Don't Count on the Wicked

Album: Dead Silence (2012)
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Songfacts®:

  • During the Christmas of 2011, drummer and MS sufferer Aaron Solowoniuk broke the news to his band mates that he would soon be undergoing heart surgery to repair a leaky aortic valve. Fortunately the operation went well and he healed quickly. Shaken by their bandmate's surgery, the other three Billy Talent members gave this song a lyrical turn: "Aaron has a charity called the F.U.M.S. organization (F--k You Multiple Sclerosis), and one of their slogans was 'Turn Anger Into Hope'. I thought that was a pretty cool line or lyric, and we put it in the song, "said singer Ben Kowalewicz. "The thing with Aaron jarred all of us; it was pretty shocking and tough to wrap your head around, especially after all the things he's already been through. That really shook the foundation and it came at a weird point as well, we were already so far (in the recording process). But when you put everything in context of Aaron's situation, then the rest is pretty small."
  • In January of 2016 via a video message, Solowoniuk announced that he would not be playing on Billy Talent's newest album Afraid of Heights because he had been battling a MS relapse for the past seven months. After much discussion, the band decided that their longtime friend, Jordan Hastings from Alexisonfire, would play on the record and fill-in during shows until Solowoniuk can sit behind the kit again.

    In our 2016 interview with Ben Kowalewicz, we asked him if this song has taken on a special meaning now with everything that has happened with Solowoniuk. "We've never played that song live," he replied. "It's a cool album track, but we don't really play it live, so I don't have that connection with it. We play 'This Is How It Goes,' which is the first song off of our first record that was written about Aaron.

    But I think a lot about him. He was just here hanging out all day, but it is weird when he's not on the drums sitting behind you. So I don't think there's just one song that makes me think about him. This new record, obviously, because he didn't play on it, the whole record has that sense of struggle and missing him. But there's not one song in particular that I would say [lovingly], 'That's our song!' If he was here, I'd punch him [laughs]."

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