Sum 41

Sum 41's blockbuster debut, All Killer No Filler, lifted riffs from Motley Crue and the Beastie Boys to make a formidably dumb racket, but this follow-up finds the Toronto quartet reining in its spiky-haired insolence. Drawing musical inspiration from toothy metal icons Iron Maiden and Def Leppard, Does This Look Infected? is not only meatier than its predecessor, but songs like "Still Waiting," with its opening refrain of "So am I still waiting, for this world to stop hating," and "Yesterday.com" reveal social consciousness creeping in. The album is not completely deprived of the goofy skate punk that launched the band, but it provides convincing evidence that CNN has taken over from Nickelodeon as Sum 41's preferred tour bus viewing. --Aidin Vaziri

- Island