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
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,
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