Take a random word, preferably a verb with one syllable. Place an equally random number after said word. What do you get? An MTV-friendly punk-pop phenomenon? Well, that’s what happened with Blink 182, and it looks like it’s going to happen for the similarly named Sum 41 as well with this, their first album.

Let’s face it. I was always going to give this album a great review. It’s got loud guitars, the songs are played reasonably quickly, and it’s got melodies catchier than the common cold. But what really makes this album stand out is its unashamed love of old school metal. Let’s look at the evidence. ‘Fat Lip’ contains the lyrics Heavy metal and mullets, it’s how we were raised/Maiden and Priest were the gods that we praised (That’s Iron Maiden and Judas Priest to all you ignorant fools out there.) The album frequently contains dual-guitar harmonies the likes of which haven’t been witnessed since the late 80s, and closing track ‘Pain For Pleasure’ gallops ferociously along, quoting directly from Iron Maiden’s stripy Spandexed tome of heavy metal mayhem. It even finishes with the line Satan is his name for Beelzebub’s sake!

As well as all those glorious old school moments, there’s plenty there to interest a more contemporary audience. The verses of ‘Fat Lip’ recall the rapped vocal style of the Beastie Boys, while the 50-second long ‘Never Wake Up’ should satisfy those who prefer their music a touch faster than the norm. But this is essentially a pop-rock album, and the formula never wavers much from the bouncy verse/singalong chorus template. But then again, it doesn’t really need to…

So, to ‘sum’ up then (tee hee – I’m so clever in the ways of the pun), this is a great album which has far more in common with bands like Ugly Kid Joe or Mötley Crüe than it does with anything ‘punk’. My only real gripe is the fact that it’s only 32 minutes long, but if you’re looking for something loud to sing along with and bring a grin to your facial features then you could do a lot worse than this.