Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley has claimed the band’s new LP ’13 Voices’ has "saved" his life.
The 36-year-old rocker, who has suffered with on-going alcohol abuse in the past, credits the new release for getting him through the rough patch, which at its worst saw his body "shut down", after he spent a week in intensive care for severe liver and kidney problems.
Speaking of the pop punk band’s new release, he said: "I am really excited to be releasing an album after everything I’ve been through recently. This new music represents the journey I’ve been on throughout the process of making this record. I had to fall in order to rise, and nothing feels better than to have something you love that you had to really fight for. I can honestly say that ’13 Voices’ saved my life and I cannot wait to share it with all of you."
The record came together after Deryck had a four-month stint in hospital and had to learn how to walk and learn to play his guitar, which gave his life "purpose", again.
He said: "I had to learn how to do everything again – my motor skills, learning how to play guitar again… I couldn’t even walk at the time. It was really difficult, but at the same time if I didn’t have a record to make, I don’t think I would have recovered as quickly. Writing music gave me a purpose. I had to get better."
Meanwhile, Deryck – who has been married two times – previously revealed he was "lucky to be alive" after he hit the bottle hard.
He said: "The doctors said I was lucky to be alive and that there was still a chance I could die. I do look back and think about how much worse it could have been.
"I could have had way more health problems than I had, but my liver is fine! Everything shut down before any more damage could happen. To walk out of there alive, without cirrhosis or needing transplants, you know, it could have been worse."
The ‘In Too Deep’ hitmakers will release the follow-up to 2011’s ‘Screaming Bloody Murder’ on October 7.
The full track listing for Sum 41’s ’13 Voices’ is as follows:
1. ‘A Murder of Crows (You’re All Dead To Me)’
2. ‘Goddamn I’m Dead Again’
3. ‘Fake My Own Death’
4. ‘Breaking The Chain’
5. ‘There Will Be Blood’
6. ’13 Voices’
7. ‘War’
8. ‘God Save Us All (Death to POP)’
9. ‘The Fall And The Rise’
10. ‘Twisted By Design’