My iPod #269: Billy Talent - Devil on My Shoulder

So yesterday I wrote about another Billy Talent track. One that starts off another of their albums. This one is about another devil but instead of it being in a midnight mass, it is now on a shoulder. The song's narrator's shoulder. It is the first song on Billy Talent's third/fourth album, and was released as its second single.

This was the one that really got me pumped up for the release of "Billy Talent III". "Turn Your Back" was the first new song that showed that the group had a new album in the works when a live performance of it at the Hurricane Festival in 2008 was uploaded onto YouTube. That was all well and good, but it would be almost a year until anticipation for the upcoming album really started rolling. "Rusted from the Rain" was released as the first official single, which I thought was okay upon first listen. It grew on me over time, but there wasn't anything particularly striking about it initially.

Then..... this happened. A trailer previewing another new song from the album. A sneaky bassline joined by Ben growling the title of the song, then followed by an assault from the guitar and drums. This was what I wanted to hear. It sounded so cool. That was "Devil on My Shoulder".

It probably should have been released as the first single. I wouldn't have had the same amount of doubts about the album if it had been. The song itself is from the perspective of someone who has very bad luck, feeling nothing but self-loathing and self-pity. In terms of its sound, it was very different to anything else that Billy Talent had released. Brendan O'Brien - who has produced albums for artists such as Rage Against the Machine, The Offspring and Pearl Jam - brings a real studio atmosphere into the album, something that was not so obvious on the albums prior to it. This was a proper hard rock song. This was no longer a band who needed to scream, or were as angry as they used to be in previous songs. Billy Talent had.... matured (eerrrr).

It had to happen one day. But "Devil on My Shoulder" was the sign that showed me that the fire was still roared in the belly of Billy Talent.

My iPod #268: Billy Talent - Devil in a Midnight Mass

The opening track to Billy Talent's second album was built upon an 'evil guitar riff' that guitarist Ian D'Sa started playing one day. Lead singer Benjamin Kowalewicz wondered what kind of evil would suit that riff, and found it one day when he read an article about a Catholic priest who was molested 150 children in the 90s and was then stabbed to death during his time in prison. As a result, one of Billy Talent's darkest songs was created. A song which gets the blood racing and sends shivers down my spine each time it plays.

The thing is - I wasn't so enthused by it when I first heard the song via its video all those years ago in 2006. Thinking about it now I am not so sure why. It was very quick, and was finished before I could absorb anything that was happening. The first time I really understood it was when I actually listened to it through my headphones - that's when it hit me.

Starting with Ian's lone menacing riff - the song explodes when the drums kick in along with an almighty "YEEEAAAAHH" from Ben. The verses describe the priest - the 'devil in a midnight mass' - whilst the pre-chorus and choruses depict the scene when the priest is killed in jail who will now sing 'silent night for the rest of [his] life.'

That is all well and... good, but the most threatening part is the last forty-five seconds of the song when the riff repeats on and on as Ben says what could possibly be the priest's last words before he dies, "Whisper, whisper, don't make a sound/Your bed is made, it's in the ground". That comes to a halt for a split second before those two phrases are ceaselessly screamed at you by Ben, Ian and the bassist Jon before climaxing with an astonishing shriek which echoes right into the next track.

This song is scary. This song is awesome. The best Billy Talent album opener. Hands down. I look at another one tomorrow though.

This is the band's impression of it when they heard the album mix for the first time.

My iPod #260: Billy Talent - Definition of Destiny

You know what I just figured out? Literally a few minutes before typing this, every last song on Billy Talent's albums from "Voices of Violence" to "Dead Silence" went through my mind. Despite differences in tempo, structure and everything - all of them are in D major... I wonder why that is. Do you think that they even realised this? Has anyone else pointed this out before? What the hell, Billy Talent, what the hell. They are all solid tracks, I have all of them on my iPod, but they have to use another key sooner or later, right?

On with today's song.

"Definition of Destiny" is the final track on Billy Talent's third album "Billy Talent III", the last of their usual Roman numerical naming order, released in 2009. Normally the last songs on Billy Talent albums are worth the wait, and the same applied to "Definition" too. It is quite similar to "Burn the Evidence" in that the instrumentation during the verses mirrors the reflective and observational lyrics, staying at a steady beat and keeping a cool rhythm with guitar arpeggios, before turning the levels up and continuing into a stomping and chord heavy chorus which puts emphasis on the intense message of living life to the full your own way before ending up in the casket. Good way to end an album all in all.

