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"It doesnt pop into my head that often, but it was a really difficult time," Whibley says, five years after the ordeal that hospitalized him for a month, his liver and kidneys having collapsed due to excessive alcohol intake. He sits next to me now, healthier than ever.
Recently, he's channeled his energy into Order in Decline, the band's seventh album, which will be released in July. Fast-paced and guitar-heavy, the album feels more metal-inspired than anything Sum 41 has put out before. The frenetic lead single "Out for Blood" might even occasionally reach the sing-along highs of 2001's "Fat Lip."
But before Order in Decline and the band's previous album, 13 Voices-which Whibley began writing while hospitalized-the singer's health was standing in the way of his music.
Whibley brought the world in on his health issues in a 2014 blog post titled "Rock Bottom," where he shared the harrowing update on his condition, along with a few photos of him during his hospitalization. "if i have one drink the docs say i will die," he wrote. "im not preaching or anything but just always drink responsibly. i didnt, and look where that got me. (i never thought i would ever say that! haha)"
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Celebrities Visit Build - May 31, 2019
Today, he's sitting in the penthouse of the Hotel on Rivington on New York City's Lower East Side. In late May, the weather's just started to heat up, but Whibley is dressed in all black nonetheless: a black jacket, black jeans, and dark black sunglasses.
He says his recovery took a long time, but every year he feels "better and better and better."
"Now I feel the best I've ever felt," Whibley says. "It just keeps getting better. I dont really know how else to explain it, other than I feel like I have more energy, and I feel stronger than I did when I was 19."
He's adopted self-care techniques that weren't around during the band's heyday ("It just seems like being healthy is... cool," he says at one point), including physical therapy for a chronic back injury. The herniated disc has troubled him since 2007, and before his hospital stay, he medicated himself differently.
"All of a sudden, I was drinking when I had pain, and when I wasnt partying, and then I would go party later," he says. "Through the day it was maintenance, and then the night for fun, and it just cycled. Thats how it all took me down."
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Pinkpop Festival : Day Three
Getting sober was a slow process, and an exercise in patience for a singer so used to the fast-paced life of a rock star, both on and off the stage. "I needed new music," he said. "I had to get out there and play."
By the time he returned to the stage, he admittedly wasn't where he needed to be. But the energy of a crowd powered that final nudge.
"Being on stage when I wasnt fully ready... Id say I was about 70% ready? Thats what I needed to get that last 30%. I had to be on stage," he said, reflecting on his long-awaited return. "I couldnt do it just working on some exercises at home-I had to get out there on stage, and really push myself."
With a new album around the corner, and a huge lexicon of music in their repertoire, Sum 41 is churning along, strong as ever. "Out for Blood" is nearing 3 million streams on Spotify already, and the song's music video has over 2 million views on YouTube.
Sum 41 has been a band for 23 years, and Whibley has absolutely no vision of slowing down anytime soon. "The cycle continues," he says. "I think were still too in love with what we do to slow down."
If coming within an inch of death didnt stop him, why would anything else?