There were two CDs I bought my son for his thirteenth birthday back in September. The first one was a classic, that both he and I got to discover together. The other is a brand new CD from a band that my entire family loves.Billy Talent's Dead Silence was released September 11, 2012, and it would seem that I bought it that week, not even knowing that it was out until I accidently stumbled across it, and gave it to my son the following week for his birthday.
Let me start by pointing out that I'm surprised that the band actually took the time to name this album. I really figured we'd be getting a Billy talent IV, which is why they probabbly didn't do it. Too many dumbasses now a days don't know their Roman numerals. After that there aren't too many surprises.
Lonely Road To Absolution opens up the album, with a track that is a bit surprising. It's like the album is opened with a little ditty. It's like a scene out of a Charles Dickens movie.
Viking Death March, it would seem, was the first single to come off this album (almost four months before the album came out) and has so far peaked at #3 on the Canadian Rock/Alternative charts. Although, I don't know why they are getting mixed in with that Alternative crap. These guys are Rock. But I digress. This is one of those tracks that gets the heart pumping and has a call to arms for the average man. Also, I love the line "Down on your knees you don't look so tall!"
So, you got a car. You're on the 401. This one comes on the stereo, and you have only one choice. Surprise Surprise, is meant to gun it full throttle and laugh your way to eternity. The verses aren't so much where the speed comes from, but the pre-chorus and chorus are full out balls to the wall, muscle car mayhem. I will be cranking this track for years.
There's something just basically Rock about Runnin' Across the Tracks, but the band makes it work. It's got some great riffing, a lot of open space filled only with the drum's tempo, and a chorus that has a whole lot of tempo to it.
I have already fallen in love with Love Was Still Around. "And I can hear the sirens still calling your name / And I can see the ashes rise up from the flames / When love was still around / When love was still around / One day before it all came crashing down / And I can see the flashing lights take you away / And now the tears are rolling down your mother’s face / When love was still around /When love was still around / One day before it all came crashing down / When love was still around /When love was still around / Someday you’ll see the life that you turned down". Take this extra extended chorus and put it to music that makes me think mid AC/DC and you have a fantastic song. I mean this one really grabs you, throws you around for your fun and pleasure.
Stand Up And Run may be the lightest song Billy Talent has ever released. It's not light and fluffy, but it's a lot gentler than anything they've ever released before. However, it's not a ballad, it's more like a Bryan Adams Summer Of '69 kind of track. And eventhough it's not really my type of song, it's still a really good tune.
Crooked Minds is a very typical song from the band, except for that it's got a bit more of a heavy Blues sound. In fact this whole album has an overall sound that reminds me of the 70's bands that took the Blues and went really heavy with it. I would say this is the first song on the album that has that filler mentality to it. It's just a bit too typically Billy Talent to be ignored.
I never thought I'd hear Rock N' Roll boogie in a song from this band, but Man Alive! has a great back beat that makes you want to get up and dance classic old school. This is another track that also has that sound that makes me think AC/DC. I mean there is a lot of that kind of hidden within a lot of the songs on this album. I think D'Sa, who was the producer for this album, was taking tricks and tips from Albert Productions.
Hanging By A Thread is another typical Talent song. It's nothing special, but it's still a really good filler track. Hell, I'm sure that I'm going to piss off a fan of the band with that statement at some point.
I get vibes of Iron Maiden (the Blaze Bailey years) from Cure For The Enemy. There's something that sounds distinctly European about this one, and I don't mean British, I mean real European. Maybe it was written in Venice or Paris or Barcelona, or maybe even Vienna. I'm just not sure, but it sounds like that.
Don't Count On The Wicked has a different vibe and sound than I'm use to with this band. There's a real sense of growth on the second half of this album. Sure, there's the typical tone that's clearly the Billy Talent that we all know, but musically it once again sounds like they went into an exploration of a time not their own. The drum work sounds very much like John Bohnam, or Neil Smith, or Keith Moon. I'm not sure how to describe the guitar, and the bass holds down the low end just like it should. This is not going to be a song for everyone, but that makes it that much cooler to me.
So, we go from 70's Rock to 80's Pop. Show Me The Way makes me think of Breakfast At Tiffany's, or one of those other distinctly British sounding Pop tracks that you can't help but dig from that time period. I also can't get over how this band now has an uplifting song. I mean this one really leaves you feeling good by the end of it.
Okay, Billy has Piano now. I can deal with that, since it sounds cool. The tone of the piano has me thinking Van Halen's Right Now, and there's a little more to the music that makes me think that even stronger. However, when we get into the chorus it turns into something better, at least for me. It just becomes such a powerful Rock tune.
The album finishes with Dead Silence which is a little more typical of the bands style, but they add the famous Maiden Gallop to turn it into one of those songs that you'll never be able to drive the speed limit to. You'll always want to go barreling down the road at top speed until you hit oblivion while this song is playing.
I'm still pleasantly surprised by how much musical exploration the band has put into the second half of this album. The first half is a great solid start, but it's in the second half that there's real growth. I was worried about how much this album would sound like the other three, but instead I've been treated to a really cool album, with some kcikin' tracks.
The only downside to this review is that I don't think I've given the album enough time to grow on me properly, and I think over time my rating on this album may even change. But for the time being it will have to be as it is.
7/10 - content
8/10 - production
7/10 - personal bias
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