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Billy Talent

Who? Toronto’s Billy Talent is not a real boy. It’s a band featuring singer Ben Kowalewicz, guitarist Ian D’Sa, bassist Jon Galant, and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk, pals since high school, now supporting their second album, aptly titled II.

What’s the Deal? Billy Talent might be Canada’s answer to Fall Out Boy. Not at all sonically, but they made headway in suburban halls, worked hard to earn fans one show at a time (peep their 112,000 MySpace friends), and now seem poised for a big time breakthrough. II packs fond odes to metal, and, if anything, comes off like a slicker version of System of a Down, with D’Sa’s chunky chords escalating into piercing riffs and Kowalewicz drawing inspiration from the Sunset Strip’s troubadours of old.

Fun Fact: The guys from Discovery Channel’s Monster Garage built Ben a custom-made, indestructible mic stand. PETER GASTON

Now Watch This: Billy Talent – “Devil in a Midnight Mass” Windows Media: HIGH | LOWQuicktime: HIGH | LOW

Talk: Does Billy have the Talent? COMMENT

On the Web: billytalent.com