Two of Canada’s most beloved rock bands have today teamed up to announce a huge 20th anniversary party for both of their breakthrough records. Alexisonfire’s ‘Crisis’ and Billy Talent’s ‘Billy Talent II’ both released in 2006, rocketing the two acts to international recognition.
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Both bands announced the concert today on social media, along with another one in Montreal, Canada. The UK night is going to be held at at the OVO Wembley Arena in London on the 24th of June, with Alexisonfire playing ‘Crisis’ and Billy Talent playing ‘II’ in full, to what will certainly be a maximum capacity crowd of 12,500.
Both bands were founded in the Ontario province in Canada, with Billy Talent being the older group, having formed in 1991 under the name Pezz. Though they released three self-titled albums after renaming, ‘Billy Talent II’ was their best remembered and received the best scores from review sites. Packed full of angst, it walked the line between anthemic rock and rebellious punk, not quite pigeonholing itself into either. Singles like ‘Fallen Leaves’, ‘Red Flag’ and ‘Devil In A Midnight Mass’ were a hit with rock radio stations, and the band earned themselves a Juno Award for best rock album, one of Canada’s most prestigious prizes.
Alexisonfire formed later in 2001, but following on from strong second album ‘Watch Out!’ in 2004 led them to a defining album in the rock and hardcore scene in ‘Crisis’. Sometimes described as “pop screamo”, their sound was a mixture of hardcore punk with George Pettit’s harsh vocals, and very raw emotional rock built around Dallas Green’s hauntingly beautiful singing. The singles ‘Boiled Frogs’ and ‘This Could Be Anywhere In The World’ are still hugely popular today, with the album being cited as inspiration to many of the Canadian scene’s later albums by artists like Cancer Bats and Silverstein.
Both albums reached number one in Canada’s Album Chart and became a large part of each band’s legacy. Fittingly, Liam Cormier of Cancer Bats was quoted in a now-deleted article as saying “everyone will always remember Alexisonfire and Billy Talent as the two bands that brought heavy music to the forefront and broke that scene wide open in this country.” Also rather appropriately, both bands released their last albums in 2022, and both are currently in the studio writing new music, with Alexisonfire only documenting their recording sessions earlier this week.
In a post on Instagram, Alexisonfire stated that the tour will feature both albums played front-to-back, with the headliner alternating – they will headline London while Billy Talent will play last in Montreal. US post-hardcore stars Touché Amoré will be opening the evening at the Wembley Arena. Pre-sale starts tomorrow at 10AM, general sale follows this Friday also at 10AM, with both Alexisonfire and Billy Talent providing ticket links and passwords on their Instagram posts. Alexisonfire will also be performing ‘Crisis’ in full when they headline the Saturday at this year’s Outbreak Fest, which runs from the 26th to the 28th of June at Manchester’s B.E.C Arena.
