HOUSE OF LORDS
“WORLD UPSIDE DOWN”
(Frontiers)

Honestly it took me a while to get into the album. Judging by the band’s truly bad “The Power & The Myth” I was “afraid” to listen to the new album. I’m a big fan of the first three albums of the band and I also like very much and respect James Christian and Gregg Giuffria as musicians. My first surprise on this album was the fresh line up… which consists of James Christian on vocals, Jimi Bell on guitar, BJ Zampa on drums, Jeff Kent on bass and keys and Gregg Giuffria who also helped the band on the recordings. I listen to the album many times again and again trying to see if it will appeal to me after a while or not as it did with the first listening. Now I can surely tell that this album is brilliant and it can be compared with the two first albums of the band… although some find it even better than them!

The band seems to have found its lost magical touch and inspiration. James Christian sound soooo great that you easily say that he is singing like he’s 25 years old again! Excellent performance by Christian and I must also say that he also along with Jimi and Jeff wrote most of the songs on this album and you can easily feel James’ magical touch within the songs. The production that he also did is excellent and crystal clear. Many bravos go also to Dennis Ward for the great mixing! Jimi Bell is a great guitarist and those who have heard him through the years knew exactly how good he is. Those who listened to him for the first time, on “World Upside Down” were shocked by his fantastic and melodic solos and riffs. Jeff Kent is a huge power on the band’s machine and BJ is very good and steady.

The song quality is excellent and you can easily listen to the whole album from the start to the very end without skipping a single track. I like almost every songs here but my beloved ones are: “These Are The Times”, “All The Way To Heaven”, “Field Of Shattered Dreams”, “All The Pieces Falling”, “Million Miles”, “Your Eyes”, “Ghost Of Time”, “S.O.S.” and “World Upside Down”.

No seconds thoughts here… if you love the band then you will be taken away by this album… if you are a melodic rock fan in general then this album it will be one of the 5 most beloved albums of 2006 for sure! As James Christian has stated: “This line-up is here to stay and this is only the beginning of many more great records from us. The music speaks for itself”… what more can I say? This band is ready to claim its lost crown for the late 80s-early90s… get this album by any chance!

by Thanos Aggelakis 8,5/10