In 2003, Billy Talent exploded into the world of Cancon radio with its self-titled release that rode heavily on the back of “Try Honesty.” Six years and two Roman numerals later, the band still trying to re-write that pop-punk anthem. Luckily, with the help of producer Brendan O’Brien on Billy Talent III, the attempts to do so sound a heck of a lot better than usual.

“Diamond on a Landmine” has that trademark clean-but-angry guitar tone and the build-to-a-blowout chorus that requires frontman Benjamin Kowalewicz to start wailing his broken heart out. It’s not a note-for-note copy, but it does have the whiff of retread. If the band’s M.O. was to do nothing more than re-write the past, then this would be a problem. Mercifully, it has other plans.

Despite Warped Tour leanings, Billy Talent has always had an illusion of credibility, but on this album the band actively tries to validate it. “Sudden Movements” slows down for epic delivery, “White Sparrows” offers unrepentant soloing throughout and “Tears into Wine” eschews three-chord punk for something far more ambitious. Despite some odd musical accents (like the castanets on the otherwise perfect “Saint Veronica”), this album is remarkably cohesive. It’s also more ambitious than it needs to be. Even the album’s biggest experiment works. “The Dead Can’t Testify” has odd gypsy overtones, but the gang vocals call to mind the more operatic moments of Queen.

For all that ambition, though, there are still some horrible, lyrical missteps. When Kowalewicz sings “she blocked my number from her cell-phone” one feels embarrassed for him. On the flip side, the fact that the band is able to pull off a song about a Columbine-inspired school shooting goes a long way to redemption.

That alone makes the album a success. Nobody, the band included I’m sure, would have expected a Billy Talent album to stand up to any hard-nosed critical assessment. Band members were always more concerned with selling an image (and a whole lot of records) than doing something substantial. The fact some maturity is starting to creep into the music while the singles creep up the charts is just a pleasant surprise.