About a year ago, a friend of mine steered me over to MP3.com to check out a band called Billy Talent, as their song “Try Honesty” which was rapidly making its way up the charts. As much as I liked this song, their lack of a locatable album and the absence of more MP3s let the band all but slip from my mind completely. Up until the past month or so, I had no idea that Billy Talent had signed with a major label, and was getting airplay on both radio and MTV2. Taking a quick glance at the track listing, one might get the impression that this band is going to be generic crap, with track names including such unoriginal titles as “This Is How It Goes”, “The Ex”, “Standing in the Rain”, “Nothing to Lose”, and “Prisoners of Today”. Thankfully, despite the lack of creativity in naming their songs, this is anything but generic. Billy Talent breathes new life into a dormant scene, with an angst-ridden and recognizable sound all their own. Take a British punk’s vocals and add some melody, and that’s how I would describe Benjamin Kowalewicz’ voice. The rest of the band, guitarist Ian D’sa, bassist Jon Gallant, and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk, have provided us with well-crafted music that complements the lyrics, which range from stories about a drugged out prostitute to childhood abuse, like the Earth to the sky. All twelve tracks have memorable choruses and the punk-influenced aggressiveness makes this one of the more energetic, non-heavy albums I’ve heard this year. To delve into an analysis of each song would be rather pointless; each track is as vibrant and as notable as the next. Though, if I had to say anything negative about this band, the only thing I can pinpoint is that the Kowalewicz’ high-pitched wails might be something of an acquired taste. Billy Talent has crafted a superb debut and the originality shines through. If you've been wanting something that rocks, but doesn't draw comparisons utilizing the words "emo" or "core", don't hesitate putting down a few bucks for this one. But don't trust us, try it yourself.