Billy Talent

Billy Talent
Billy Talent in 2017. Left to right: Ian D'Sa, Benjamin Kowalewicz
Background information
Also known as	Pezz (1993–1999)
Origin	Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Genres	Punk rock alternative rock post-hardcore pop punk
Years active	1993 (1993)–present
Labels	Atlantic Warner Roadrunner Last Gang The End Spinefarm
Members	Benjamin Kowalewicz Ian D'Sa Jonathan Gallant Aaron Solowoniuk Jordan Hastings
Website	billytalent.com

Billy Talent is a Canadian rock band from Mississauga, Ontario. They formed in 1993 with lead vocalist Benjamin Kowalewicz, guitarist Ian D'Sa, bassist Jonathan Gallant, and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk. There have been no lineup changes, although Solowoniuk has been on hiatus from the band since 2016 due to a relapse of multiple sclerosis. In the three decades since their inception, Billy Talent has sold well over a million physical albums in Canada alone and nearly 3 million albums internationally. During their most successful period, they were ranked as one of the top 10 best-selling native bands in Canada.^[1]

The band existed for almost a decade before mainstream success. The members met and played in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Secondary School under the name Pezz and remained underground in Toronto's indie music scene until 2001. The band renamed itself Billy Talent after running into legal trouble with the old name. It was then that Kowalewicz's connection with an employee of Warner Music Canada's A&R department landed the band a record deal and launched them into mainstream success.^[2] Since then, Billy Talent has made three multi-platinum records in Canada^[3] and continues to expand their success overseas; this included touring for 20 months supporting their second album. They released their third album, Billy Talent III, in 2009, and their fourth album, Dead Silence, in 2012. Dead Silence was followed up by a full UK tour throughout October and November 2012.^[4] To commemorate the longevity since the release of their first studio album, the band has released a greatest hits album entitled Hits in 2014. In 2015, they began to prepare material for their fifth studio album. Just before entering the studio, drummer Aaron Solowoniuk decided to sit out the recording sessions while he continued his longstanding battle with multiple sclerosis. Fellow Canadian Jordan Hastings was quickly recruited to play as Solowoniuk's studio stand-in, and, in early 2016, the group completed work on Afraid of Heights, which was released in July of that year. The band's most recent album is Crisis of Faith, released in January 2022.