Deryck Whibley, the lead singer of Canadian punk pop band Sum 41, is talking about why the popular band is finally disbanding after over 25 years together.
“I’ve always had these thoughts and desires, and wondering, ‘Will I ever do something else? Do I have more to offer in life?'” Whibley said during an interview with Q. “Every time I had these thoughts of maybe doing something else, I would bury them.”
Whibley considered himself lucky to play music for a living and therefore he continued to work with the band on their new album called ‘Heaven :x: Hell’. After that, Whibley finally decided to bring things to a close.
“I sat back and I listened to it, and I thought, ‘This to me feels like the work is complete now,'” Whibley said (h/t CBC.ca). “This double record — one side pop-punk, one side heavier — from beginning to end, it encapsulates everything musically we’ve tried to do over the years.”
The decision to end the band, and the conversation about it wasn’t contentious, and Whibley describes the conversation between the 5 band members as “loving and supportive”.
“It’s not a bitter breakup,” Whibley describes. “That maybe makes it even more sad because we all really care about each other. It probably would be easier if we were mad and angry and hated each other or just never wanted to see each other again.”
The band would then make the official announcement on social media back in May 2023.
Whibley found the responses touching.
“I found that really touching, but also, I had no idea,” he said. “Telling me real stories of impact in their lives, I’d never heard that before.”
As for what’s next, the door of possibilities is wide open.
“Once I remove the safety net, and I wake up and I don’t have Sum 41 to focus on, and I’m forced to find something I’m passionate about,” Whibley says. “That’s when it’ll appear.”