I won't say too much about listening to the album for the first time or how I felt waiting for its release; I'll probably save that for "Devil on My Shoulder". However, I will simply state my opinion which is that 'III' is not their best work. Some may agree, others may not. The album is okay, but not as good as their first two. The production is different (which is understandable as they used the same producer for the two before) but the tracks lack in something as a result. Less of a bite in guitar tone, perhaps. But most importantly.... there is barely any screaming. That was a disappointment on first listen.

My iPod #251: Billy Talent - Dead Silence

The first time I listened to the Billy Talent's fourth album "Dead Silence" (or fifth if you include their actual first album) I was lying in bed, ready to go to sleep and wake up for school the next morning. I tried to force myself to stay awake and pay attention to it, because Billy Talent are cool and it was their brand new album, but eventually I just became too tired and fell asleep about halfway through or so. However, I did regain enough consciousness to just about listen to the last few tracks.

The song is about trying to live in a time of war, with references to 'soldiers', 'machine gun fire' and 'bombs' in the lyrics, and ends with the narrator supposedly saying goodbye to his partner to join the army. Possibly. But Ian's solos, various guitar licks, Ben's passionate vocals and the pounding rhythm section of Jon and Aaron deliver a track conveying determination and hope for the future.

There is a music-during-the-credits-for-a-film vibe that I get from this track. I imagine "Swallowed Up by the Ocean" to be the music accompanying the sad ending, whilst "Dead Silence" captures the overall mood that the film delivers. I don't know why. That's just me.

My iPod #227: Billy Talent - Cut the Curtains

I just completely messed up my dinner by leaving it on the cooker for too long. I am a bit depressed now. I had to throw it in the bin; there was no way it could be salvaged. I had the same thing to eat yesterday and it was so good...... :( ffs. I think that cooker is too OP, I didn't even have it on a high flame.... I'll just cook it tomorrow.

It almost the end of the C section on my iPod, and it is getting to the year anniversary of when I actually first started this thing. Expect the 'D' (hehe) next month sometime. Late Feb.

"Cut the Curtains" is a track from Billy Talent's self-titled debut album. The ninth track on it to be exact. I first listened to the track many years ago, when I wanted to hear all the songs the band made after I'd seen them on the television when I was eight or so.

Even then it was only thirty second samples of it because I didn't know any downloading sites where you didn't have to pay. I did eventually get it as a present for my tenth/eleventh birthday, I am not too sure.

After all these years, I still enjoy this album just as much as when I first got it. "Cut the Curtains" isn't the sole reason why, it is one out of twelve songs that never diminishes on energy, volume, and overall awesomeness.

This track is quite different to the others. It uses a riff, one which I think Ian D'Sa referred to as a chicken, that is practically repeated throughout the song (intro, verses, choruses and all). It probably contains the only part on the album when a track goes quiet for a few seconds. It's not as quick and pacy as the others, but has a menacing tone and smoothness about it that you still have to move about to it. It's cool.

The subject matter.... Artifice in a relationship? Maybe? Just a guess.

My iPod #223: Billy Talent - Crooked Minds

Good times were had last night. Moving from one place to another, plenty of loud music and dancing was involved. I can remember it all too which is a bonus. So as I sit here on my desk, reminiscing and waiting for the second half of the Arsenal game to start, I bring you the first post of two for today.

"Dead Silence" is Billy Talent's fourth album, released in September 2012. It brought to an end their "Billy Talent (enter roman numeral here)" naming system that the band had used for their first three albums, but it also brought forward some new ideas and sounds too. Ian D'Sa - the guitarist with the Paul-from-Tekken-like haircut - handled the album's production, there is the of a piano in one of their songs, it also includes two of the most 'poppiest' (don't like that word) tracks I think the band have done. I listened to it when it became available on Spotify, and it was "Crooked Minds" that really grabbed my attention.

With a message similar to "Red Flag's", something along the lines of how 'the kids' of today will rise up, cast off the shackles and fight to right the wrongs of the government, "Crooked Minds" reminded me of the material from "Billy Talent II". That album, for me, is my second favourite.... but only marginally. By the skin of my teeth. But "Crooked Minds" just had the energy that that album had, and what was missing, I feel, on "Billy Talent III".

