September 16, 2003 - Billy Talent and Billy Talent

A day after my last release a new band joins my library when Billy Talent released their debut album "Billy Talent" on September 16, 2003. But who is Billy Talent? They are a four-piece alternative rock band from Mississauga, Ontario consisting of Benjamin Kowalewicz (lead vocals), Ian D'Sa (guitar, vocals), Jonathan Gallant (bass) and Aaron Solowoniuk (drums). Billy Talent play an interesting style of rock that is pop-punk at times, but Kowalewicz also does some nice high screaming and some even categorize them as post-hardcore (though I wouldn't go that far). Let's see what Billy Talent is all about!

The albu begins with "This Is How It Goes" and D'Sa leads the way with a fast and pretty catchy guitar riff. Kowalewicz sings a solid verse in his very unique , pretty high voice and he goes full scream in the pretty sweet chorus. The guitar is catchy and cool and Kowalewicz sounds awesome belting out the chorus in a super high voice. After another solid round Kowalewicz sings a new verse and he holds some decent longer notes showing he has a solid singing voice as well. I thought this was a nice, upbeat introduction to Billy Talent! Up next is "Living In The Shadows" and D'Sa leads the way with another pretty catchy and cool main riff (words will not do justice as the album goes on; he writes all kinds of upbeat, catchy yet very cool stuff). The rhythm section nicely slams in to back him and Kowalewicz sings a nice high verse overtop. He hits some more great high screams in the chorus and in-between each of his lines D'Sa sings "when you're living in the shadows" in a lower backing voice that nicely breaks things up. D'Sa's vocals are nothing special honestly, but the back-and-forth is done very well. After the next round D'Sa switches to a new riff that is fast and pretty cool and Kowalewicz sings a nice new verse to match before they return for a heavy chorus to finish things off. Track 3 is the album's lead single and one of Billy Talent's most popular songs "Try Honesty" and as usual D'Sa is the backbone of things with yet another fast and really cool main riff. It slows down and speeds up, but everything is very smooth and catchy and it's hard not to bang your head along! Kowalewicz sings a slow verse that fits the mood perfectly and he holds lots of solid longer notes. The chorus is faster and Kowalewicz and D'Sa alternate vocals once again, and again it sounds pretty good! Kowalewicz's great, high vocals balance nicely with D'Sa's lower, punk-y backing vocals and I can't help but sing along, it's really catchy! After another round they heavily slam into a fantastic new part with some really cool.and hard-hitting guitar and some phenomenal high screams as well! They nicely bring it back for a final chorus and this was an excellent tune, especially for a single! Great way to break onto the scene with your first single! The next track is "Line & Sinker" and Kowalewicz is belting out some high screams right from the get-go as they start with the chorus. D'Sa continues to alternate with Kowalewicz in the chorus and once again they combine very nicely together and it's a very in-your-face chorus! They break nicely into the verse which is slower but led by some cool melodic guitar by D'Sa and Kowalewicz sounds great showing off his whole vocal range by going up and down lots of times, and pf course his high stuff is really good! After another catchy chorus, verse and chorus they shift to a groovy new riff as D'Sa is just exploding with all kinds of catchy and awesome guitar riffs. Kowalewicz starts a new part quietly, but that just makes the heavy slam and ensuing piercing screams sound even louder and better! This is a contender for my favourite song on the album, it's relentless, yet Groovy and catchy! Track 5 is "Lies" and D'Sa leads the way with a slower but still plenty catchy riff and Kowalewicz sings a slightly pop-y and pretty catchy verse overtop. Things get a little louder in the chorus but it's the same riff as the rest of the song and Kowalewicz sings a decent but repetitive chorus. After another round there's a brief new part that follows the same idea, then they predictably wrap things up. Easily thr weakest song so far, but still decent! Up next is another single called "The Ex" and D'Sa has yet another super catchy and cool riff for us to carry the weight and as I predicted, words are falling short because they are all unique and very interesting, not like my writing. Kowalewicz sings a pretty emo verse that is a little whiny, but the music is solid and they build nicely into another loud chorus. Kowalewicz shouts rather than screams but still sounds pretty good and Solowoniuk is playing some nice fast drums in this pretty rockin' chorus. After another round there's a cool little guitar break that I wouldn't quite call a solo, then a final chorus to finish off this short single. Track 7 was another big single titled "River Below" and D'Sa continues to pump out cool and catchy guitar riffs and he nicely alternates with Kowalewicz in the verse as Ian shouts in a solid lower voice and Benjamin hits his usual higher notes. The chorus is super catchy as well and it's hard not to sing along as Kowalewicz holds more nice long notes. Aside from Benjamin nicely screaming the name of the song a few times, they largely stick to the main drag, but it's a very catchy and smooth main drag and it's easy to see why this was a single. The next track is "Standing In The Rain" and D'Sa plays a slower but nice and loud chorus riff before they settle into a quieter verse with Kowalewicz singing nicely in a lower voice at first. His voice and the music pick up as they nicely ramp into the loud chorus and Kowalewicz sounds great singing some fast stuff in another pretty catchy chorus. There's a short instrumental break where a solo would've fit perfectly, but the opportunity is wasted and they just quickly return to the main drag for a solid, but predictable finish. Track 9 is "Cut The Curtains" and Gallant plays some Groovy bass on this one along with a similarly groovy guitar riff by D'Sa that nicely leads the way. Kowalewicz fits the mood perfectly with a nice verse and they ramp nicely into the chorus once again where Kowalewicz shouts the chorus and then D'Sa repeats it shortly afterwards. After another decent round D'Sa does deliver a little solo that is decently epic, then they quiet things right down to a silence, only to nicely slam into the final chorus. Up next is "Prisoners Of Today" and D'Sa's guitar riff is fast and pretty cool and once the rhythm section comes slamming in behind him things sound pretty headbangingly good! Kowalewicz spits out a fast and cool verse overtop and I like this fast and upbeat vibe they've got going! The chorus has Kowalewicz and D'Sa both shouting simultaneously and I think it sounds awesome! They stick to the main drag, bit it's a pretty great verse and chorus so I don't mind one bit and still think this is a very strong song! Track 11 was a massive single called "Nothing To Lose" and it's easily the whiniest and most emo song on the album. Kowalewicz jumps right into a slow and sappy verse about being lonely and bullied at school overtop a solid but fittingly sad-sounding guitar riff by D'Sa. D'Sa adds bits of solid backing vocals but the chorus is super sappy and this is definitely not the Billy Talent I want to hear, I'm glad it's just the one song on the album that is this whiny. The final song on the album is "Voices Of Violence" and it's got a super fast, almost punk-y chorus riff that they jump right into that sounds pretty cool, then they shift into a catchy stop-and-start riff for the verse as Kowalewicz nicely sings in the gaps between the music and things sound pretty cool! They return to the fast, punk-y chorus riff and D'Sa sings some pretty solid backing vocals tonkeep the pace while Kowalewicz is screaming his head off all over the place and I love all of it so much! After another fantastic round they move into a completely new verse with a new direction that nicely changes things up, then it smoothly ties back into the chorus as we get a couple nice prog shifts! This was an awesome song and great way to wrap things up!

That is the end of "Billy Talent" and I thought it was a pretty awesome debut album by Billy Talent! These guys are exploding with catchy and great music and vocals and they absolutely nail their unique blend of rock, punk, emo and hardcore. There are a ton of great songs on this album and I can't wait to see how Billy Talent follow it up!