This is a debut album from the Romanian Heavy Rock band INBOUND. "Lord of Deception" consists of 8 songs, and their sound is a very stripped down to almost a modern, low tuned groove with strong, melodic female vocals. The guitar squeals are reminiscent of Zakk Wylde meets PANTERA, but overall their sound is much in line with North American acts like ALICE IN CHAINS or "No More Tears" era OZZY OSBOURNE if thrown into a late 1990's modern hard rock blender.

Much of the guitar playing has a distinct bluesy feel, but a lot of the main riffs for "Insomnia" and the title cut aren't that fresh or interesting to keep me moving to the next song- and it is not as if INBOUND perform in a technical, complex progressive metal manner. When the arrangements lack any special punch or twists and the production is average at best, if the performances aren't perfect than I expect the audience attention spans will fade away.

Not even the lower PAT BENATAR-like lower vocal range that is sultry and mysterious on "Empty But Alive" can keep my head from nodding off to dream land. I think these Romanians need to seriously revamp their ideas and content.