Billy Talent III is the third studio album by Canadian rock band Billy Talent. It was released on July 10, 2009, in Europe, July 13 in the United Kingdom, July 14 in Canada, and September 22 in the US. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling over 40,000 copies in its first week. It also peaked at No. 107 on the Billboard 200, making it Billy Talent's highest-charting album to date. In April 2010, the album won a Juno Award for best rock album of the year. Despite the commercial success, Billy Talent III received mixed to negative reviews. On Metacritic, the album earned a score of 45/100, which means "mixed or average reviews" based on 7 critics; one review being negative and the other six being mixed.
Background A demo version of one of the album's songs, "Turn Your Back", was released as a single in September 2008 and featured the band members of Anti-Flag. The first legitimate single from Billy Talent III is "Rusted from the Rain", which premiered May 17, 2009 on Triple J. The album version of "Turn Your Back" does not include Anti-Flag's vocals, as the single version does.
The second single from the album, "Devil on My Shoulder" was released on August 26, 2009.
A promotional website located at billytalent3.com was launched to showcase the making of the album. Part of the promotion also included the Billy Talent Widget which allowed listeners to become the "Ultimate Billy Talent Fan". The widget rewarded users with rare tracks, videos, pictures and interviews as fans "level up" their widgets.
On June 8, 2009, the band announced the release of a special deluxe edition of the album, entitled Billy Talent III: Guitar Villain Edition. The special edition featured a second disc of the album, without the inclusion of guitar (referred to as "Guitar Villain Tracks"), plus guitar tabs of the entire album transcribed on two full-size posters, for fans to play along to. Along with this guitar-less version, the disc is concluded with four additional demos.
The band embarked on a supporting tour on February 21, 2009, starting with an Australian first leg.
Track listing
Personnel Personnel taken from Billy Talent III liner notes.
Billy Talent Benjamin Kowalewicz – lead vocals Ian D'Sa – guitar, backing vocals Jonathan Gallant – bass, backing vocals Aaron Solowoniuk – drums
Additional musician Brendan O'Brien – Mellotron, piano, hammerchord, percussion, other additional instruments
Technical personnel Brendan O'Brien – producer, mixing Nick DiDia – recording Billy Bowers – additional engineering Tom Syrowski – recording assistance (Henson Recording) Martin Cooke – recording assistance (Henson Recording) Tom Tapley – engineering (Southern Tracks) Kory Aaron – engineering assistance (Southern Tracks) Steve Morrison – engineering assistance (Southern Tracks) Tom "TK" Kidd – additional engineering (Southern Tracks) Kenny Luong – engineering (The Orange Lounge) Jason "Metal" Donkersgoed – engineering assistance (The Orange Lounge) Bob Ludwig – mastering Dustin Rabin – photography Doublenaut – artwork, package design
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts + Weekly chart performance for Billy Talent III Chart (2009) Peakposition European Top 100 Albums (Billboard)6
Year-end charts + Year-end chart performance for Billy Talent III Chart (2009) PositionAustrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)36Canadian Albums (Billboard)23German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)32Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)93
Certifications
Release history Date Region July 10, 2009 Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and the Netherlands July 13, 2009 France, Norway, Denmark, South Africa, UK and Ireland July 14, 2009 Canada, Finland, Spain and Sweden July 17, 2009 Australia and New Zealand September 22, 2009 US November 11, 2009 Japan
References