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Devil in a Midnight Mass

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"Devil in a Midnight Mass"
Single by Billy Talent
from the album Billy Talent II
B-side
  • "Devil in a Midnight Mass" (demo version)
  • "Ever Fallen in Love (with Someone You Shouldn't've)" (UK)
  • "Red Flag (demo)" (UK)
ReleasedJune 15, 2006
GenrePost-hardcore, horror punk
Length2:54
LabelWea, Atlantic
Songwriter(s)Billy Talent
Producer(s)Gavin Brown
Billy Talent singles chronology
"Nothing to Lose"
(2004) 		"Devil in a Midnight Mass"
(2006) 		"Red Flag"
(2006)
Alternative Cover
Cover of UK version
Music video
"Devil In A Midnight Mass" on YouTube
Audio sample
"Devil in a Midnight Mass"

"Devil in a Midnight Mass" is the first single released from Billy Talent's second album, Billy Talent II.

Song information

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There are two differing versions of the song: the album version, and an unpolished demo version released in December 2005 via their Myspace account. In the album version Ben Kowalewicz shouts "Yeah!" at the beginning of the track; in the other, this is omitted, and the pre-chorus and second verse sound significantly different. Both versions of the song were released on the "Devil in a Midnight Mass" single.

MuchMusic aired a "Behind the Scenes" look at the video for this song, hosted by Sarah Taylor, and filmed in an Ontario church, featuring the members of the band as well as children who took part in the recording of the video. In the feature, drummer Aaron Solowoniuk mentions that an elderly woman walked by and said to him, "A rock band in a church, don't see that everyday".

Kowalewicz told Sarah Taylor that the song was created when guitarist Ian D'sa started playing something that he described as an "evil guitar riff", and Kowalewicz wondered what sort of evil could fit with that riff, questioning what the worst thing a human being could do to another. He read an article about John Geoghan, an American Catholic priest accused of molesting about 150 children, and decided to make the song about that certain topic.

Meaning of the song

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Kowalewicz told MuchMusic's Sarah Taylor,

It's from a story I read about Boston priest John Geoghan who had been arrested for child abuse and the church kept moving him from parish to parish. The Supreme Court tried and convicted him of molesting 150 kids over a 30-year span and while he was serving his sentence another inmate broke into his cell and murdered him. I stumble upon these stories, they don't necessarily have to be directly personal but it's things like this that move me. I'm a big advocate for children's rights and this song looks at sexual abuse. It's not against the church or anything, it's more about that individual betrayal between adult and child. I don't have the answers, but hopefully if I sing about a certain issue it will get people talking about it.

Music video

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The music video opens with Billy Talent playing in a darkened church. The video also follows the path of an altar boy. The boy is asleep in his room when a dark fog enters his room. The fog represents the priest and enters the room when the line "Footsteps down the hallway floor/Getting closer to my door" are sung. The boy runs from the fog and into the church's basement, where he finds an apparently insane man bound in ropes. The boy runs from the room and is followed by the fog. He then grabs an axe trying to defend himself. The boy runs to the main room of the church where Billy Talent are playing. Instead of the band, mouthless altar boys are standing in the room, the young boy also mouthless. The boys are the priest's victims and are mouthless to represent the fact that they have been silenced by the priest, hence the line "Silent night for the rest of my life", and in the demo, "I was told that the world wouldn't believe me".

The music video was directed by Sean Michael Turrell and was released via myspace.com on May 1, 2006. The video premiered on Fuse on the show Oven Fresh, which highlights new videos. The music video is #74 on MuchMusic's 100 Best Videos. The music video is #47 on MuchMusic's 50 Most Controversial Videos.
Devil in a Midnight Mass peaked 4 on the Canadian Singles Chart.[1]

Chart performance

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Chart (2006) Peak
position
Canada (Canadian Singles Chart) 4
Canada Rock Top 30 (Radio & Records)[2] 5
UK Singles (OCC)[3] 66
UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[4] 3

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[5] Platinum 80,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r839594/charts-awards/billboard-single
  2. ^ "Radio & Records Magazine" (PDF). Radio & Records. July 7, 2006. p. 54. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  3. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  4. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  5. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Billy Talent – Devil in a Midnight Mass". Music Canada. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
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