On 2016's Afraid of Heights, Canadian hard rock mainstays Billy Talent stared fear and anxiety in the face and struck an ideal balance between energy and message, delivering one of the best albums in their catalog. Six years later, they confront negativity and darkness once again on Crisis of Faith, ten tracks of cathartic release and hardened hope from a band still digesting the chaotic years between releases. Executive produced by guitarist and main songwriter Ian D'Sa, Faith sticks close to their winning formula, ...
Read More
On 2016's Afraid of Heights, Canadian hard rock mainstays Billy Talent stared fear and anxiety in the face and struck an ideal balance between energy and message, delivering one of the best albums in their catalog. Six years later, they confront negativity and darkness once again on Crisis of Faith, ten tracks of cathartic release and hardened hope from a band still digesting the chaotic years between releases. Executive produced by guitarist and main songwriter Ian D'Sa, Faith sticks close to their winning formula, offering a few artistic surprises to push the group forward. Opening salvo "Forgiveness I + II" is an instant standout, a two-part prog exercise that unfolds from a crunchy riff-packed assault into an unexpected midtempo, horn-backed epic. It's one of the most daring and satisfying creative moves in their decades-long career. Aside from the somber, string-washed ballad "The Wolf," the rest of the set is fairly standard Billy Talent fare, with snaking riffs and pounding drums sending highlights like the urgent call-to-arms "Reckless Paradise" and the motivating "I Beg to Differ (This Will Get Better)" careening across imagined arenas. A trio of melodic earworms -- the cautionary "Hanging Out with All the Wrong People," "One Less Problem," and "End of Me" with Weezer's Rivers Cuomo -- tackles bad influences, frustrating friends, and the pressures of the world with deceptively catchy songwriting, while the raucous punk blast "Judged" dispenses with pleasantries as frontman Ben Kowalewicz, D'Sa, and bassist Jon Gallant rail against bigotry and discrimination on the LP's most thrilling assault. As the uplifting positivity of "For You" closes the album on an optimistic note, Billy Talent takes the storm of emotions churning through the preceding cuts and salvages the light that remains, avoiding the titular inner conflict by focusing on that which gives us hope and peace. ~ Neil Z. Yeung, Rovi
Read Less
Add this copy of Crisis of Faith to cart. $15.70, new condition, Sold by Salzer's Records rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from ventura, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2022 by Spinefarm.
Add this copy of Crisis of Faith to cart. $16.05, new condition, Sold by Importcds rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Sunrise, FL, UNITED STATES, published 2022 by Spinefarm Records.
Add this copy of Crisis of Faith to cart. $21.26, new condition, Sold by newtownvideo rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from huntingdon valley, PA, UNITED STATES, published 2022 by Spinefarm.
Add this copy of Crisis of Faith to cart. $21.46, new condition, Sold by Revaluation Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Exeter, DEVON, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2022 by Spinefarm Records.
Portions of content provided by Rovi Corporation. © 2024 Rovi Corporation.