Yep, this is how it goes

To me, BILLY TALENT's debut album still is one of the most shocking records of all time. The question I always asked myself: How were they able to come up with such a sound and such a unique style? Nowadays they'd probably called an industry plant, but in reality it was a story that only Rock'n'Roll can write. 

Their singer worked at a radio station were he asked a colleague to go to one of their shows. That colleague later worked at Warner Music in Canada and got them a Demo-deal. While this probably is no "heroic" story of a band that toured their asses of for 10 years and got better with each release, finally earning their success, it's still a cool story. A story based on pure luck. Yet, also one of perfect timing. Around that time the band not only changed their name from PEZZ to BILLY TALENT (due to legal reasons), they also changed something about their sound. Founding way back in 1993 -10 years prior to their debut album as BILLY TALENT- under the name PEZZ, they didn't have much success. They released two Demos/EPs in the Mid-90s and finally a full length in 1999, called "Watoosh!". That's the only record I know from PEZZ and damn, I wasn't impressed. With their first release as BILLY TALENT, the "Try Honesty"-EP, they already showed some potential. That EP contains three songs from the album, with the title track, "How it goes" (later "This is how it goes"), and "Cut the Curtains". While "How it goes" was hold back by a lame intro and strange interplays, "Try Honesty" and "Cut the Curtains" were closer to their final forms and something like diamonds in the rough.

The 2002-Demo-session for their debut album didn't see the light of day until the release of the debut's 10 year-anniversary-edition. But damn, they must've floored the A&Rs at the major label. They then recorded their self-titled album in December of 2002 and released it in September of 2003. And the rest is history.

Seemingly out of nowhere, they came up with an extremely tight and fleshed out sound, tons of energy and a style that was unique as fuck and totally made for its time. Punk and Hardcore was as popular as ever and the whole screaming vs. singing-stuff exploded over the scene. BILLY TALENT and their producer took notice and made the right decisions. They got rid of the whole Ska- and Funk-elements of PEZZ and the whole wanna-be-complex-songwriting-bullshit and rather opted for a reduced, streamlined sound that toyed with Post-Hardcore-aggression, pure, melodic Punk-elements and Teen Angst. The songs were simple and strictly written in the good 'ol vers-chorus-vers-scheme. One could complain that it was too focused on catchy chorusses, that got repeated over and over again. And yeah, true that. Though personally that didn't bother me all that much (except for a phase in my life where I was getting into more complex and more raw stuff). Regarding that, BILLY TALENT's debut reminds me a lot of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's debut. That record was also full of repetition, yet, they came through with it, cause their sound and deliverance was unique as unique can get. 

While not being something I'd call "Post-Hardcore", the whole movement of the early 2000s took a toll on BILLY TALENT's sound. Some always shit on "Try Honesty" for ripping off AT THE DRIVE-IN's "One Armed Scissor". And sure, I can hear those similarities, yet, it'd be silly to call the song a rip-off. On their debut they took something from Post-Hardcore and something from Melodic-/Pop-Punk and mixed it with big rockin' riffs for a sound you've never heard. Their guitarist Ian D'Sa was the backbone of the band with his awesome riffs and funky style of playing. 

As this is already getting out of hands, I'll spare anyone from getting into the songs. While "II" might be more versatile, with some well-executed ballads, I think this is tighter and I just like the  straight no-thrills-approach. I still enjoy listening to it from front to finish, though the opener "This is how it goes" became my favourite for quite some time now. It's also symptomous for the whole album, the title of the opening track as a statement for the whole record. Here's where I got to speak once again about the Demos from 2002, cause since I heard this version of "This is how it goes" I'm not as down for the final version. It's nitpicking anyway. The song, and this whole album won't get old. And still I'm asking myself: How were they able to come up with this?