What I have always loved about Billy Talent is the band’s seemingly endless energy. Ben Kowalewicz has one of the most distinctive vocals in modern rock music and when you combine his passionate yelp with searing guitars you end up with some vicious anthems – ‘Devil In A Midnight Mass’ and ‘Fallen Leaves’ are just two of the songs that have helped to catapult BT to one of Canada’s biggest acts. And with two other albums under their belts – and a whopping 60,000 sales of ‘II’ in the UK alone – you could easily argue there’s some expectation on the band’s shoulders.
Which leaves me ever-so-slightly disappointed with ‘III’. At times this record is very, very impressive – ‘Saint Veronika’ is everything we’ve come to expect from the band – but overall I feel like the energy is missing. Lead-off single ‘Rusted From The Rain’ just feels a little restrained, as if the band have focussed a little too much on getting the perfect sound (which they’ve almost done as Brendan O’Brien has really surpassed himself on this record, it sounds massive).
It’s still a decent album though. ‘Tears Into Wine’ has a really big hook, ‘Pocketful of Dreams’ is very catchy and clean sounding, while ‘Turn Your Back’ has a fun little riff and singalong verse and chorus. When Billy Talent do what they do best, they’re such a fun band. They make you sing along with gusto and their energy is infectious. Which makes it all the more baffling for songs such as ‘White Sparrows’ which don’t hit the spot.
When ‘Devil On My Shoulder’ first leapt out of my speakers I was a little underwhelmed. I think that kind of sums up my overall feeling about this record. It’s good, but it’s not as good as the previous two albums. When it’s good, it’s great – but there’s just something missing and, for me, that’s the passion and energy which made the band so good originally.