‘Underclass Hero,’ the fourth full-length album by Island Records group Sum 41, released July 24th in the U.S., wasted no time in conquering Japan’s international chart as it debuted there at #1 on first week sales of 65,000 units – capping fellow Island band Bon Jovi’s ‘Lost Highway’ from its four week reign at #1.
In an unprecedented move to launch ‘Underclass Hero,’ Sum 41 has performed the new album live in its entirety on their website, which can be accessed at www.sum41.com . The band – who appeared Tuesday on NBC’s Tonight Show with Jay Leno – are taking advantage of their stay in Los Angeles to shoot the video for “Walking Disaster,” the album’s second single pick, follow-up to the earlier title tune single, “Underclass Hero.”
With the completion of the video, Sum 41 heads to Australia for dates in Melbourne (August 1st) and Sydney (August 3rd). The following weekend they co-headline Japan’s prestigious Summer Sonic Festival in Tokyo (August 11th) and Osaka (August 12th), with fellow Island band Fall Out Boy, Avril Lavigne, Black Eyed Peas, Gwen Stefani, Arctic Monkeys, Offspring, and a slew of other bands.
U.S. Summer tour plans include a half-dozen shows along the Vans Warped Tour from August 14th (St. Louis) through August 25th (Los Angeles). Please see latest itinerary dates below.
‘Underclass Hero’ is self-produced (for the first time) by the band’s own Deryck Whibley, who has written and produced tracks for (his wife) Avril Lavigne’s current album, ‘The Best Damn Thing.’ ‘Underclass Hero’ is Sum 41’s long awaited follow-up to Chuck (October 2004), which reached #10 on the Billboard 200 and has sold more than 1 million copies worldwide.
The album was named for the United Nations worker who daringly rescued Sum 41 from bombs and gunfire during the filming of a documentary in the Congo with the nonprofit group War Child Canada. Chuck spun off three consecutive Top 20 Modern Rock chart singles: “We’re All To Blame,” “Pieces,” and “No Reason.”
Sum 41 – comprising Deryck Whibley (lead vocals, guitar, keyboard/piano), Cone McCaslin (bass, vocals), and Stevo (drums, vocals) – formed in 1996, while still in high school in Ontario. They were signed to Island Records and released their debut mini-album in 2000, ‘Half Hour Of Power.’ Their first full-length album arrived in 2001, ‘All Killer No Filler,’ followed by ‘Does This Look Infected’ in 2002, and ‘Chuck’ in 2004.
Sum 41 Tickets are now available at M&C's Ticket Database . Sum 41 tour dates include:
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