A Hero's Death
by Fontaines D.C.
  • Record Label: Partisan
  • Release Date: Jul 31, 2020
User Score
8.1

Universal acclaim- based on 55 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 46 out of 55
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 55
  3. Negative: 3 out of 55
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  1. 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 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 meaninglessNot 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
  2. RageNate
    Sep 6, 2020
    5
    Worthies (5/11):
    - I Don't Belong
    - Televised Mind
    - A Lucid Dream
    - You Said
    - Living In America
  3. 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 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

Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
84

Universal acclaim - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 23
  3. Negative: 0 out of 23
  1. The Quietus
    Aug 4, 2020
    80
    Though falling short of revelatory, a few rotations of A Hero’s Death brings some good news. Outgrowing Joy Division and overblown inverted paddywhackery, it’s a largely nuanced and, most blessedly of all, believable affair.
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  2. The Observer (UK)
    Aug 3, 2020
    80
    Many of Fontaines’ key traits remain: the ability of this young Dublin outfit to retread familiar post-punk ground but with a tensile urgency all their own; and the sardonic Irish tones of Grian Chatten, whose affected blankness speaks volumes.
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  3. No Ripcord
    Aug 3, 2020
    70
    A Hero's Death is not about growth: it's a band assessing where they stand as rising up-and-comers and having the impulse to express themselves differently. Maybe their sulking comes with a bit of affectation, but at least it's a convincing portrait of keeping true to themselves—soaking in everything that surrounds them.
    Read full review
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