Following an intro that’s very horror-esque with its use of haunting keyboards, marching drums and synth strings, Reading based metallers Her Dying Regret launch into ‘Ashes’ – the first full track from their second release – …and the gloves are off.  With thrashing twin lead guitars and a guttural roar, the band tears into an undeniably great slice of metalcore.  The drums pound relentlessly against a downtuned guitar, topped by a duel vocal of Trivium inspired throatiness and Dani Filth-esque screech.  At the point where it feels as if something will burst, the chorus crashes through with a clean vocal and a very strong melody.  At this point, there’s no doubt that these guys are good players.   Although in a very similar style, the EP’s lead track – and title cut – ‘Legacy’ pulls all of HDR’s best features together, making the best choice for promoting the release.  The melodic chorus – delivered by “clean vocalist” Tom Melville – is among the EP’s best, while the gruff voices – courtesy of Scott London – just teeter on the good side of threatening.  With riffs strongly inspired by classic Killswitch Engage and early Shadows Fall, this is solid stuff indeed.  The twin guitars of Craig Meyer and Dan Osbourne are stellar throughout in their downtuned approach, but it’s Osbourne’s melodic edge that really catches the ear midway.  Following a brief interlude of sweeping notes, as he launches into a brief, yet sharp and clean solo, his playing is reminiscent of something more in keeping with progressive metal.

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