Band Bio and Review: Billy Talent

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With the release of their new album this summer, Billy Talent now has three albums under their belt (aptly Untitled for the first, II, and III).  Even so, many music aficionados still haven’t heard of them.  “Billy who?” they say.  “Billy TALENT!!” “That’s a pretty weird name for a band…” they add sceptically.  Trust me on this one though, from someone who loves good (key word GOOD) rock, punk, metal, blues, jazz…almost anything and everything under the sun, these guys are one of my favourites in my ever-expanding music collection. 

Let’s start at the beginning with a little biography.  Billy Talent is the band name of Ben Kowalewicz (lead singer), Jon Gallant (bass, vocals), Ian D’Sa (guitar, vocals), Aaron Solowoniuk (drums).  The quartet broke onto the Canadian scene, at least, in 2003, with the single Try Honesty off their debut album.  As always, though, there is so much more to an album than the single that is widely known.  Such angsty gems as This is How it goes and  Line and Sinker are great examples of the band’s amazing talent.  Kowalewicz screams, yells and shrieks, and he does it really well.  But unlike some other bands, where the singer is yelling so much all the time that you can’t hear a word he’s saying, Kowalewicz can actually SING.  On all three albums, the complexity and originality of the lyrics play a huge part in the music.

It’s no wonder they’re so good; they’ve been together since they were teenagers in Mississauga, Ontario.  Back then, they were known as Pezz, and all the high school kids knew of them and their legendary shows, but about 13 or 14 years ago, they switched the band name to Billy Talent. 

Billy Talent II came out in 2006, furthur proving, with a sold-out concert at Toronto’s 20,000 seat Air Canada Center, the band’s worth.  Just as fast-paced and melodic as they were on their first album, no small thanks to Solowoniuk’s snappy drums and the refined rythms of Jon Gallant’s bass.  As we all know, you can’t have a good fast song if your drummer and bassist can’t keep the beat.  Thankfully, these guys do more than just keep the beat; they add real musical depth to the songs.  At first listen, it’s D’Sa’s addictive guitar riffs and Kowalewicz’s vocals that come forward, but listen about two seconds longer and it becomes obvious that what makes them great is that ALL the guys in the band are amazing musicians, and all of their individual contributions to each track meld together in perfect harmony. 

Now, in 2009, so long after they formed their group in high school, they’re back again with their new album, III.  It’s amazing.  There’s no specific “tone” to the album; their songs range from angsty, individualistic reflections on life (Pocketful of Dreams, Definition of Destiny), to twisted tales of relationships gone wrong (Tears into Wine, Diamond on a Landmine), to the heart-wrenching White Sparrows.  Not to mention the occasional sprinkle of depressed and discouraged, comments on atrocious acts in history (The Dead Can’t Testify references the witch hunts that killed hundreds of innocent people).  It’s this versatility of emotion that makes the album so great to listen to: it’s not just about one thing, they write about whatever inspires them, and whatever can be made into a good song.  Kowalewicz changes his voice to fit the mood of the song, too, adding nuances in sound to the album.  For example, angrier and defiant on Tears into Wine, softer and incredibly sad on White Sparrows.  Listen to that song and try and tell me that his voice doesn’t make it about ten times sadder.  They pour their souls, energy and experience into every track, and that, THAT, is real quality in music.