With a new album on the horizon, the love-hate relationship between Billy Talent and myself continues. On the one hand they seemed so edgy when I was in high school and a small part of the nostalgia of that time remains; no one could freak out on stage like Ben Kowalewicz. On the other hand, what had made them interesting in years passed has not changed or re-developed since, rendering much of the music produced by this band stale to the ear.

The song “Hanging by a Thread”, a track on the band’s new album Dead Silence, said it perfectly; some things never change. Billy Talent created a market for itself long ago; the music has almost become classic and the band has not stopped milking their gimmick-like sounds since.