Why Sum 41 Is Breaking Up In 2025

The 28-year reign of pop-punk icons Sum 41 is finally coming to an end after Derek Whibley announced their disbandment back in May 2023. Unlike the fallout of other long-running bands, there is no hellfire surrounding the end of the Ontario punk outfit that stole the hearts of metal heads and pop lovers alike, begging the question: Why is Sum 41 breaking up?

Formed in 1996, Sum 41 have been a mainstream mainstay since their international debut full-length All Killer No Filler was released in 2001. Their first LP would be their second label release with England's crown-jewel, Island Records. It featured the single "Fat Lip," which reached number 66 on the Billboard Hot 100 list and set the stage for Sum 41's unrivaled career.

Evolving from a high school band in Ajax, ON to one of pop-punk's shining gems was no small feat. With eight studio albums, a diverse collection of music videos, video albums, singles, b-sides, and more, including 2024's massive double LP, conceptual album, and final studio release, Heaven :x: Hell, Sum 41's trajectory seems to be trending up as always. When it comes to the future of Sum 41, the time has come for the group to put down something great to move on to something new as the band approaches the end of their farewell world tour, Tour Of The Setting Sum.

Sum 41's Break-Up Is To Allow The Members To Focus On Other Projects

TBand Is Separating on a Positive Note, Energized To Explore New Music Projects

In an interview with CJAY 92 morning show hosts Jesse & JD (Jesse Modz and JD Lewis), singer Deryck Whibley took the time to address the band's forthcoming conclusion and shed some light on what the future may hold. Whibley praised their newest album, Heaven :x: Hell, which he considers to be the band's best record yet, and spoke on the moment being right for Sum 41 to say goodbye:

"I felt this is probably the best record we've ever made, and I think this version of the band is the best we've ever been live-- I thought 'what a way to just go out on this one.

Sum 41's final double album makes good on the band's original vision from the mid-90's, featuring metal-leaning tracks and instant pop punk classics alike, crossing the lifecycle of the band's aesthetic journey. The format of the final release revealed itself to Whibley "I'm a big believer in that the music tells you what to do," Deryck shares with CJAY 92, and the music told him the release needed to be a double album and impressed on him that the time had come for Sum 41.

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"Once that album was finished I'd realized, and I'd been thinking this for a while... that with my 1000% focus on sum 41 all day every day I felt like I don't have much more of that in me to continue past this record... I just am getting to a point where I'm thinking I'd like to put some focus and energy into something else," Whibley said to Jesse & JD. The album holds the band's final songs, which have been flowing since Whibley was in 10th grade, but now it is time for new songs, new ideas, and new sound possibilities for the Grammy nominated musicians. It is as if this final Sum 41 album is the final gift, one which the band poured every last drop into.

Exhaustion Also Played A Part In Sum 41's Disbandment

Sum 41 Have More Than Earned Their Bittersweet Departure

In a 2023 interview with Punk Rock Radio CA, lead guitarist Dave Baksh explains, "[I was] talking to a friend of mine in Sum 41 and he had told me he had never been on vacation," an insane fact given how hard the band works. Baksh, who left the band for 9 years in 2006, would return to the band, refocused after pursuing his own project, Brown Brigade.

For the other members of Sum 41, there has been no break. "It's unfortunate because I would love for the band to keep going and keep touring, but I also love my friends in Sum 41 more than I love my own ambitions with their music," Baksh told Punk Rock Radio CA.

"We don't want to do it unless all of us are happy and willing... any decision that we make in Sum 41 doesn't come lightly," Dave says to Punk Rock Radio, referring to the band's exhaustion. "I think it's important for a couple of members of Sum 41 to kind of step back...everybody's got babies and kids now... those moments will never come back," says Baksh.

"I'm a stepfather. My kids are 15 and 19...they're at that age where it's like we can finally feel like roommates and hang out and swear and curse and stuff like that at the dinner table...but [the other members'] babies are in those formative years...those years from one to five I mean absolutely anybody who's a parent understands what I'm talking about right now or anybody that's one to five years old understands what I'm talking [about]," Baksh joked with Punk Rock Radio. Although Dave looked forward to what a less demanding future may hold, he was more than ready to gush about the upcoming world tour, Tour Of The Setting Sum, which is now in its final stretch.

How Many Shows Do Sum 41 Have Left?

One Final Shot At Seeing The Group Before The End Of The Road

Close

It is time to say goodbye to Sum 41 as they prepare to play their final shows ever. The band's tour has just 13 dates left with new school punk rockers Pup and Gob throughout Canada. Sum 41 will end their tour on January 30th, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario. The band's absolute final performance will be at the 2025 JUNO Awards alongside Michael Bublé.

Sources: iHeartRadio CA, Punk Rock Radio CA, Official Sum 41 Website