It's difficult to know what to make of shouty metal bands like Toronto's Billy Talent in 2006: do we take them seriously as musicians, given their similarity to every headbanger that's gone before them? Or do we swallow that pinch of salt and enjoy them for what they are? Devil in a Midnight Mass begins with a rash of processed guitars and a very 80s cockrock howl from singer Ben Kowalewicz, before pushing all the buttons of the mainstream metal cliché-o-meter. Unfortunately, it's nigh impossible to treat songs like this with even smiling irony when they're clearly trying so hard. [Nick Mitchell]
This single is out now.