Hailing from Livonia, MI (a hometown they share with, yes,
His Name Is Alive), the three youngsters in
the Dead Heroes have absolutely nothing going for them. Everything about them is derivative: the Oi!-derived hairstyles, the spike-studded leather jackets, the fake English accents, the headlong punk roar that evokes
Motörhead,
the Exploited, and
the Dead Kennedys in equal measure. So why is
Let It Ride such a complete and total blast to listen to? Because
the Dead Heroes don't care one way or the other about being either derivative or original -- they're not intentionally aping anyone, nor are they self-consciously trying to stake out a unique corner of the punk rock territory. They're just playing and yelling as hard and loud as they can, and they're doing so with a winning combination of mature chops and youthful abandon. There's not much point discussing the songs individually, since, in finest hardcore tradition, they all sound gloriously the same: speed-of-light tempos (mostly), roaring guitars with the blessedly occasional rudimentary solo, lots and lots of hoarse screaming. The demo tracks at the end of the program aren't noticeably more ragged than the studio material, nor do the five years that have passed between those tracks' original release and this compilation (which includes the four songs from the band's Faster & Louder EP) seem to have brought much development in the band's sound. They'll probably sound like this through their whole career. Good for them.