Billy Talent (album)

Billy Talent
Studio album by
Billy Talent
Released September 16, 2003
Recorded December 2002
The Factory, Vancouver
Genre Punk rock, post-hardcore, pop punk, alternative rock, emo
Length 41:04
Label Atlantic
Producer Gavin "Golden" Brown
Billy Talent chronology
Try Honesty / Living in the Shadows
(2003) 		Billy Talent
(2003) 		Billy Talent II
(2006)
Alternative cover
Cover of the 10th anniversary edition
Singles from Billy Talent
  1. "Try Honesty"
    Released: September 1, 2003
  2. "The Ex"
    Released: December 23, 2003
  3. "River Below"
    Released: July 5, 2004
  4. "Nothing to Lose"
    Released: November 16, 2004
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic
The Daily Princetonian (favorable)
Decoy Music
Ottawa XPress
Q Magazine
Rock Hard 9.5/10
Sputnikmusic

Billy Talent is the debut studio album of Canadian rock band Billy Talent, released in 2003. The band's previous album Watoosh! (1999) was released under their old name Pezz.

Commercial performance

Billy Talent debuted at number 6 on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 7,700 copies in its first week. The album was certified four-time platinum in Canada in January 2021. Between 1996 and 2016, Billy Talent was among the top 15 best-selling albums by Canadian bands in Canada and among the top 40 best-selling albums by Canadian artists overall in Canada.

Reception

In 2005, Billy Talent was ranked number 453 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.

Tenth anniversary

In August 2013, Billy Talent announced a Canadian tour for fall of that year entitled "A Return to the Roots", in which they played their entire first self-titled album live to celebrate its 10th anniversary. Soon after the tour, the band announced a 10th anniversary reissue of the album, released on November 26, 2013, through Warner Bros. Records, that features a bonus disc of rare demos and live recordings of the album's track list.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Billy Talent

No. Title Length
1. "This Is How It Goes" 3:27
2. "Living in the Shadows" 3:15
3. "Try Honesty" 4:13
4. "Line & Sinker" 3:37
5. "Lies" 2:58
6. "The Ex" 2:40
7. "River Below" 2:59
8. "Standing in the Rain" 3:20
9. "Cut the Curtains" 3:50
10. "Prisoners of Today" 3:53
11. "Nothing to Lose" 3:38
12. "Voices of Violence" 3:10
Disc 2 – 10th anniversary edition reissue
No. Title Length
1. "This Is How It Goes" (demo) 3:08
2. "Living in the Shadows" (demo) 3:15
3. "Try Honesty" (demo) 4:05
4. "Line & Sinker" (live at Nova Rock Festival) 4:51
5. "Lies" (live acoustic) 3:05
6. "The Ex" (demo) 2:36
7. "River Below" (live at the Orange Lounge) 3:00
8. "Standing in the Rain" (live at Metalworks) 3:34
9. "Cut the Curtains" (demo) 3:38
10. "Prisoners of Today" (demo) 3:43
11. "Nothing to Lose" (live at Phillipshalle) 3:59
12. "Voices of Violence" (live at Norwegian Wood Festival) 3:20

Chart positions

Chart Position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) 38
Canadian Albums (Billboard) 6
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 97
UK Albums 124
US Billboard 200 194
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard) 11

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) 4× Platinum 400,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)
10th Anniversary Edition 		Gold 40,000‡
Germany (BVMI) Platinum 200,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) Silver 60,000‡

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Personnel