DEAD TIRED

DEAD TIRED "Satan Will Follow You Home"

By Dr. Abner Mality

The music business still has the capacity to surprise you. Not often, but it happens. It sure happened with DEAD TIRED, a band I almost passed over entirely. When I found out that their lead singer George Pettit was also the front man for ALEXISONFIRE...a band I can't stand,...all my warning signals were primed. Well, I did George and DEAD TIRED a disservice because this record is a real shocker. In fact, Pettit's caustic vocals are a big part of what makes DEAD TIRED work.

This is a noisy and aggressive album with a strong punk feel to it. There's also elements of noise rock and metal, but the punk feeling predominates. That's obvious from the first second that "Predatory Loans" slams into view. It's raw and basic aggression with an almost ridiculously simple riff. Pettit's snarling vocals just drip with pure contempt and attitude as he rips into the evils of vulture capitalism, attacking the exact subject indicated in the song title. This track woke me the hell up and introduced me to the real DEAD TIRED right away. "Show Me A Sign" follows and if anything is even more mean and savage. There's some straight up rock n roll in the leads, but this is hardcore punk with a metal production.

Then the title track shows DEAD TIRED has more than one trick up their sleeve. The pace of this track is slow and ominous...one could almost use the word "doom" but more in a punk and noise rock fashion. Slow, noisy and foreboding. The slower pace pops up again on "Vast Lethality", which includes a squealing sax adding another layer of angst and the aptly named "Creeping Dread", which lives up to its title. "New World Pigs" and "Aging Out" swing back to the fast and nasty. "Tyrant's Palace" is offbeat and different...it has a choppy, nervous riff that again is ridiculously simple but works anyway.

The only trace of commercialism and a more melodic approach comes in the last track "Domestic", which has smooth crooning vocals and dials back the aggression. A whole album of tracks like this would have made this record a dud, but here it's not too bad, although I wouldn't have ended the album with it. Throughout the record, DEAD TIRED maintain their ability to surprise and entertain while generally keeping the heaviness and bile you'd want in a punk and metal record. And again, George Pettit delivers a standout vocal performance.

So yeah, sometimes you can really get ambushed by a record. "Satan Will Follow You Home" is just such a record and Old Nick will be welcome at my place.

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DEAD TIRED