[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/billy-talent-grup_8042.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:From left to right: Aaron Solowiniuk, Ian D'Sa, Ben Kowalewicz and Jon Gallant]]
Billy Talent is a popular Canadian punk/alternative rock band based in [[UsefulNotes/{{Toronto}} Mississauga, Ontario]]. The band essentially started as a good old-fashioned garage band in Streetsville, a suburb of Mississauga. All four band members attended Our Lady of Mount Carmel Secondary School during high school, where they were all part of various high school bands. Ben and Jon formed a band called To Each His Own and brought in Aaron to play drums. Ian joined afterward and the four formed a band called ''Pezz'' in 1993, playing in the Toronto underground rock scene after graduating high school.

As Pezz, they gradually grew in popularity within Toronto and eventually pooled the money needed to record and release a full-length album called ''Watoosh!'' The album saw the band experiment with numerous genres and styles. After realizing that a band in the US was also named Pezz, they changed their name to Billy Talent, after a character in the film ''Film/HardCoreLogo''. The change in name coincided with their musical styles focusing on punk and alternative rock. After being noticed by a local radio station rep, the band gained more exposure in the Toronto area and were finally noticed by a mainstream studio after the same rep left to go work at Warner Music Canada in the A&R department. The band was signed on and began recording and playing music for a mainstream audience.

Through their three albums as Billy Talent, the music style has shifted noticeably. While the first album, the self-titled ''Billy Talent'', was full of angsty punk anthems, the second album saw their music and lyrics start to refine. Ben's vocals in particular were toned down, leading to less screaming and more singing. The third album continued in the evolution, resulting in a band whose music has essentially grown up and matured as they have. Over the course of the twelve years they've now had in the mainstream, their popularity has exploded in Canada and in Europe, where they continuously play in well-known festivals and headline to sold-out crowds. In August 2010 they finished their tour and were working on their fourth album. The band has said that it will not follow the {{Chronological Album Title}}s of the first three and would also move towards a heavier sound, and that album received much more positive reception than the last one. In 2014 they had a Greatest Hits album, showing how successful they really are.

In January 2016, drummer Aaron Solowoniuk, who experienced a MS relapse, decided to (at least for the time being) step down from drumming. Jordan Hastings of {{Alexisonfire}} is currently filling for him and has also performed on their latest album Afraid of Heights.

'''[+Members+]:'''
* '''Benjamin Kowalewicz''': Lead vocals
* '''Ian D'Sa''': Guitars, backup vocals. Has a degree in classical animation from Sheridan College ("the Harvard of animation schools") and was one of the animators for WesternAnimation/AngelaAnaconda.
* '''Jonathan Gallant''': Bass guitar, backup vocals
* '''Aaron Solowoniuk''': Drums (currently inactive, as of 2016)

'''[+Discography+]:'''
* 1999 - ''[[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness Watoosh!]]'' (Pezz)
* 2003 - ''[[SelfTitledAlbum Billy Talent]]''
* 2006 - ''[[ChronologicalAlbumTitle Billy Talent II]]''
* 2009 - ''[[ChronologicalAlbumTitle Billy Talent III]]''
* 2012 - ''[[DarkerAndEdgier Dead Silence]]''
* 2016 - ''Afraid of Heights''
* 2022 - ''Crisis of Faith''

