HOUSE OF LORDS [US] - AOR
House Of Lords - De Kring, Genk (BE) - February 8, 2012 - Pictures by Franky Bruyneel
Line-up changes
Lead vocals: David Glen Eisley (87-88) > James Christian (88-93, 00-now)
Guitars: Lanny Cordola (87-90) > Michael Guy (90-91) > Dennis Chick (91-93) > Michael Guy (00) > Lanny Cordola (00-05) > Jimi Bell (05-now)
Keyboards: Gregg Giuffria (87-93, 00-04)
Bass: Chuck Wright (87-91) > Sean McNabb (91-93) > Chuck Wright (00-05) > Chris McCarvill (05-08) > Matt McKenna (08-09) > Chris McCarvill (09-now)
Drums: Ken Mary (87-91) > Tommy Aldridge (91-93) > BamBam (93) > Ken Mary (00-05) > B.J. Zampa (05-now)
In bold: the "World Upside Down" line-up
Guitars: Lanny Cordola (87-90) > Michael Guy (90-91) > Dennis Chick (91-93) > Michael Guy (00) > Lanny Cordola (00-05) > Jimi Bell (05-now)
Keyboards: Gregg Giuffria (87-93, 00-04)
Bass: Chuck Wright (87-91) > Sean McNabb (91-93) > Chuck Wright (00-05) > Chris McCarvill (05-08) > Matt McKenna (08-09) > Chris McCarvill (09-now)
Drums: Ken Mary (87-91) > Tommy Aldridge (91-93) > BamBam (93) > Ken Mary (00-05) > B.J. Zampa (05-now)
In bold: the "World Upside Down" line-up
Recommended albums
Discography01|1988|House Of Lords
US #78 | 797 (#3) 02|1990|Sahara US #121 | 764 (#7) 03|1992|Demons Down 796 (#4) 04|2004|The Power And The Myth 657 #9) 05|2006|World Upside Down 815 (#1) 06|2008|Come To My Kingdom 783 (#5) 07|2009|Cartesian Dreams 805 (#2) 08|2011|Big Money 773 (#6) 09|2014|Precious Metal 747 (#8) 10|2015|Indestructible Released on June 5, 2015 |
Rock Report's choiceWorld Upside DownFrontiers, 2006
Produced by James Christian Keyboards produced by Gregg Giuffria Ratings: HH: 87 (39) | RYM: 3.80 (126) Total rating: 815 Updated: 141213 Line-upJames Christian (lv, ag)
Jimi Bell (g) B.J. Zampa (d) + Jeff Kent (b, k, bv) Robin Beck (bv) Terry Brock (bv) |
Track listing01|Mask Of Eternity (JC/JK/JB)
02|These Are The Times (JC/JK/JB) 03|All The Way To Heaven (JC/JK/JB) 04|Field Of Shattered Dreams (JC/JK/JB) 05|I Am Free (JC/JK/JB) 06|All The Pieces Falling (JL/WF/JK) 07|Rock Bottom (JC/CP/JB) 08|Million Miles (JC/JM) 09|Your Eyes (JC/JK/JB) 10|Ghost Of Time (JM/TM) 11|My Generation (JC/JK/JB) 12|S.O.S. (JC/JK/JB) 13|World Upside Down (CP/SN) SongwritersCP = Chris Pelcer
JB = Jimi Bell JC = James Christian JK = Jeff Kent JL = James Louis JM = James Martin SN = Sarah Nagourney TM = Tom Martin WF = Werner Fritzsching |
Rock Report review
With the
release of their fourth studio album, "The Power And The Myth" (2004), House Of
Lords made a long-expected return to action, but unfortunately the album
didn’t live up to our high expectations. Its three predecessors, which were all released at the tail end of the 80s and the early 90s, were all in a league of
their own and compared to them, the 2004 release was a real disappointment. But now a
light shines at the end of the tunnel and a bright light it is for sure. 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 keep spinning in your head 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 sound better, Mr 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 three new members isn’t to be underestimated as well. Less
well-known is in no way synonymous for less quality! Just listen to the tasty
axework 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'll agree that they are a most talented bunch of players. A total of thirteen
tracks pass in review and not one of them can be labelled as weak. Of course there are a few tracks that stand out for yours truly, as for instance 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: “World Upside Down” is a truly excellent platter and therefore comes
highly recommended to every melodic rock fan.
Serge De Rous, May 2006
Serge De Rous, May 2006