Billy Talent — 666 Live

Billy Talent make a grab for your Christmas cash with a new live CD/DVD package. It's less than impressive that Billy Talent can barely produce a 67-minute set but Ben Kowalewicz makes up for it by maintaining his skin-peeling shriek throughout. It's a daunting task of vocal evisceration that he performs from his perch atop a downstage monitor that resembles some sort of anarchistic pink vulture. While the DVD draws from three separate performances, the CD sticks with the most appealing one — BT's set in Dusseldorf (Germany has been Billy Talent's second home since II debuted at #1 there). The DVD also features snippets from interviews with the band members where we learn what we already know: They don't like George W. Bush, they adore Jane's Addiction and they remember the pain of travelling to band practice on godawful Mississauga Transit. Fans will likely dig it but the rest of the world will find 666 Live unnecessary.