!!"Fallen tropes, fallen tropes, fallen tropes on the ground!"
* AdultsAreUseless: In "Nothing to Lose," the narrator's teachers and parents downplay his problems until it's too late.
-->Teachers said "it's just a phase"\\
When I grow up my children\\
Will probably do the same\\
Kids just love to tease\\
[[DrivenToSuicide Who'd know it put me underground at seventeen]]
* AliceAllusion: "Rabbit Down the Hole" references elements from ''Literature/AliceInWonderland'':
-->And everyone that you hold dearly, you try to keep them close\\
'Cause some of them get bitten by that rabbit down the hole\\
And once you walk past through the grass, you're never coming home
* AnimeHair: Ian D'sa. He isn't wearing a hat in the picture, that's his hair.
* BloodIsSquickerInWater: Illustrating WarIsHell, "The Navy Song" says, "The ocean turned to red."
* BreakupSong: "Tears Into Wine" is one with a more positive mood, "This Suffering" is the opposite. Others include "Diamond on a Landmine", "Swallowed Up by the Ocean" and "Perfect World".
%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * CallingTheOldManOut: "Try Honesty"
* CarefulWithThatAxe: ''Watoosh!'' and ''Billy Talent'' especially. Ben's vocals have toned it down quite a bit since then.
* CosmicPlaything: "Devil On My Shoulder":
-->Follow the rainbow, my lucky omen\\
There ain't no pot of gold, just copper tokens\\
I found the key to life, the lock was broken\\
All my accomplishments, are best left unspoken
%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * DarkerAndEdgier: ''Dead Silence''.
* DestructiveRomance:
** "Hanging by a Thread".
--->For all the times we've hurt each other, with all the things we've said\\
Well, it's hard to hold this olive branch with a gun against my head
** The narrator of "Diamond on a Landmine" mentions he's "addicted to her abuse" while he [[StalkerWithACrush stalks her]].
* DontYouDarePityMe: "Sympathy", a variation in that the pity in question is [[CondescendingCompassion hollow and manipulative]] instead of genuine.
%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * DoomsdayClock: "Turn Your Back" from the third album provides the page quote.
* DrivenToSuicide:
** "Nothing to Lose" from ''Billy Talent'' is about a bullied teenager killing himself because of school bullying, the [[AdultsAreUseless adults' indifference]], and general feeling of hopelessness. The music video is basically an ad for the Kids Help Phone.
** "Saint Veronika":
--->They found an empty bottle on her windowsill\\
The day her mother lost her sleeping pills\\
She was sick and tired of being invisible\\
Hard to see in color when you're miserable
* DrowningMySorrows: "Tears Into Wine". The title is pretty self-explanatory.
* DrugsAreBad: Topic of "Fallen Leaves" and "Rabbit Down The Hole".
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
** Their debut album "Watoosh!" featured Music/{{Ska}}, Music/{{Funk}}, and Music/{{Hip Hop}} influences.
** More so on their debut EP "Dudebox" which featured Benjamin rapping a majority of the songs
* Music/{{Emo}}: Even though they're not really that emo-y, they have been slapped with that title a few times.
* FondMemoriesThatCouldHaveBeen: "Chasing The Sun":
-->I curse the mistakes that we'll never make,\\
The pictures of trips that we'll never take
* GhostlyGoals: After his [[WitchHunt unjust execution]], the narrator of "The Dead Can't Testify" is going to turn into a vengeful ghost:
-->And because I can't take an eye for an eye\\
In the afterlife I'll haunt you 'till you die
* GriefSong:
** In "White Sparrows," the narrator is mourning the death of his girlfriend.
** "Chasing The Sun":
--->If wounds heal in time tell me why it's so hard to move on\\
[[TheMourningAfter I'll never move on]]
* GoodbyeCruelWorld: The line "My notebook will explain" from "Nothing to Lose" implies this.
* GoryDiscretionShot: The original video for "Surrender" ended with Ben being shot in the head with a huge splatter of blood. This was edited out prior to airing.
* HeroicSacrifice: "I gave my life to save her" in "The Navy Song".
* HoldingOutForAHero: "Voices of Violence" discourages this mindset:
-->Don't wait for a knight in shining armor\\
Your savior's reflected in the mirror
* {{Hypocrite}}: "Viking Death March":
-->You preach about love\\
And teach about faith\\
But all your beliefs are still rooted in hate
%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: "Surrender"
%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * LighterAndSofter: ''Billy Talent II'' compared to ''Billy Talent''.
* LongRunnerLineUp: The band has had the same four members since it was formed in 1993, when all four were still in high school.
* LyricalDissonance:
** "Turn Your Back" sounds really upbeat, but its lyrics are about the uncertainty of the future of the world, pointing out many things wrong with the world.
** "Devil On My Shoulder" is rather bouncy for the CosmicPlaything anthem.
* LyricsVideoMismatch: "Rusted From The Rain" is about enmity or an abusive relationship; the video is about an old man building a carousel.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: "Rabbit Down The Hole":
