Review Summary: More uniform hard rock than stoner-thrash but still worth rooting for
Showing signs of life with the Strange Masters re-recording album last year, Zig Zags makes a proper return with their fourth album. Deadbeat At Dawn is right in line with 2019’s They’ll Never Take Us Alive, offering a similar amalgamation of stoner-tinged punk thrash with a thick production job that emphasizes thick riffs and gruff yet melodic vocals. There might be even some hints of their 2014 debut seeping through as the album shares a similarly compact thirty-three minute runtime and almost easygoing perspective on those punk numbers.
However, there’s a sense that the band may still be trying to find their footing after the time away. It’s a generally upbeat listen but feels almost middle of the road compared to their 2010s efforts, the faster tracks not quite tapping into the fiery intensity while the more polished aspects make the more mid-tempo songs not hit the sweet spot that gave their lo-fi early outings that spontaneous edge. It feels more uniform than what came before, no doubt still full of those eclectic inspirations but under a more nebulous hard rock framing.
Fortunately the songwriting still has enough of a catchy veneer to make up for the somewhat lessened energy. The opening “Not Of This World” and “Take Me To Your Leader” actually utilize the more level pacing to its strongest ends with their determined shuffles gearing up for a fight. “Altered States” comes the closest to hitting that thrash sweet spot with its mosh-ready riff set broken up by a bass-driven swirl while “At War With Hell” has the sort of sinister flavor that winks at classic Slayer. I also can’t complain too much about the simple pleasures in the hooks on the title track.
While the presentation on Deadbeat At Dawn can feel a little plain compared to Zig Zags’s previous outings, this is ultimately still a pretty good heavy rock album. Its personality isn’t quite as forceful in comparison, making me yearn for a bit more intensity or some weirder excursions. But at the same time, the musicianship and songwriting are tight enough to appeal to fans of more workman metal ala Night Demon. All the same, they’re still a band more than worthy to root for and it’ll be interesting to see what they make of their second wind.
