Sum 41 has hit the road

UNDERCLASS HERO, the fourth full-length album by Island Records group Sum 41, debuted today at #7 on Billboard’s Top 200 Album Chart with sales of over 44,000 units. In addition to this being the highest US chart debut for the multi-platinum act (the band’s 2004 release, Chuck, debuted at #10), UNDERCLASS HERO also entered the Japanese chart at #1 last week, with sales of 65,000.

In an unprecedented move to launch UNDERCLASS HERO, prior to release Sum 41 performed the new album live in its entirety on their website, which can be accessed at www.sum41.com. The band – who appeared recently on NBC’s Tonight Show with Jay Leno – took 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.”

Sum 41 is now in Australia for dates in Melbourne (tonight) 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 ON TOUR
Aug. 1 Melbourne, Australia
Metro Nightclub
w/Yellowcard

3 Sydney, Australia
Luna Park
w/Yellowcard

11 Tokyo, Japan
Summer Sonic Fest
w/Fall Out Boy, Avril Lavigne, Black Eyed Peas, Offspring, and more

12 Osaka, Japan
Summer Sonic Fest
(same as above)

14 St. Louis, MO
Verizon Wireless Amph.
Warped Tour

15 Bonner Springs, KS
Verizon Wireless
Warped Tour

17 Portland, OR
Rose Quarter
AST Dew Tour

19 Las Vegas, NV
House of Blues

22 Fresno, CA
Selland Arena
Warped Tour

23 Sacramento, CA
Sleep Train Amphitheatre
Warped Tour

24 San Diego, CA
Coors Amphitheater
Warped Tour

25 Carson, CA
Home Depot Center
Warped Tour

Sept. 8 Portland, ME
The Station

9 Boston, MA
Avalon Ballroom
w/Yellowcard

10 Providence, RI
Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel
w/Yellowcard

11 Lancaster, PA
Chameleon
w/Yellowcard

13 Denver, CO
Red Rocks Amphitheater
w/ Rise Against, Silverstein, Comeback Kid

15 Cleveland, OH
House of Blues
w/Yellowcard

17 Pittsburgh, PA
Rex Theatre
w/Yellowcard

18 Washington, DC
9:30 Club
w/Yellowcard

20 Sayreville, NJ
Starland Ballroom

21 Philadelphia, PA
The Trocadero

23 Rochester, NY
Water Street Music Hall

26 Detroit, MI
St. Andrews Hall

27 Grand Rapids, MI
The Intersection

28 Chicago, IL
Metro

29 Louisville, KY
Waterfront Park
WLRS Fest