The End Of The Road With DAVE BAKSH From SUM 41

Interview by Kris Peters
For almost three decades now, Sum 41 have acted as a connecting
force between pop punk and heavy metal. People who generally hate
anything other than pure metal or pure punk found themselves
intrigued by the musical amalgamations unleashed by the Canadian
outfit, genuinely conflicted by their own elitist attitude and
unexpected attraction to the band's music.
To say Sum 41 have never fit in is an understatement of epic
proportions. But the fact remains they never wanted to.
Not even for a second.
Their music has also appeared in movies and television, taking punk
and metal to places never before dreamt of, all the while
displaying a contemptuous attitude towards conformity and control
that has stuck with them throughout their whole career.
With the band announcing they would soon be disbanding, Sum 41 have
released an album befitting of their entire service to the music
industry.
Titled Heaven :x: Hell, the double album pays homage to both sides
of Sum 41's musical spectrum, with Heaven being ten tracks of
snarling, high-energy pop-punk while Hell consists of the same
number of metal anthems with crushing riffs and solos and massive,
fist-pumping hooks.
It is an album that not only sums up almost thirty years of music,
but also caters to all fans of the band, offering a humbling and
appreciative parting gift to their legions of supporters.
HEAVY caught up with guitarist Dave Baksh to head down the musical
rabbit hole that is Sum 41.
With Heaven :x: Hell coming out last month we start by asking Baksh
how the fans have reacted so far.
"It's wild," he beamed. "It is absolutely wild. I don't know if my
algorithm is getting rid of the bad comments, but most of the
comments have been really, really nice and gracious. After putting
so much blood, sweat and tears into this record, it's nice and
vindicating."
Being Sum 41's last album ever, HEAVY presses Baksh as to what
sorts of things were discussed by the band leading into the writing
and recording process.
"The odd thing was in the early stages of the record it wasn't even
going to be a double album, let alone our last album ever," he
explained. "We just all kind of mentioned - every single one of us
- on a phone call with Derek that maybe we should just take all the
songs we have and put them out, because there was nothing that we
heard from the demos that we wanted to cut. I think thanks to that,
we were able to lean into the heaviest stuff we have ever done, and
lean it to that classic sound with the updated appearance."
In the full interview, Dave discussed various topics related to Sum
41's legacy. He shared insights into the intense effort and
emotional experience of creating the band's last album, discussed
the radio decision behind the singles, reflected on his personal
preference for playing pop punk, and explained the decision to
release a double album as the band's farewell. Baksh also opened up
about his early experiences with punk rock and heavy metal,
highlighting the challenges of merging pop-punk and heavy metal and
the elitist attitude that emerged in the heavy metal
community.
He emphasized that the band's musical legacy is not for them to
decide, but rather for the fans to determine, and expressed his
dedication to the band's work and sacrifices made for their music.
Baksh also shared his plans to continue in the music industry and
explore other artistic endeavors, such as voiceover work and
background acting, and expressed his excitement for the future and
the prospect of trying new things that take him out of his comfort
zone.


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