With the release of their 4th studio album “The¨Power And The Myth” in 2004, House Of Lords made the long-expected return to action but unfortunately the album didn’t live up to my high expectations. You see, its predecessors which came out at the tail end of the’80’s and in the early ’90’s, were all in a league of their own and compared to those the 2004 release was a real disappointment.
But now a light shines at the end of the tunnel…a very, very bright light to be exact!
Gone are the more modern elements that had crept into the HOL sound on “The Power And The Myth” and instead we see the band making a return to the sound of old: highly melodic but with the necessary power and equipped with the brand of choruses that turn into burrowing brain moles after just one listen.
The man responsible for this most welcome “change” is without a doubt master ivory tickler Gregg Giuffria, who’s not part of the actual line-up of the band but nevertheless had a large finger in the pie in the making of this album. Along with vocalist James Christian, whose voice has never sounded better, mister Giuffria has made sure the sonical content of “World Upside Down” is exactly what fans have come to expect from HOL.
Of course the input by the band’s 3 new members isn’t to be underestimated. Less well-known is in no way synonymous for less quality! Just listen to the tasty axe work of Jimi Bell and the very tight rhythm section of bassist Jeff Kent (who also handles the keyboards) and drummer B.J. Zampa (Michael Vescera Project) and you too will agree that they are a most talented bunch.
Of the 13 tracks on offer not one can be labelled as weak but of course there are a couple that stand out for yours truly like for example the ultra catchy “These Are The Times” and “S.O.S.”, the rather heavy ’I Am Free” and the beautiful semi-ballads “All The Pieces Falling” and the title track. The band has always had a knack for writing powerful ballads and along with the ones just mentioned, “Your Eyes” is definitely among the album’s highlights.
Bottom line is that “World Upside Down” is a truly excellent platter and therefore comes highly recommended to every melodic hard rock fan. No more and no less, people! (SDR)
 