-->Good God what have I done?\\
Mother nature's lowly son\\
Chase that rabbit down the hole
* [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch My Religion Doth Protest Too Much]]: Their reputation as good, well-behaved Catholic boys didn't stop them from making "Devil in a Midnight Mass", a song about the sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy, and "Viking Death March", which included shots taken at people who use religion as an excuse for hate and oppression.
%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * NewSoundAlbum: Billy Talent III to a degree.
* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: "GhostShip of [[ImAHumanitarian Cannibal]] [[YouDirtyRat Rats]]".
* NobodyLovesTheBassist: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Talent#Band_members All of the band]] members have separate Wikipedia pages of their own, except Jon, the bassist.
* NonAppearingTitle: "The Navy Song," "Viking Death March," and "Kingdom of Zod".
%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * NoMouth: The "Devil in a Midnight Mass" video.
%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * PedophilePriest: The subject of "Devil in a Midnight Mass".
* PepTalkSong: "Definition of Destiny".
-->Well a long time ago\\
We had passion, we had goals\\
Why is life so set in stone it doesn't have to be?\\
So cut to the chase, it's time to escape\\
Before it's too late\\
Yeah pick up the pace, catch up with fate
* PrecisionFStrike: The last line of "Kingdom Of Zod".
-->A big fucking lie!
* ProtestSong: Numerous, in case you weren't sure whether they're a punk band or not.
** The aforementioned "Devil in a Midnight Mass"
** "Worker Bees" targets patriotic conformity
** "Where Is the Line" targets pop culture, {{hipster}}s in particular
** "Covered in Cowardice" targets those that "hide behind their words" while remaining anonymous. One could confuse it for a ProtestSong against 4chan's /b/ culture.
** "Burn the Evidence" targets the false promises of things like the American Dream
** "Pocketful of Dreams" targets materialism. "Surprise Surprise" does as well while also tackling economic injustice.
** "Viking Death March" seems aimed at pretty much everyone in power, as is "Man Alive!". "Crooked Minds" does this as well, ending with a slightly more hopeful focus on how today's youth might one day destroy the current oppressive systems of government.
** "Kingdom of [[Film/SuperManII Zod]]" seems to be aimed at similar things as "Viking Death March", but aimed more specifically at [[Toronto/UsefulNotes Rob Ford.]]
** They have several anti-violence/anti-war songs such as "Dead Silence" and "Voices of Violence".
* PungeonMaster: "Hanging by a Thread" contains a lot of wordplay: "when the stitches fall apart we're hanging by a thread", "when our words are dipped in gasoline, our love goes up in flames", "it's easy to get tangled up when your world is torn to shreds".
* RayOfHopeEnding: At the end of "[[WarIsHell Dead Silence]]," TheHeroDies, but he believes "one day hope will arrive".
* RealLifeWritesThePlot: The first song on their first Billy Talent album is about multiple sclerosis, which drummer Aaron Solowiniuk suffers from. The band has played in numerous charity events for MS research.
* ScrewDestiny: "Definition Of Destiny":
-->So get off my road, no I won't be told\\
'Cause I got my own definition of destiny\\
Yeah take back control, and don't let it go,\\
The future's unknown
* SignatureStyle: Drop D tuning and Ian's backing vocals.
* TheSomethingSong: "The Navy Song".
* StalkerWithACrush: "Diamond on a Landmine". "I saw her friends and I was told / She blocked my number from her cell phone" and "Until I have a heart attack / I'll keep on trying to win you back".
* SurprisinglyGentleSong: "Nothing to Lose" and "Rusted from the Rain", somewhat. "Surrender and "Chasing the Sun", definitely.
* TogetherInDeath: The narrator's hope in "The Navy Song":
-->Beneath the sky of hate,\\
Beyond the sea of pain,\\
In heaven I will wait,\\
Until we meet again
* TrueCompanions: Friends since high school, together for almost twenty years with no signs of slowing down.
%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * UnrequitedLoveSwitcheroo: "Pins and Needles"
* WarIsHell:
** "The Navy Song":
--->[[BloodIsSquickerInWater The ocean turned to red]]\\
In the fall, in the fall, when the tide took them all\\
Cut down like lambs at slaughter,\\
Good men were left for dead
** "Dead Silence", thoughts of "a casuality of war, a victim of mistake".
* WitchHunt: "The Dead Can't Testify", a man is hanged as a witch for being different, possibly for being an atheist.
* YouAreNotAlone: "Saint Veronika".
-->You can't leave this world behind\\
So be strong enough to hold onto us\\
We're still right here by your side
----