Also from the press release: "Herod is Buffalo [New York]'s new progenitor of metal. Blending classic British heavy metal, American thrash, and streetwise hardcore, this new Buffalo band will be the next to carry on the tradition brought forth by Buffalo's great bands of yesterday." This statement might hold some truth if the band were to get rid of their current vocalist. Musically speaking one can indeed hear a galloping rhythm section á la Steve Harris and crew, guitar riffing that invokes the earlier work of the James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett tandem, and blistering leads not uncommon to any of the referenced bands. The drumming, however, is nothing to write home about and the bass guitar is virtually transparent.

The vocalist is a replacement player which begs the question "Was Herod actually a Metal band at one time?" Based on this album, one would have to say no. The inclusion of passages with acoustic strumming, discernible bass, and clean leads are blatant nods to Shadows Fall in both their sound and style. In fact, this is no more obvious than on "Into the Sky" – perhaps plagiarized from Shadows Fall's 'Somber Eyes to the Sky' album? After 30+ seconds of unoriginality, a very Lars Ulrich drum fill gives way to "Life it seems will fade away, drifting further every day...." Oh, wait, that was what I expected to hear. There is actually more of a Shadows Fall feel in the extended guitarwork which itself borrows from a lot of that band's forebears.

Then the vocals take the stage, disrupting what was a nice tribute to bands not named Herod. The vocalist, Judah Nero – that has to be a stage name – simply tries to bring too much melody and harmony. He fails as he extends notes that sound out of pitch against the backdrop of the guitars. This sound just does not work. Of course this is an opinion, but the entirety of the album is populated with vocals that seem to be at odds with the music. When the titular lyrics of "We Are Those People" are sung, one cannot help but wonder what kind of people those are. When Nero attempts aggression, the sound is uninspired. When the band stumbles across its own mishmash of old Metallica drumming and Priest leads, it sounds almost comical. The music on this album, while not the most original or best produced, saves Herod from being completely without merit.

written by Tony Belcher

Playing time: 51.54