''Afraid of Heights'' is the fifth studio album by the Canadian rock band Billy Talent, released on July 29, 2016. It is the band's first album in four years following 2012's ''

Dead Silence ''Dead Silence'' is a 2007 American supernatural horror film directed by James Wan and written by Leigh Whannell. The film stars Ryan Kwanten as Jamie Ashen, a young widower returning to his hometown to search for answers to his wife's death. I ...

''. It is the first album recorded without drummer

Aaron Solowoniuk Aaron Solowoniuk ( ) is the drummer for the Canadian band Billy Talent. Background Solowoniuk was born and raised in Streetsville, a neighbourhood of Mississauga, Ontario, and began drumming at a young age, his first set being a gift from ...

who had suffered a multiple sclerosis relapse and had to take a hiatus from recording and performing to focus on his health.

Jordan Hastings Jordan "Ratbeard" Hastings (born March 15, 1982) is a Canadian musician born in Hamilton, Ontario. He is best known as the drummer of Alexisonfire, having replaced their former drummer Jesse Ingelevics. Hastings was originally intended to be a t ...

Alexisonfire Alexisonfire (pronounced "Alexis on Fire") is a Canadian post-hardcore band formed in St. Catharines, OntarioRoss, Mike.Band is a scream", CANOE JAM!, April 30, 2004. Retrieved on July 17, 2007. in 2001. The band's members are George Pettit ( ...

and Say Yes recorded the drums for the album and played on the supporting tour. The album sold approximately 53,000 units in its first week.

Recording and release

On January 5, 2016, the band posted a photo of a

Condenser microphone A microphone, colloquially called a mic or mike (), is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and public ...

on their Facebook page, with the caption "It begins", alluding to the beginning of the recording for the album. On January 15, 2016, drummer

announced through a

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video that he would not be able to play drums for the foreseeable future due to a multiple sclerosis relapse. He also announced that

drummer,

, would be recording the new album with the band, as well as performing on the

tour Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...

supporting the album, though Solowoniuk would still be in the studio with the band and involved in a smaller capacity. On May 12, 2016, the band released the first single off the album – " Afraid of Heights", for free streaming on

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. A day later, the single was released through

, iTunes,

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

and other digital retailers. On June 3, 2016, the band released a lyric video for the album's second single – " Louder than the DJ". The song was performed live for the first time, a few days earlier, along with the first single "Afraid of Heights" and another new song – "Big Red Gun", on the band's first tour date of 2016, at the Anabuk Festival in Moscow, Russia. On July 21, 2016, the band released the official music video for the first single off the album, "Afraid of Heights". It was directed by Alon Isocianu, and is the band's first video featuring

on drums. On August 11, 2016, the band released the official music video for the second single, "Louder than the DJ". It is a live performance video and was directed by the band's drummer

and the band's principal photographer Dustin Rabin.

Track listing

Japanese edition bonus track

Deluxe edition bonus disc

Personnel

Billy Talent *

Ben Kowalewicz Benjamin Ian Kowalewicz (; born December 16, 1975) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist of rock band Billy Talent. Early life Kowalewicz, of Polish descent, was born December 16, 1975, in Pierrefonds, Quebec, and raised ...

– lead vocals *

Ian D'Sa Ian D'Sa is a Canadian guitarist and producer best known as a member of the rock band Billy Talent. Early life and career Ian was born in the suburb of Southall, London. He is of Goan background. His family moved to Canada when he was three ...

– guitar, vocals, piano, programming, additional percussion, production * Jon Gallant – bass, backing vocals *

– drums (only on "Leave Them All Behind (demo version)" *

– drums, percussion Additional personnel *

Eric Ratz Eric Ratz is a Canadian producer, engineer, and mixer. He has won multiple Grammy and Juno awards. Throughout his career, Ratz has worked with some of Canada's most successful and influential rock bands, including Arkells, Big Wreck, Billy Ta ...

– engineering * Kenny Luong – digital engineering *

Chris Lord-Alge Chris Lord-Alge is an American mix engineer. He is the brother of both Tom Lord-Alge and Jeff Lord-Alge, both of whom are also audio engineers. Chris and Tom are known for their abundant use of dynamic compression for molding mixes that play wel ...

– mixing (all tracks except track 2) *

Rich Costey Rich may refer to: Common uses * Rich, an entity possessing wealth * Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling ** Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting Places United States * Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated comm ...

– mixing (track 2) *

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Biography T ...

– mastering * Nik Karpen – assistant engineering * Martin Cooke – assistant engineering * Luke Schindler – assistant engineering * Ryan Jones – assistant engineering * Igor Hofbauer – artwork and illustrations * Antje Schröder – layout and package design

Recording and release

Track listing

Japanese edition bonus track

Deluxe edition bonus disc

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links