With their full-throttle fusion of punk, emo and hard rock, Billy Talent unleashed a torrent of anger and energy on their 2003 self-titled debut, swiftly becoming an arena-level act in Canada. Before releasing that first album with Atlantic, the band had a decade to hone their attack; they were formed in 1993 while their members were at school in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga. On early rockers like "Try Honesty" and "The Ex", singer Ben Kowalewicz's high-intensity howls and guitarist Ian D'Sa's lacerating riffs bolstered the music's impact. And while the group found ways to fine-tune their aggression on later releases such as 2019's "Forgiveness I + II", maintaining velocity has always been Billy Talent's first order of business.