Billy Talent (album)
Billy Talent is the debut studio album of Canadian rock band Billy Talent, after their first, Watoosh!, was released under their old name of Pezz in 1999.
| Billy Talent | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 16, 2003 | |||
| Recorded | December 2002 The Factory, Vancouver[1] | |||
| Genre | Punk rock, post-hardcore, pop punk, alternative rock, emo | |||
| Length | 41:04 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Producer | Gavin "Golden" Brown | |||
| Billy Talent chronology | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
![]() Cover of the 10th anniversary edition | ||||
| Singles from Billy Talent | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| The Daily Princetonian | (favorable)[3] |
| Decoy Music | |
| Ottawa XPress | |
| Q Magazine | |
| Rock Hard | 9.5/10[7] |
| Sputnikmusic | |
Commercial performance
Billy Talent debuted at number 6 on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 7,700 copies in its first week.[9] The album was certified four-time platinum in Canada in January 2021. Between 1996 and 2016, Billy Talent was among the top 15 best-selling albums by Canadian bands in Canada and among the top 40 best-selling albums by Canadian artists overall in Canada.[10]
Reception
In 2005, Billy Talent was ranked number 453 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.[11]
BT Turns 10
On August 2013, Billy Talent announced a Canadian tour for fall of that year entitled "A Return to the Roots", in which they played their entire first self-titled album live to celebrate its 10th anniversary.[12] Soon after the tour, the band announced a 10th anniversary reissue of the album, released on November 26, 2013 through Warner Bros. Records, that features a bonus disc of rare demos and live recordings of the album's track list.[13]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Billy Talent.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "This Is How It Goes" | 3:27 |
| 2. | "Living in the Shadows" | 3:15 |
| 3. | "Try Honesty" | 4:13 |
| 4. | "Line & Sinker" | 3:37 |
| 5. | "Lies" | 2:58 |
| 6. | "The Ex" | 2:40 |
| 7. | "River Below" | 2:59 |
| 8. | "Standing in the Rain" | 3:20 |
| 9. | "Cut the Curtains" | 3:50 |
| 10. | "Prisoners of Today" | 3:53 |
| 11. | "Nothing to Lose" | 3:38 |
| 12. | "Voices of Violence" | 3:10 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "This Is How It Goes" (demo) | 3:08 |
| 2. | "Living in the Shadows" (demo) | 3:15 |
| 3. | "Try Honesty" (demo) | 4:05 |
| 4. | "Line & Sinker" (live at Nova Rock Festival) | 4:51 |
| 5. | "Lies" (live acoustic) | 3:05 |
| 6. | "The Ex" (demo) | 2:36 |
| 7. | "River Below" (live at the Orange Lounge) | 3:00 |
| 8. | "Standing in the Rain" (live at Metalworks) | 3:34 |
| 9. | "Cut the Curtains" (demo) | 3:38 |
| 10. | "Prisoners of Today" (demo) | 3:43 |
| 11. | "Nothing to Lose" (live at Phillipshalle) | 3:59 |
| 12. | "Voices of Violence" (live at Norwegian Wood Festival) | 3:20 |
Chart positions
| Chart | Position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[14] | 38 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)[15] | 6 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16] | 97 |
| UK Albums | 124 |
| US Billboard 200[17] | 194 |
| US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[18] | 11 |
Personnel
- Benjamin Kowalewicz – lead vocals
- Ian D'Sa – guitar, vocals, art direction, package design
- Jonathan Gallant – bass guitar, vocals
- Aaron Solowoniuk – drums
Appearances
- The song "Line & Sinker" can be heard in the 2003 movie Grind but is not included on the official soundtrack CD.
- The song "Nothing to Lose" is in the Polish film Sala Samobójców ("Suicide Room").
- The song "Try Honesty" was featured as the episode title for Degrassi: The Next Generation in season 10, episode 11 and 12 (part 1 & 2)
References
- Bliss, Karen, "Billy Talent", Access Magazine (February 2003 – March 2003), archived from the original on June 12, 2010
- AllMusic review
- "The Daily Princetonian review". Archived from the original on April 27, 2005. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- Quote on decoymusic.com Review With Broken Link
- Ottawa XPress review Archived February 27, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- Q Magazine December 2003, p. 120
- Himmelstein, Andreas. "Rock Hard". issue 198. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
- Boy, Davey. "Billy Talent Billy Talent". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
- "Billy Talent debuts in Top 10". Archived from the original on November 7, 2004. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
- "NIELSEN MUSIC & BILLBOARD PRESENT CANADA 150 CHARTS" (PDF). bdsradio.com. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
- Best of Rock & Metal - Die 500 stärksten Scheiben aller Zeiten (in German). Rock Hard. 2005. p. 27. ISBN 3-89880-517-4.
- "Billy Talent Celebrate 10th Anniversary of Debut Album with Canadian Tour". exclaim.ca. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- "Billy Talent Give Self-Titled Debut Expanded Reissue for 10th Anniversary". exclaim.ca. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- "Austriancharts.at – Billy Talent – Billy Talent" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
- "Billy Talent Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
- "Offiziellecharts.de – Billy Talent – Billy Talent" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
- "Billy Talent Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
- "Billy Talent Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 28, 2020.

