Band:	Herod (USA)
Album:	Rich Man's War Poor Man's Fight
Style:	Thrash metal
Release date:	April 2006

01. Assimilation
02. All Night
03. One Life To Burn
04. Lies And Betrayal
05. The Fire
06. Broken Promises
07. Forever
08. The Ring
09. Grand Design
10. Journey Of Creation

Don't take the review for Herod's 2004 full-length 'For Whom The Gods Would Destroy' for granted. It was written in rather harsh terms but the band have changed a great deal in two years. They've gone through another line up change, got a new singer and thoroughly rethinked their music. The basis is still the same, i.e. full on heavy metal with thrash overtones sometimes close to Forbidden for example, but Herod cheerfully got rid of their most blatant metalcore influences and included other, more enjoyable and original elements like a very strong hard rock vibe and Southern rock atmospheres.

The vocals kind of turned me off the previous album. The aggressive parts were cool but the clean vocals had this annoying cliché metalcore tinge (note that I have nothing against metalcore but the "emo" clean singing can sometimes sound quite awful to me). The new vocalist, Jason Russo, seems to have an 80's heavy and thrash background, as he switches effortlessly from harsh vocals à la Phil Anselmo to high-pitched elevations like so many thrash singers back in the day. I just wanted to acknowledge his excellent work on Rich Man's War...

On the musical side, the range of styles we're encountering here is quite wide: from the thrashy opener 'Assimilation' to the full speed madness of 'Lies And Betrayal' (check out the brilliant solo in the intro) to calmer, bluesy tunes in most of the rest. Some songs such as 'Fire' even tread along the path of stoner metal. Altogether there is a strong and very enjoyable old school feeling in this album, like an old puzzle in which pieces of first era ACDC, Southern metal and good old heavy metal fit together in an intense tribute to ancient times. Though this album still sounds modern and not outdated at all, even if I can't really pinpoint why since there is nothing too modern here.

As a matter of fact, my only minor complaint would be the cheesy ballad 'Forever' that definitely did not deserve a spot among such metal hymns.

In one word, Herod are very good at personalizing their influences. Rich Man's War, Poor Man's Fight is a very complete, varied, thoughtfully-written, catchy and enjoyable album that keeps your attention awake thanks to the excellent guitars playing - nice thrashy riffs, great hooks, fetching melodies, breathtaking guitar duels... and the solos, oh, the solos... - and the 80's nostalgic if not very powerful production. If you're a fan of the old school US scene, if you are disappointed that no young bands seem to revive this type of music, Herod is really worth your time and money.

Highlights: Assimilation, All Night, Lies And Betrayal, Broken Promises, Journey Of Creation