Billy Talent Are Back And Will Be Busier Than Ever

Billy Talent are finally set to release the follow-up to their triple-platinum 2003 self-titled debut.

The 13-track Billy Talent II will hit stores across North America on June 27 via Atlantic Records. It was recorded last winter at Bryan Adams' Warehouse Studio in Vancouver with producer Gavin Brown, who also oversaw the first album. Guitarist Ian D'Sa co-produced the record, which was mixed by Chris Lord-Alge (Hole, Rod Stewart).

Lead single "Devil In A Midnight Mass" premiered on Canadian radio on Thursday and can also be heard on Billy Talent's MySpace site along with a demo of another new track called "Red Flag" that appears on the The Best Of Taste Of Chaos compilation. Both songs feature the same punk-fuelled hard rock and angst-filled lyrics that have earned the band fans across North America and Europe.

After playing two hometown shows at Toronto's Horseshoe Tavern this week, Billy Talent have gone to England to boost their British fan base by headlining the second stage at the sold-out Give It A Name Festival that also features My Chemical Romance, Panic! At The Disco, Taking Back Sunday and others.

The three-time Juno Award winners will return to the U.K. in June for the Download Festival at Castle Donington. They'll then make a trek through Germany, Austria and Switzerland to play both headlining shows and further festival showcases. The band will round off the summer with a three-week run on the last leg of the Vans Warped Tour that will be capped off by two Canadian dates on Aug. 12 at Park Place in Barrie, Ont. and the next day at Montreal's Parc Jean Drapeau.

Here's the track list for the imaginatively titled Billy Talent II:

"Devil In A Midnight Mass"
"Red Flag"
"This Suffering"
"Worker Bees"
"Pins And Needles"
"Fallen Leaves"
"Where Is The Line"
"Covered In Cowardice"
"Surrender"
"In The Fall"
"Perfect World"
"Sympathy"
"Burn The Evidence"