Crisis of Faith (album)

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Crisis of Faith
Studio album by
Billy Talent
ReleasedJanuary 21, 2022 (2022-01-21)
Studio
  • Dudebox, Toronto
  • Revolution Recording, Toronto
  • Ocean Way, Nashville
Length36:42
LabelSpinefarm
ProducerIan 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
Metacritic76/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Classic Rock[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 six 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.

Critical reception[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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

Billy Talent

Additional personnel

  • Rivers Cuomo – additional vocals on "End of Me"
  • Dennis Passley – tenor saxophone on "Forgiveness I + II"
  • Ernesto Barahona – trombone on "Forgiveness I + II"
  • Bruce Mackinnon – alto saxophone on "Forgiveness I + II"
  • Tom Moffet – trumpet on "Forgiveness I + II"
  • David Campbell – orchestra arrangement and conductor on "The Wolf"
  • Alan Umstead, Catherine Umstead, Mary Kathryn VanOsdale, Janet Darnall, Karen Winkelmann, Bruce Wethey, Kimberly Yokoyama, Carrie Bailey – violin on "The Wolf"
  • Elizabeth Lamb, Bruce Christensen, Clare Yang – viola on "The Wolf"
  • Anthony LaMarchina, Andrew Dunn, Elizabeth Browne, Alex Krew – cello on "The Wolf"
  • Craig Nelson, Quentin Flowers – double bass on "The Wolf"

Production

Design

  • Ryan Quickfall – album artwork
  • Antje Schroeder – art layout, package design

Charts[edit]

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

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Crisis of Faith by Billy Talent Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Yeung, Neil Z. "Crisis of Faith – Billy Talent | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Abdelgadir, Amgad (February 1, 2022). "Billy Talent: Crisis Of Faith album review". Classic Rock. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Sutherland, Mark (January 20, 2022). "The big review: Billy Talent – Crisis Of Faith". Kerrang!. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  5. ^ a b 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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