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A Hero's Death
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A Hero's Death Image
Metascore
84

Universal acclaim - based on 23 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.1

Universal acclaim- based on 55 Ratings

  • Summary: The second full-length release for the Dublin post-punk band was recorded in Los Angeles by producer Dan Carey.
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 23
  3. Negative: 0 out of 23
  1. musicOMH.com
    Jul 31, 2020
    100
    Shunning a tried-and-tested formula to focus on evolution and experimentation is always a massive risk. But by choosing to embrace their calmer, and often much darker side, the Dubliners could well have given us their masterpiece.
  2. Q Magazine
    Jul 23, 2020
    100
    Rather than succumb to difficult second album syndrome, Fontaines D.C. have emerged frontrunners in an already crowded field of vital, important young bands. A Hero's Death is a resounding victory. [Aug 2020, p.100]
    All this publication's reviews
  3. Clash Music
    Jul 27, 2020
    90
    Subversive, non-conformist and melodious, this record has the credentials of a classic rock and roll album. The decision to take a radical approach only works for the few, the possession of ammunition that’s needed to master such a challenge is not for anyone. Fontaines D.C. have it.
  4. Uncut
    Jul 23, 2020
    80
    Introspective and tightly wound. [Sep 2020, p.26]
    All this publication's reviews
  5. The Independent (UK)
    Jul 30, 2020
    80
    It’s a relief then, to find that – despite Fontaines DC’s own misgivings – they still have plenty more of note to say.
  6. New Musical Express (NME)
    Jul 28, 2020
    80
    In aiming to examine the self rather than please others, Fontaines D.C. have exerted a knack for writing anthems that are at once self-excoriating and intimately relatable.
  7. Rolling Stone
    Jul 30, 2020
    70
    Although they indulge more textures this time, they don’t stray so far from Dogrel’s art-punk blueprint to the point of losing themselves. It’s just that the palette is wider and more pronounced. If anything, their chiming, noisy guitars and messy arrangements only fit their highfalutin aspirations even better.

See all 23 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 14
  3. Negative: 3 out of 14
  1. Larissajkx
    Dec 26, 2020
    10
    the album is good and addictive beautiful vocals and poetic lyrics and sound is very nice
  2. hayesrjack
    Jul 31, 2020
    10
    The first time listening round the album i wasn't really feeling it but second time round something clicked and have loved it since. FontainesThe first time listening round the album i wasn't really feeling it but second time round something clicked and have loved it since. Fontaines D.C. seem to be one of the only bans around at the moment where they are pure with no filter. People complain about the vocals and the accent but whats the point of Grian changing his vocals as that takes away the purity of Fontaines D.C. and which ultimately what makes them them.There isn't really a band around like them at the moment, people like to draw connection to idles but this album which consists of a more melancholy feel definitely burns that bridge.… Expand
  4. manonwire40
    Nov 12, 2021
    9
    Fantastic second album where the band mature before our eyes with a collection of songs that feel bigger, older, wiser. Outstanding.
  5. IngmarGod
    Aug 10, 2020
    8
    it seems like I'm listening to Joy Division, and Radiohead at the same time..
  6. bartewing
    Nov 19, 2020
    6
    Not as bad as a lot of people are saying but not as good as the critics are saying. I think their first album was so generational that itNot as bad as a lot of people are saying but not as good as the critics are saying. I think their first album was so generational that it became hard to hear them honestly. The 2nd album was always going to be a tough follow. I like that they took it down and were more reflective, last year had to be physically and emotionally exhausting. In the end, the music had too much meaningless repetition and the lyrics slipped considerably. Some good songs but also some self-indulgent ones.… Expand
  7. HG_Kitara
    Nov 20, 2020
    5
    A Hero's Death can be summarised as a small collection of great songs in a sea of dreary filler. Although Fontaines do well in broadeningA Hero's Death can be summarised as a small collection of great songs in a sea of dreary filler. Although Fontaines do well in broadening their sound, and taking their listener from slow, soft poetry to loud and intense riffs, there is a clear lack of direction like we see on Dogrel. For me, this is a shift in the wrong direction for Fontaines. However, the title track is fantastic… Expand
  8. Craigdimas
    Aug 4, 2020
    0
    ‘Big’ announced a band with fire and attitude and Dogrel was mostly a blast, though the flat vocals on slower tracks grated after a while.‘Big’ announced a band with fire and attitude and Dogrel was mostly a blast, though the flat vocals on slower tracks grated after a while. Thus, however, is a total disaster. A succession of mid-pace dirges which horribly expose the timeless, nasal vocals. There’s no energy, no passion - the punk energy is gone and there’s nothing much in its place. Grian Chatten sounds like a bad karaoke singer in a bar, and the band seem to have lost sight of what made them interesting in the first place. Some of the lyrical content of Dogrel was great - ‘Dublin in the rain is mine...’. Here Grian doesn’t even bother to write lyrics for ‘Televised Mind’ (drones ‘televised mind’ about 40 times) and ‘Hero’s Death’.
    Maybe they were bored during lockdown and put this out as a joke. It’s not funny.    … Expand

See all 14 User Reviews

Awards & Rankings

51
#51 Best Album of 2020
91
#91 Most Discussed Album of 2020

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