Source: Album Artwork
It’s actually staggering that it has been almost four years since Ontario rock quartet Billy Talent have released a full studio record. However, the time is upon us at last. Album number five is finally here, and Billy are reaching for the skies with Afraid Of Heights.
Walking blind into this record, you can just tell instantly it’s from Billy Talent. The signature guitar tone is there and the masterful vocal work of Benjamin Kowalewicz still lives with equally as much balls that were present way back in the early noughties. Afraid Of Heights feels incredibly organic. None of that overproduced robotic nappy filler. The bass lines are so thick they’re practically chewable like in ‘Big Red Gun’, and tracks like ‘The Crutch’ and ‘February Winds’ have some killer guitar work from resident hair enthusiast Ian D’Sa.
Overall the track list is incredibly layered. We’ve got punk rock bangers, dance party anthems, even powerful guitar ballads. Afraid Of Heights has it all. The variation between tracks keeps the record fresh and alive. There are callbacks to the old with ‘Ghost Ship Of The Cannibal Rats’ being reminiscent of the Billy Talent II era. ‘Rabbit Down The Hole’ would feel equally at home on Billy Talent III, whereas new tracks like ‘Louder Than The DJ’ and ‘Afraid Of Heights’ really help sculpt this new identity for the record, showing that Billy Talent still have so much more to give.
Stand out tracks from the release for us would have to be ‘Time-Bomb Ticking Away’ for the lighting fast lyric fuelled bridge alone, and the powerful chorus of ‘This Is Our War’ almost feels like a sequel to ‘Kingdom Of Zod’, Billy Talent coming back with the fuck the system vibes!
As a whole then Afraid Of Heights is a completely solid release that perfectly revives the spirit of one of the world’s favoruite punk rock acts. The songs all pop with their own individual flair without straying away from what makes Billy Talent such a loveable band to begin with. If we had to pick one thing we would change about the record it would be perhaps the inclusion of a slightly heavier track, we’re talking ‘Devil In A Midnight Mass’ levels of heavy or something along those lines. However we still cannot wait to see some of these new bangers performed live, especially after their incredible performance at this year’s Download Festival. Finally we’d just like to wish Aaron Solowoniuk a very speedy recovery. You’ve got this brother; we’ll see you back behind the kit before you know it.