Actually, that's a bit unfair. "Billy Talent II" is great as well..... I'll save that for another day.

I think it is that "Yeah" that Ben screams/yells at the start that certified it for me. "Devil in a Midnight Mass".....-esque, you could say.

My iPod #214: Billy Talent - Covered in Cowardice

Ah, Billy Talent II. Almost eight years old now, my god. I know Billy Talent's debut album turned ten in September last year, but I actually remember the lead up towards this album. I was eleven, the "Red Flag" demo was on the band's MySpace as well as Burnout Revenge, the band's website design had changed from the glowing red and yellow design to the simple yet powerful white . I can see it all. Where does the time go?

For a while, before it was actually released, the band uploaded the album onto their official website. Now I don't know whether it was my computer, but for some reason the track lengths that appeared were much longer than the actual duration of the song. I would be waiting there for a minute and a half through silence until it changed to the next. Sometimes it wouldn't play at all.

Nevertheless it was on the band's site, their MySpace profile or some other website that I was able to listen to the album in full. "Covered in Cowardice" was a track that I really liked when I first owned the physical copy. Ian's guitar playing is as flawless as ever, and it still baffles me how he can do the work of two separate guitarists on one lone guitar. He'll be playing a lick on the three high strings before pulling off a riff on the lower three, it's very difficult to tell where you'll end up next. There is plenty of that on this song. That's one reason why I like it so much.

Essentially, it's a song about Internet trolls/cyber-bullying. Ben doesn't stand for that shit, calling them 'bitter pricks' and... cowards, obviously. There's also screaming in the track, which is a thing the lead singer seems to have left in the past for now. I miss screaming in Billy Talent songs.

My iPod #148: Billy Talent - Burn the Evidence

"Burn the Evidence" is the closing track from Billy Talent's second album, "Billy Talent II", released in 2006.

By that time I'd been listening to Billy Talent for about a year or so, but it was only their material from their first album. When were they going to release something new? Well, it was when they uploaded their demo for "Red Flag" on their myspace page that I found out that something was coming pretty soon. It was an exciting time.

"Billy Talent II" came out and for me was just as good as their first. The band had a lot less anger in their sound but you could sense that it was still there. The album cover summed up that statement.

"Burn the Evidence" describes the scene of a man who drives a luxury Sedan, crashes and plummets through the windshield. It's unclear whether this is intentional. I thought it was. Users on songmeanings.com say otherwise. It seems to me that the narrator was also built up for great expectations, those didn't go as planned and so he kills himself. It's not a sad song though. The instrumentation is delivered with determination and the lyrics depict a person thinking forward instead of feeling pity on himself. Whatever it is, it's a very good closer for an album.

Did you know it's in the same key as "Living in the Shadows"? I'm very sure they are the same structurally too. I sing the bridge from "Shadows" to the instrumental break in "Burn the Evidence" all the time. They are very similar.

Jamie.

My iPod #97: Pezz (Billy Talent) - Bird in the Basement

"Bird in the Basement" is the title of this song by Billy Talent when they were in their Pezz phase, but the phrase doesn't appear at all. It's not sung by anyone, no one in the studio says it or anything. It's the same for the rest of the songs on the album. Maybe it's a phrase that only the members of the band are able to get. They probably won't play any of "Watoosh!" any time soon though, so we'll never know.

I mentioned how I came to own "Watoosh!" in my post for "Absorbed", the last track of the album. However, I knew about the album since I was about ten years old. A Billy Talent fan uploaded the songs on their fan site but they were in terrible quality, and were eitther in wma or wav files. I just didn't listen to this song until my sister bought the album for me in 2009. I think the link for it was broken.

As for the meaning of the song, it's quite hard to say. I'm thinking it's about a relationship where the couple feel that 'everything is fake' around them even though to other people, they are the problem. They are oblivious to the whole situation though, and look forward to sticking with one another when everything turns to crap.

This is my one hundredth post. Hooray! To anyone who reads this, thank you. You are the reason why I feel like I haven't been wasting my time since February, when I started this thing.

Until tomorrow.

Jamie.

