SOUND BITES

  Covid-19 has had an undeniable and major effect on all walks of life, and the music industry is certainly no exception; in an environment where bands have become more and more reliant on touring to sustain them financially, it's not surprising that a lot of bands paused their plans alongside the rest of us as the global pandemic has raged on. With all of the delays, false restarts and uncertainty, it feels like the eventual arrival of Billy Talent's sixth album has been the result of one of the longest album rollouts ever experienced. To put this into perspective, Forgiveness I + II , the album's lead single, was released in November 2019, which means the wait between that single's release and the album drop was only seven months shorter than the wait between the release of Billy Talent's first two albums. Reckless Paradise , the second single, followed in January 2020 while I Beg to Differ (This Will Get Better) came in April. So, in a way, most of the hype surr...

(NOTE: For the purposes of this review, I downloaded the "mastered for headphones" version of Afraid of Heights thanks to the voucher that came with my copy of the CD. While this is a bonus only some will take advantage of, I believe it's an incredible gesture that, in an age where more and more bands seem to care less and less about the quality of the music people like me are paying for, is deeply appreciated. So thanks to the band and Klipsch for making it possible and making it sound bloody fantastic, even though I opted instead to use my Sennheisers for the test run. Seriously though, this version of the album is a gift in more ways than one, and I can't think of many CDs I bought in the last fifteen years that wouldn't benefit from this sort of treatment.) The fifth record by Cancon mainstays Billy Talent finds them furthering the maturation process they eased into on their third and fourth LPs, while continuing to stretch their musical boundaries. In ad...

8  GREAT Afraid of Heights , title track from Billy Talent's forthcoming fifth LP, is a typical lead single on the surface; a snappy, subdued version of their familiar guitar attack, the kind of song that gives off heavy "we need a single" vibes. However, upon further inspection, it's more than that; it's a natural maturation of their core sound and the paydirt unearthed from the exploratory impulses heard on Dead Silence . More to the point (and unlike a few past singles), it's an incredibly accessible Billy Talent song that doesn't sound forced or neutered. Afraid of Heights comes out July 29. Pre-order options can be found here .

BILLY TALENT Surprise Surprise From: Dead Silence Released: September 11 Billy Talent's debut album was as exciting as it was successful, but it was also an album very much of its time; the years haven't elevated it to classic status for most but hardcore fans, and the band has struggled with diminishing returns at home (while seeing their popularity rise overseas, particularly in Germany). It reached the artistic tipping point with their third album, one that was painfully mediocre given the phenomenal quality of its first two songs ( Devil On My Shoulder and Rusted From The Rain ). Dead Silence sustains the quality longer, and makes strides in finding a balance between artistic merit and commercial viability. Their subject matter hasn't changed dramatically from their recent albums, but the sound has branched out; this is a band that's not scared to try a few new things, even at the risk of embarrassment. Fortunately, the risks are largely rewarded, esp...

Ahead of its September 11 release, Billy Talent have offered up their fourth album Dead Silence for streaming. So, let's have a listen, shall we?

Billy Talent have been slowly working away on their fourth album, which theoretically should see release later this year.  To reward fans who have been waiting for new material, they've posted up a new song called Viking Death March on their website. Now, I'm no expert on Vikings, but to me the lyrical content of the track seems to be speaking more to one percenters than ancient Norse warriors (example: "Rats fighting for scraps / Siphon the gas from your tank / Left your pockets empty / As they laughed to the bank").  Of course, the title may be an excuse for a video wherein Vikings hack one percenters to bits with axes, which would be pretty entertaining. At any rate, I'm not here to argue the literalness of the title, I'm here to give you a listen: