Crisis of Faith (album)

Last updated
Crisis of Faith
Billy Talent - Crisis of Faith.png
Studio album by
Billy Talent
ReleasedJanuary 21, 2022 (2022-01-21)
Studio
  • Dudebox, Toronto
  • Revolution Recording, Toronto
  • Ocean Way, Nashville
Length36:42
Label Spinefarm
Producer Ian D'Sa
Billy Talent chronology
Afraid of Heights
(2016)		Crisis of Faith
(2022)		Live At Festhalle Frankfurt
(2023)
Singles from Crisis of Faith
  1. "Forgiveness I + II"
    Released: November 27, 2019
  2. "Reckless Paradise"
    Released: January 24, 2020
  3. "I Beg to Differ (This Will Get Better)"
    Released: April 3, 2020
  4. "End of Me"
    Released: September 10, 2021
  5. "The Wolf"
    Released: April 2, 2022
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 76/100 [1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Classic Rock Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Kerrang! 4/5 [4]
Sputnikmusic2.3/5 [5]

Crisis of Faith is the sixth studio album by Canadian rock band Billy Talent, released on January 21, 2022, through Spinefarm Records. It was preceded by five singles; "Forgiveness I + II" "Reckless Paradise", [6] "I Beg to Differ (This Will Get Better)", [7] "End of Me" featuring Rivers Cuomo, [8] and "The Wolf". The album had particular success on the charts in German-speaking Europe, debuting at number one in Germany and Switzerland, and number two in Austria.

Contents

Critical reception

Crisis of Faith received a score of 76 out of 100 based on five critics' reviews on review aggregator Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable" reception. [1] Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic described the album as "ten tracks of cathartic release and hardened hope from a band still digesting the chaotic years between releases". Highlighting "Forgiveness I + II" for being a "two-part prog exercise" and "one of the most daring and satisfying creative moves in their decades-long career", Yeung characterised "the rest of the set" as "fairly standard Billy Talent fare, with snaking riffs and pounding drums". [2]

Amgad Abdelgadir of Classic Rock gave the album three-and-a-half stars out of five and also reserved praise for "Forgiveness I + II" for Ian D'Sa's "nimble guitar licks weaving masterfully through Ben Kowalewicz's soaring vibrato". [3]

Reviewing the album for Kerrang! , Mark Sutherland wrote that it is "no surprise" that on first listen it "seems to be all over the place", "but dig deeper and you'll find that [... the album] manages to subtly shift its protagonists into the modern age, while retaining just the right amount of callbacks to former glories". [4]

Sputnikmusic staff writer Asleep reserved particular criticism for "End of Me" for containing a "Weezer cameo" and "sound[ing] like [a] Bowling For Soup knockoff", ultimately summarising the album as not living up to the high bar set by their previous material, dismissing it as "a trite, inconsistent, waste of a record that isn't worth your time, your patience or your money". [5]

Track listing

Crisis of Faith track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Forgiveness I + II"6:42
2."Reckless Paradise"3:24
3."I Beg to Differ (This Will Get Better)"3:36
4."The Wolf"3:47
5."Reactor"3:49
6."Judged"1:39
7."Hanging Out with All the Wrong People"3:46
8."End of Me" (featuring Rivers Cuomo)3:45
9."One Less Problem"3:03
10."For You"3:12
Total length:36:42

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. [9]

Billy Talent

Additional personnel

Production

Design

Charts

Chart performance for Crisis of Faith
Chart (2022)Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [10] 2
Canadian Albums (Billboard) [11] 8
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [12] 1
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ) [13] 15
Scottish Albums (OCC) [14] 63
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [15] 1
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) [16] 3

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References

  1. 1 2 "Crisis of Faith by Billy Talent Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic . Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Yeung, Neil Z. "Crisis of Faith – Billy Talent | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic . Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  3. 1 2 Abdelgadir, Amgad (February 1, 2022). "Billy Talent: Crisis Of Faith album review". Classic Rock . Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  4. 1 2 Sutherland, Mark (January 20, 2022). "The big review: Billy Talent – Crisis Of Faith". Kerrang! . Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  5. 1 2 Asleep (January 20, 2022). "Review: Billy Talent – Crisis Of Faith". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Listen To Billy Talent's New Single, Reckless Paradise". Kerrang!. January 29, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  7. ↑ Bobkin, Matt (April 3, 2020). "Billy Talent Share Hopeful New Song "I Beg to Differ (This Will Get Better)"". Exclaim! . Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  8. ↑ Morton, Luke (September 10, 2021). "Billy Talent announce new album, release new single featuring Rivers Cuomo". Kerrang!. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  9. ↑ Crisis of Faith (booklet). Billy Talent. Warner Music Canada. 2 869693.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Billy Talent – Crisis of Faith" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Billy Talent Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Billy Talent – Crisis of Faith" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2020. 5. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Billy Talent – Crisis of Faith". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
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