 released their first single, Fat Lip. The song quickly became one of my favorite songs that summer, and then after hearing their next two singles (In Too Deep and Motivation), I decided that I wanted to buy their CD. Since I loved those three songs so much, I should enjoy the rest of the album, right?
Wrong. While Sum 41’s disc, All Killer, No Filler isn’t the worst CD I’ve heard, it definitely doesn’t fall in the category of the best. The album is basically 6 tracks of filler, that are mediocre at best, and the 4 remaining tracks (excluding an intro, outro and interlude) range from really good to decent.
One of my guy friends absolutely loves the album’s intro, Introduction to Destruction. I also must admit that it’s pretty cool. I don’t want to give it away, but this is one of the coolest intros I’ve heard in a while.
Nothing On My Back starts off with heavy guitar and then lead singer, Deryck Whimbley, begins singing. The chorus is pretty catchy, but the guitar is what makes this song worth listening to. The lyrics aren’t all that interesting, either.
Never Wake Up, is pretty cool, too. It basically consists of a bunch of jibberish, and Whimbley singing, “I plan on never waking up” over and over again. But it’s still better than some of the full length tracks.
Fat Lip is still my favorite song by Sum 41. What originally caught my ear on this song was the guitar riffs and rapping that goes on in the verses. My favorite line is, “As a kid, I was a skid and no one knew me by name/I trashed my own house party ’cause nobody came”- cracks me up every time. The melody to Rhythms sounds sorta similar to Nothing On My Back, but I like this song a little more. This song, like most of the songs on the album, is just boring, which keeps it from being anything more than just plain filler.
Another of my favorites on the album is Motivation. I love the music and the lyrics are pretty cool. The chorus and the first verse are my favorite parts of this song. I can definitely relate to the whole procrastination theme (and this is coming from the self-proclaimed World’s Biggest Slacker). My favorite lines in the first verse are: “What’s the difference, of never knowing it all?/When every step I take is always too small/Maybe it’s just something I can’t admit but lately/I feel like I don’t give a sh*t”.
In Too Deep is another notable track on the album. This was a single, but I feel it was a bit too poppy for my taste. Not that I don’t like pop (Well, some of it, anyway), but if you’re supposed to be a punkband, then I want you to sing punk songs. Summer is another so-so track. The lyrics aren’t all that original, and the song simply isn’t catchy enough to stick in my mind. This is definitely a filler track, but the sad thing is that it’s only track 8, and so far half of the songs have been filler.
I like the fact that Handle This is a slower song, and the lyrics are sad and interesting (about a bad relationship). This song is a bit more likeable than some of the others. Unfortunately, Crazy Amanda Bunkface follows as another boring filler song. There’s not much to say about it, except the title annoys me, and the song is just….meh.
You may have heard All She’s Got on some commercials for a PS2 game (sorry, I forgot which one!). I actually like this song, but mostly because of the chorus. After hearing it once, I had it stuck in my head all day! Heart Attack starts off a bit slow, but it picks up during the chorus. It actually sounds like a mix between a Green Day and Blink 182 song, which is pretty cool.
Pain For Pleasure is actually an outro to the album (it’s only 1:43), but it’s probably one of the best songs on the album. The song starts off with some killer guitar work done by the guys, and then Whimbley starts singing in an abnormally deep voice. The song has a whole heavy metal feel to it which is just awesome, and I absolutely love it.
All Killer, No Filler would be a great album if it delivered what its title promises. Instead, we are left with an album mostly composed of filler tracks, and a waste of Sum 41‘s talent.
Rating: 
Track List
1. Introduction to Destruction
2. Nothing on My Back
3. Never Wake Up
4. Fat Lip
5. Rhythms
6. Motivation
7. In Too Deep
8. Summer
9. Handle This
10. Crazy Amanda Bunkface
11. All She’s Got
12. Heart Attack
13. Pain for Pleasure
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emGri7i8Y2Y]
*This is a brittpinkie “classic” review. I have edited this review for content and formatting, though retained my original opinion of the product.