From the first string of distorted notes on “This is How it Goes,” to the last abrupt snare fill on “Voices of Violence,” Billy Talent’s self-titled debut album remains their most hard-hitting and distinctive album to date. The recent release the band’s fifth studio album Afraid of Heights has us longing for their early days of contrasting call-and-response vocals and fast riff-based rock.
Billy Talent is littered with hits like “Try Honesty,” “River Below,” “The Ex,” and “Nothing to Lose,” but every song on the record seamlessly flows from one catchy guitar progression to the next, creating a more cohesive and mature body of work than one would expect looking at their angsty teenage fan base.
For many of us growing up in the early 2000s, this was the album that our parents just didn’t understand—and that made it even more enticing to blast throughout the entire house.
Photo courtesy of Billy Talent.