My iPod #78: Billy Talent - Beach Balls

I've known this song for a long time, and it has never bored me once.

Billy Talent is one of my favourite bands ever. From the day when I first saw "River Below" on TV when I was eight, I needed to find more about them. I did. I never looked back.

"Beach Balls" is a song that was originally released on the "Try Honesty EP" in 2001 - I'm thinking this was the time when the band was looking for a label to sign to. It can also be found as a bonus track on some releases of "Billy Talent II" from 2006.

So when I became interested in Billy Talent in 2004, I wanted to find the lyrics to their songs so I could sing along to them. Letssingit was the first site to come up as a result on Google, and it was there that the lyrics to all their songs from the first album were listed. Furthermore, it was there that the lyrics for "Beach Balls" were listed; it wasn't on the album, and I didn't know Wikipedia existed at the time so I had no idea what this song was or how to find it. It could have been a song wrongly associated to the band for all I knew.

That was until I found a download link for the song on one of the many Billy Talent fansites that were around. As soon as the song started I knew that there was something different about the sound. Billy Talent's first album is very angry, there's a lot of screaming and hard rocking instrumentation. On "Beach Balls", the sound is much more peppy. You have a Spanish-sounding guitar riff that plays and carries on during the verses. There's no screaming on this song at all, which is something I really like the band for, but it's still a really cool track to listen to.

Then it only struck me recently how the structure of the song is very similar those found on the album "Watoosh!" when the band were called Pezz. (Which is a brilliant album, they should play those songs live some time). For those who haven't listened to songs on that album, the structure is basically:

Intro - Verse - Chorus - Verse - Chorus - Break - Sound of the song you've been listening to for the first half completely changes - One or two lines are sung which are then repeated until the song ends

So I can only assume that this song was performed when the band were still Pezz, but was released when the band changed their name.

The song is great though. Even if it's not Billy Talent, it still is. If you know what I mean.

Until tomorrow.

Jamie.

My iPod #4: Pezz (Billy Talent) - Absorbed

Hey hey hey heeeeeey.

Billy Talent is one of my favourite bands too. They/it is a band that, again, I could dedicate a whole blog to. Just because all of their albums are of a very high standard, and their songs are brilliant.

I am very bias, I've been listening to them for years. But..... they're just so good.

"Watoosh!" was their actual first album. I know, I know what you may be thinking..... "A band called Billy Talent. That's a pretty slick name...... But what the fuck is 'Watoosh!' What the fuck does that even mean?"

I don't know what it means either. But I know that before Billy Talent were called Billy Talent, they went by the name of 'Pezz'. See, that kind of makes it a bit better now right?

I got my sister to download 'Watoosh!' back in 2009 on Amazon, using my aunt's credit card. It's fine. My aunt's pretty loaded.

I had heard the first three songs, and their cover of 'New Orleans Is Sinking' by The Tragically Hip waaaaay back when I was younger, and I knew that Pezz's sound was very different from Billy Talent's sound..... but it still rocked. So I thought why the hell not?

This song is pretty much the last actual song of the album, even if it is followed up by an instrumental and the aforementioned cover.

I feel a lot of emotions from listening to the song. The first two minutes and a half are quite upbeat, the lyrics in the chorus give off a sense of optimism - looking foward to the future: 'I tried, I lied, but through the waves I'll find, yeah through the waves I'll fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiind.' Very happy. It makes me feel all warm, deep inssiiidde.

And then things take a turn, not for the worst, but the whole song just changes. The singer starts whispering words under his breath, as the rest of the instruments take a break... to ease things up a bit. And from then on, layers and layers of guitar just build on and on, until the band is just rocking and the last lyrics 'I'LL RIDE YOU OOUUUUUUTTTTTT' are repeated and belted out with sheer determination. It's awesome! It's good stuff.

'Watoosh!' is a good album. Very good. I realised that most of the songs all go by the same structure. If you listen to it, you may realise this too. But's that's not bad! The structure works. The songs are all different, however similar they may be. If that makes sense. And I like all of the songs, some more than others, but...... yeah. 'Sall good.

It's probably for the best that there was another band at the time called 'Pezz'. Then they wouldn't have had to change their name and I wouldn't have 'TRY HONESTY, TRY HONESTY!' in my life.

Until next time.

Jamie.