Album Review - House of Lords - Come to My Kingdom

House of Lords, keyboardist Greg Giuffria's pet after he abandoned the band named after his own name - had three gigantic rock albums in the early 90s - then split apart. The original members reunited for the controversial "Power and the Myth", an album that was more modern clunker than the bombastic AOR masterpiece that was pined for. A shakedown of musicians found the "voice" of James Christian being one of the sole retainers from the lineup, and Giuffria's input reduced to "composer". However, Jimi Bell was picked up and that was a boon in their favor indeed, as his guitars were fresh, fire fueled and cut swaths of glory into the followup album, "World Upside Down". "World" brought back the pomp and purpose of the House of Lords name and delivered one hell of a fantastic album. So here we are in 2008 with their third bid at melodic perfection, "Come to My Kingdom".

Bell and Christian make a formidable team, and with the mixing/producing assistance of Dennis Ward and Tommy Denander, this turned out to be a fabulous disc that brings to the table all that is expected in a HoL release. Superb vocals, memorable choruses, fluid melodies, sizzling guitars, and atmospheric keyboard touches....

The first song proper, and title track, "Come to My Kingdom" is a song steeped in pomp and rock bombast, taking pride in its heavier roots and sweeping up the chorus in a spine tingling embrace, letting all the emotion pour out unchecked. The song is a tease, a breath of perfume scented air, a little dash of darkness, a hint of melodic softness. You come away with a definite impression of melodic excellence.

"I Need to Fly" comes next in all its dizzying glory. Softer, and more tender than the urgent rush of "Kingdom", this one takes its time finding its wings. But when it does, it just flies. Images of the bluest of skies and wings spread to blot out the sky and find the undercurrent breezes make this a track that buries itself in love sickness and stark imagery. All while rising your emotions to that of a kite finding purchase as a diamond dot in the sky. A pull of the string, and it comes grazing the tree tops for the verses.

"I Don't Want to Wait" has a dark heart, something that reminds one of the dark-exotic undercurrent of Def Leppard's "Retroactive" but with the thoughtful pop flavor of Turner-sung Rainbow. "Another Day From Heaven" pulls you back down to Earth as the lyrics unfurl to illustrate the life of one who only wants to join the ranks of the eternal sleepers in the afterlife. Prepared to dislike this one, it does grown on you, especially with the chorus that churns upwards and sticks in your head by striking an uptempo rhythm and some genuine sounding vocals. Sappy... but it can be overlooked.

"In a Perfect World" sticks to bombastic choruses that come to ease in the mind and equally entertaining to lift your voice along to.

"The Dream" is painted in hazy shadows of liquid moonlight. A midnight fantasy that surges into a graceful majestic chorus and fades to a sweeping ebbing flow of the sleepy tides for the moody, luna-washed verses. Jimi Bell's guitars are weaving webs of electric magic, a perfect match to the rock elegance of the key-backed James Christian. The spoken jarring words of "wake up..." pierce the dreamscape and send chills down the spine. Such a dreamlike, midtempo rock song, beautiful and intriguing.

"One Foot in the Dark" is another step towards completing their "rock n' roll mission". There's a generous dose of Journey here and of course, past House of Lords. It is light and fluffy, a free falling airy rock confection (like Shy) that builds (like Frontline) to a massive chorus (harder Journey) and peppered with growling, aggressive guitars. A caress turns into a backhand right to the face. Nice.

"Your Every Move" ramps it back up into rock overdrive, taking on the glowing appearance of older House of Lords. Great catchy verses that could have come from 1988 and a chorus that slays and kills. Lots of backup vocal work give the appearance of a vocal wall, and also conjures images of 80s Bon Jovi (of all things...) Yet this works and makes a good, quick hard rocker for the midpoint in the album.

"I Believe" finds its gentleness, and uses James Christian's vocals to emotion-stirring effect. A song of love, of hope, of the colors of life. Again, Bell's guitars are absolutely perfect, giving this pretty song a prick and an electric sting. "One Touch" is another ballad, this one fired by desire and a bit of thunder rumbling rhythm riff guitars lurking in the otherwise clear skies. James belts it like his romance depends on it, his vocals being the deep grace that spices this otherwise midtempo ballad.

"Even Love Can't Save Us" is thick and electric, slathering on the guitars with wild abandon and typical uptempo vocals. It's not spectacular, but hits alot of the right notes to be an interesting track, if not as fantastically memorable as others on the disc. Think of it as bonus filler and you won't be as disappointing in its apparent downstep in quality.

"In the Light" forsakes its title and instead dabbles in the darkness. A powerful track that's all smashing heavy rock and soaring choruses. Something of a mix of Pretty Maids, Def Lep's "Retroactive", a flaunting of Frontline, a bit of this and that. The patchwork results in a sparkling song. A satisfying end to the album, closing it with a vicious bang. Much preferable to just fading away.

So does "Come to My Kingdom" measure up to "World Upside Down"? Absolutely, but not surpassing it. "World" had the advantage of coming after the horribly disappointing "Power and the Myth" and introducing the flavor of Jimi Bell's guitarist in the House of Lords setting. "Kingdom" is a worthy follow up that delivers everything the fans expect, and a bit more. That element of surprise and wonder is missing perhaps, but this is an extremely well composed and performed disc that delivers melodic rock of the highest caliber.

Written by Alanna
Friday, April 4, 2008
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High quality Melodic Hard Rock from start to end, groovy and powerful.... · Read more ·

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