It's like time travel, in a way.
Well it's nice to see an American metal band that's neither nu metal, nor metalcore, nor rap metal. With a few noteable exceptions, just about every group I've heard from across the pond recently has subscribed to the unmelodic, simplistic styles of metal that I for one can't stand. But Herod have a style that veers heavily towards the melodic, the catchy. Think classic eighties rock mixed with power metal style touches. Indeed, they make no secret of their influences, with about a third of their press release talking about their similarities to "the Metal greats of old". 'Rich Man's War...Poor Man's Fight' manages to take the deeply unfashionable and dated side of metal, and make it sound, if not totally new, at least reasonably exciting and enjoyable.
There's a strong Iron Maiden influence here, definately. The catchy choruses, skillful (if slightly intrusive) shredding, and the similar sounding but enjoyable songs. Tracks such as 'Broken Promises' widdle along like the nineties never happened, while 'Forever' slows things down a notch; the token ballad. This is also where the power metal influences become more pronounced, with soaring vocal melodies and a nice mix of subtle quiet bits and silly, overblown pomp. It also helps to showcase the skills of Mike "Union" Jeffers, whose vocals are well done regardless of whether they're the classic rock style or the warbly epic power metal one. Generally, this album does the speedy, riff heavy thing very well, although the songs do blend into one another. I personally couldn't tell were 'The Ring' ended and 'Grand Design' began, but at least what's done about ten times here is done well.
While this style of metal, with it's repetitiveness and lack of serious innovation, isn't the kind of thing I go for, I can't help but like it, and the band certainly do what they set out to do well. Those who miss the days of hairspray and spandex will love sonds such as the 'The Ring', while others will prefer the more melodious tracks. There's not a touch of irony in Herod's tribute to metal's early days - this album is big, dumb, and also a very fun listen. It's certainly not the most cerebral of records, but 'Rich Man's War...Poor Man's Fight' is a high quality and likeable album.