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DEAD TIRED “Hornets Of Fall”
DEAD TIRED “Hornets Of Fall”
By Dr. Abner Mality
One of my biggest musical surprises in recent years was stumbling upon DEAD TIRED’s debut album “Satan Will Follow You Home”. I had zero expectations for a band featuring George Pettit of ALEXISONFIRE but was blown away by the hardcore punk energy of DEAD TIRED which seamlessly integrated thrash and metalcore elements into their music. The only question left was: could DEAD TIRED pull it off again?
“Hornets of Fall” is here to answer that question and the answer is “not quite”. While I think fans of the debut will also enjoy the sequel, this one doesn’t hit me in the same way that “Satan Will Follow You Home” did. Some of that you can just chalk up to a sequel not being able to surprise you like a debut. The same basic core of DEAD TIRED remains…energetic punk rock with a metal edge, driven by Pettit’s caustic vocals. The songs remain mostly short and snappy, but in the second half of this album, we start to see some slower, almost bluesy tracks like “Dust Storm”, “Standing Against The Pitch” and “Promontory” pop up. These definitely show a different side to the band, but those tracks don’t pop the way faster cuts like “False Populist” and “Bad Thoughts” do. DEAD TIRED is at their best when the songs are fast and angry.
“Hornets Of Fall” does see the band expanding their musical palette, and that is not necessarily a bad thing, but I’m not sure these guys need to move too far outside the comfort zone established on “Satan Will Follow You Home”. Some bands should stay in their lane and for DEAD TIRED, that is the fast lane.
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