Sum 41 is finally back with new music.
The Canadian band released its first album in five years, 13 Voices, which follows 2011's Screaming Bloody Murder.
The album -- on their new label Hopeless Records thanks to a crowd-funding campaign -- includes the single "War," along with previously released song "Fake My Own Death," in addition to eight other tracks. It's Sum 41's first record as a five-member group with both Dave Baksh and Tom Thacker on lead guitar.
Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley recently talked to iHeartRadio in New York City about 13 Voices, and how personal events over the last few years -- including his health struggles -- helped to inspire songs on the album.
Whibley tells us that when writing a record, it's always "a snapshot" of who he is at that time in his life. He went through some serious health issues resulting in hospitalization he got re-married.
"Everything that I've been through, getting married, going through my health stuff, being in the hospital, recovering, all that kind of stuff, it definitely comes out in my music, for sure," he said.
"This record was really difficult this time around because I'd just gotten out of the hospital, and I was still recovering from liver and kidney failure. It took a long time to rebuild myself. And at the same time, I was also working on myself, but working on music at the same time, so that made it a little bit difficult. My days were pretty full."
From all of what was going on in Whibley's life, the album title was born. Especially after his release from the hospital, recovering, and becoming sober, he tells us that it felt like there were 13 voices sounding off in his head at all times.
"The title 13 Voices comes from the chaos and insanity that was going on in my mind at the time of writing, where everything was so new to me out of the hospital and sober for the first time," he recalled. "There's always these questions, and it just felt like at all times there were like 13 voices kind of screaming in my head."
The subject matter tackled in the songs on 13 Voices may have been difficult subjects themselves, but for Whibley, writing about himself is the easiest thing to do. "Some songs are easier than others to complete," he said, "and some of them take forever."
Among the songs that took "forever" to complete was the title track, which also happens to be his favourite song to perform live. Whibley said the song was "started at the beginning, but probably one of the last [songs] I finished. For whatever reason, it just took that long to write that song, I don't know why."
Whibley said he doesn't have a favourite song on 13 Voices, but "War" holds a lot of importance. In fact, he says the song "probably saved my life" while in recovery and trying to stay sober.
"'When I was writing, I was sort of teetering on this back and forth of like, could I fall off the wagon at that point or stick to this path of trying to recover, and get better, and stay sober," he said. "I wrote that song right in that moment of teetering. Once I had those lyrics written and I read them back to myself, and it was like, 'What am I fighting for?,' I realized that I had lyrics that I had to live by if I wanted to survive."
Sum 41 are currently out on their Don't Call it A Sum-Back Tour in support of their new album with special guests Senses Fail, and that's what Whibley was most excited about.
"I'm most excited to play live because that's the only thing we've ever really cared about in this band," he admitted.
The tour brings Sum 41 home to Canada for shows in Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. For more information, click here.
Original article by Nicole Mastrogiannis at iHeartRadio.