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Noud (on 31/12/06) Een geweldig album. De energie uit nummers als ‘These are the times’ en ‘World upside down’ is precies wat ik nodig heb voorafgaand aan een dag met (voor mij) belangrijke dingen. Geen enkel van de dertien nummers zou ik als ‘zwak’ willen betitelen, op zich al een bewonderenswaardige prestatie. Omwille van dit soort albums bezoek ik sites als deze.   Gandalfn (on 9/12/06) Great melodic hard rock album-one of the best of the year 2006 - Highly recommended !   nigeljames (on 4/10/06) Very nice album. Excellent production really full punchy sound and some very catchy songs. Excellent performances all round. Sounds alot like Harem Scarem's "Weight of the World"   AORPOMPY (on 22/07/06) This band is WAYYYYY overrated ! Good record, but not the cracker some believe it is ! Far removed from the class of their debut !!! Those stupid down tuned guitars kill this record !   Gloobey (on 16/07/06) Christ, this is really, really good. There may be life in this old genre yet, though thre is enough of the new going on here to suggest that HOL know what time it is.   gerasczman (on 5/07/06) The more I listen to this record , the better it gets. Already in my Top-10 so far , I'm sure it will end up high in the annual poll.Maybe the most consistent and mature record House Of Lords have ever done."Rock Bottom" has balls ,while other favourites certainly are "Ghost Of Time" and "Field Of Shattered Dreams".Of course more keyboards would be welcome , but quality is present throughout the whole album.   USDHEAD (on 30/06/06) I've now had the time to savour this fine release. As far as the production and mix are concerned, it is an uttterly incredible release - but anything with Dennis Ward's input is likely to be (subject of a new thread, methinks!!) Vocals, guitars........wonderful as are the songs - well, most of them. I must admit that I start to "turn off" towards the end of the album, and the songs at the back end are really not as strong - so for me, it cannot be album of the year, because it just does not maintain a very high standard all the way through. It's good - probably very good, but not excellent.   AOR Ive (on 17/06/06) A great modern sounding melodic hardrock album , although I still think the first three House Of Lords albums were slightly better . But if you want to modernize the melodic hardrock genre then this is probably the best way to do it , because all the elements that make this kind of music great are still here . James Christian is also in top form and the production ( like most Frontiers releases lately ) is also very good . Another legendary band is back with a vengeance .   melodicmetalmark (on 7/06/06) What can i say about House of Lords or James Christian that hasn't already been said before. Without question this will be in many peoples top ten albums of the year. I've always been a fan of H.O.L and J.C and this just goes to show why-superb.   Haz (on 5/06/06) This is a much better record than their last effort. James's voice is fantastic and the quality of the music is very good. Definitely on the right track.   kotzenfan (on 31/05/06) If you like House of Lords, this is House of Lords at their best. Highly Recommended!!!!   HIBA (on 29/05/06) As a follow-up to "Demons down" this album can count !!! So sad that there had to be an intermission in the form of "The power and the myth", all the power lacking from that album is incorparated in this magnificent album. Serious contender for album of the year, and I mean it !!!   justintime (on 27/05/06) Uh Joan? If you cant hear the quality of a goog song when you hear it regardless of the fact that you might not like the style, you should not comment on it. This whole album has expertly crafted songs. You might not like the style but you certainly cannot deny they are well written. And the WOW factor is because this band has been able to do what most bands only dream of. I have been listening to melodic rock for many years, and I have to say this is one of the best overall CD's I have heard. Surely it is you.   Joan (on 25/05/06) euh... I'm afraid I'm not going to make myself very popular here (given all the high ratings)... however I find this very disappointing. Except for James' voice (still like the "raunchyness") I can't find anything "wow" to say about the songs... surely, must be me !?   spawn71 (on 24/05/06) A great come back, without any doubt!!! I don't care if there isn't the original line-up, 'cause also in "Demons Down" the original members involved were only Christian and Giuffria, exactly like now... And the result was (is) outstanding... like now! BUY this one NOW!!!   Jez (on 22/05/06) Brilliant & without a doubt THE best Melodic Hard Rock album this year. The song quality metre is resolutely stuck firmly in the red on this one, with not even one remotely average track to be found anywhere. 'Ghost Of Time' is completely awesome from the gorgeous key/vocal intro down to it's monster chorus, 'Million Miles' is fabulous, 'Field Of Shattered Dreams' is a great acoustic led ballad, James Christian is awesome, production is quality - Hell, it's all fabulous so go and buy it pronto!!   cammy (on 20/05/06) Best cd of the year so far. These are the times is a fantastic tune as is SOS in America !!   rkblues (on 19/05/06) This CD is killer...I don't think you'll see many better albums this year...the songs are great, Christian sounds better than ever...and Jimi Bell rocks like there's no tomorrow. I was blown away by how good this disc is.   loudnes (on 18/05/06) -   Anthony Wild (on 18/05/06) Teriffico amondio!   banaan (on 13/05/06) To think that I've ignored this band in the eighties, when I had much more time on my hand for listening! These guys know how to write a good melodic song, making me want to listen to them all the time. Great record, will surely be in my top ten of 2006   GlenRavine (on 12/05/06) The boys are back - at least the main guys are (James & Gregg). The Power and.....the what was that last disc called again....because the World has def turned upside down since the last release. Amazing, everything from the songwriting to the production...Big time hooks are all featured on this disc. Good to see them back in fine form....this is the DISC that should've been the last time around.   Carl1 (on 12/05/06) Very good album but I actually loved the route they took with Power & The Myth and I miss the intricate musicianship displayed on that album The problem on this new one for me is that the songs seem a lot more simplistic and instant which often means there is no staying power. I really wanted to love this but I only like it a lot.   Steel Jockey (on 12/05/06) I feel it's slightly overrated. It is a solid album but not all the songs are that good and enjoyable. But the good ones outweight the mediocre so a nice album.   WOLF 359 (on 11/05/06) This is a really good album and will probably be the best hard rock cd of the year but there is still along way to go so i'm reserving judgement . JC is on fire throughout and there are some killer track's so BUY .   Gordy (on 11/05/06) Who cares who, or who is not in this band now, or how much Greg Giuffria had to do with it or not. Just judge the music on its own merit. It is bloody good. A superb melodic rock album that (IMO) is an essential purchase, with one of the best vocalists you'll ever likely to hear.   andrejmy (on 10/05/06) Oh well, finally the perfect piece of hard rock after many years and many avarage albums. This is real masterpiece and the best HOL album. Pure hard rock at its best. Vocalist is a genius and the production is excellent. Yeah the best hard rock album I have heard in last few years !!!   madgarry (on 10/05/06) This is my first house of lords album and I must say it rocks like hell and what a singer. IME very impressed.   cradle1scot (on 10/05/06) STUNNING. Rock bottom will cheese off some of the die hards, but not me. And the rest of the album is just fantastic. SOS in America is an anthem in the making. These are the time rocks like hell and you wont be dissapointed in this album. As I said on the forum...album of the year !!!   astonbob (on 9/05/06) should they called them self "House of Lords" when only james is left from the original? well Gregg produced/key it and there for they have the right. And they are back where "Demons Down" left us. So this one i must like and i really do...and James is a killer singer. You heard them before? then you should love this one.

 

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