After more than two decades in the music industry, Canadian rockers Sum 41 strolled through Saskatoon earlier this week to perform at the Saskatoon Exhibition, discuss their seventh studio album, and prove they have no plans to turn down the volume anytime soon.

The Grammy-nominated and Juno-award-winning rockers travelled to the bridge city for the summer event, allowing CTV Morning Live a chance to reflect on the band’s impressive history with guitarist Dave Baksh and bassist Jason “Cone” McCaslin.

Notes of nostalgia are palpable between the two band members, as the group rounds out 23 years together and will soon be closing in on a significant 25-year anniversary. While the band says that they do not currently have any celebratory plans in place for the milestone, Baksh says they are incredibly grateful for having come so far.

“To be honest, we didn’t plan past 10, so any day past 10 years for any band alive is an absolute gift.”

Over the course of those 23 years, the Ajax, Ont. rockers have logged their fair share of travel hours, hitting the road for endless amounts of tour time, both nationally and globally. One of the group’s favourite claims to fame? Making it through 300 shows in the year 2001.

“Now, we’re approaching our 40s, so we try not to do 300 shows a year… maybe like 250,” says Cone.

As far as local presence, the guys admit that they have been a bit distant over the years, but are excited to be back in Saskatoon.

“We were trying to figure out the last time we played a show here, and I actually can’t remember,” says Cone.

So, what’s on the band’s set list as of late? Classic recognizable tracks such as Fat Lip, In Too Deep, and Perfect, mixed in with plenty of new material from the group’s latest album, Order in Decline, which was released on July 19. Their seventh studio album is a far cry from their notorious punk days of the past and is being described as the group’s heaviest sounding collection to date.

Well known for changing their sound over the years, the band regards the often-feared risk in the music industry of altering genres.

“We know it’s not popular to go heavy,” says Cone. “But we’re not going to do something we’re not into… we’re just big rock music fans.”

Baksh followed up, saying: “Lyrically, we get affected by the world around us… It’s just been a natural progression for Sum 41.”

Not one to shy away from throwing stones at authority, the album includes its fair share of tracks which feature commentary on the current political environment – although the band doesn’t name anyone.

“It’s not about telling people how to think… it’s more about just telling them what we think,” says Baksh.

The question that remains on everyone’s mind about the group: What exactly is 41 the sum of? Turns out, it’s nothing but a summer memory, locked in as the band name during a 1996 trip to the Warped Tour when frontman Deryck Whibley noted that it was the 41st day of summer. Of the name’s origin, Cone states: “Every band needs to have a story about the name… That story’s not very good, but that’s what we’re going with.”

Order in Decline is available now on most streaming platforms.