House Of Lords

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

Recommended albums

#1 World Upside Down
2006

#2 Cartesian Dreams
2009

#3 House Of Lords
1988

Discography

01|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 choice

World Upside Down

Frontiers, 2006
Produced by James Christian
Keyboards produced by Gregg Giuffria
Ratings: HH: 87 (39) | RYM: 3.80 (126)
Total rating: 815
Updated: 141213

Line-up

James Christian (lv, ag)
Jimi Bell (g)
B.J. Zampa (d)
+
Jeff Kent (b, k, bv)
Robin Beck (bv)
Terry Brock (bv)

Track listing

Songwriters

CP = 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