Afraid of Heights by Billy Talent

Afraid of Heights, Billy Talent's fifth studio album, arrived on July 29, 2016 on Warner Music Canada, the Mississauga band's first new album in four years after 2012's Dead Silence. It came together under a cloud: drummer Aaron Solowoniuk, there since the band's start in 1993, had suffered a relapse of multiple sclerosis and stepped away to look after his health. Jordan Hastings, of Alexisonfire and Say Yes, sat in on the recording and then played the tour.

Guitarist Ian D'Sa produced it himself, and the record keeps the band's trademark punch: D'Sa's wiry, cutting riffs, Jonathan Gallant's bass pushing hard, and Benjamin Kowalewicz hollering like every chorus is an emergency. "Louder Than the DJ" is the rallying cry in the set. Fans hadn't forgotten them: it moved roughly 53,000 units in its first week.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.