Kev Rowland James Christian may have been fronting this band for more than 30 years, but neither he nor the rest of the guys are showing any sign whatsoever of slowing down. There have been a few different periods of the band since it was first pulled together by none other than Gregg Giuffria (Angel) and signed by Gene Simmons, but James has been a constant, and Jimi Bell (guitar) and drummer B.J. Zampa have been there since 2005 and this is also the second album featuring bassist Chris Tristram. They have looked outside the band to assist with the songwriting this time, as they wrote most of the numbers with Mark Spiro (Giant, Bad English, Cheap Trick etc.) as well as also collaborating with Tommy Denander, Chris Pelcer, and Richard Hymas.

With those names involved, and the band themselves on fire, then one knows exactly what this album is going to sound like, namely melodic hard rock which sounds as if it has come fresh out of the 70’s with loads of melody and into the 80’s with panache and hooks to die for. The production manages to keep the music just this side of bubblegum pop, the result being that here is a guilty pleasure as while this type of music was done for by the likes of grunge and all the extremes of metal which exploded in the 90’s, there cannot be many who will fail to just smile all the way through this release. We all know there is far more deep and meaningful music out there, and bands that really live it in a way we understand, but sometimes all you want is hard rock with passion, hooks, harmony vocals and melody, and these guys really know how to deliver just that. There may be too many “ooh’s” for some, but take it from me this is an incredibly enjoyable release, and at the end of it isn’t that what music is supposed to be all about? For 48 minutes this is an escape from the rather frightening world around us and we are transported to a place of lights and glamour, as if the darkness will never gather again.

Stephen Fourth album since House of Lords' rebirth in 2006 with new formation and this shows how the band has been consistently putting out good albums one after another. After the slightly tired and sloppy third release, House of Lords is finally bringing back the vehicle on track. If you remember the highly acclaimed release of 'Demons Down', it's apparent that James Christian tried to relive the vibe of that album in here, and spice it up with their recent sound.

The output of this experiment is a very diverse record and rich in influences on most of the tracks, like the Led Zeppelin feel with slow-paced-heavy-riffs in 'One Man Down'; the middle-eastern feel on 'Living In A Dream World'; the bluesy touch on 'Searchin'; and even the metallic explosive on 'Blood'. The drawback is that it might not appeal the masses easily and I myself also found some inconsistency in several songs and only around 5 real champions.

'First To Cry' and 'Someday When' are two magnificent midtempo melodic rockers; 'The Next Time I Hold You' is a big ballad and this track alone can lure you to buy the disc. Ballads are the area where House of Lords excel and James Christian's superior vocal fits perfectly on this type of song. 'Hologram' and 'Once Twice' are couple best tunes of the second half.

The low point of this album is the horrible production. It sounded like a dusty demos tape from an old basement and this flaw prevented me from giving 'Big Money' any score higher than 80%. Great album anyway and fans of House of Lords or melodic rock in general should buy this for their own collection.

Stephen 'Cartesian Dreams' was hailed by many as one of the strongest releases by the band but in fact, after some extensive spins, I think this is the worst of the last four records and the second worst of their entire career after the abysmal 'The Power and The Myth'. But despite that negative view, House of Lords' grand arrangement, majestic vocal, heavy guitar sounds, and clever lyrics are actually making them a greatly underrated band.

I'll start with the best tracks here. 'Desert Rain' is a blast, the riffs are heavy, the typical melodies of classic HoL still exist, Christian's vocal is just superb. 'Bangin' is even better, the verse and chorus set are better and this is clearly the best track. Another great thing to watch here are 'A Simple Plan', 'The Bigger They Come', and 'Joanna'.

The rest are between average and fillers such as the title track and the bonus track, 'The Train', are good but they've done so much other better songs. 'Sweet September', a tender ballad, still a good one, but still far from perfect and quite disappointing for me because House of Lords' used to make such special ballads. 'Never Never Look Back' and 'Repo Man' are the worst and 'Born To Be Your Baby' and 'Saved By Rock' are too average and forgettable as well.

With 12 tracks and 2 fillers and 2 other average tracks, this album is actually still considered pretty good. The problem is probably after two great albums since 2006, House of Lords was burdened with a great expectation to create an even better album and that's not an easy task to achieve. My rating will stayed around 75% for this one and in other words, a good thing to have one in your collection.

Stephen The reunited House of Lords with the comeback album, "The Power And The Myth", harvested a bitter poor-reception, and singer James Christian reshuffled the formation and return to the scene with a fresh line-up, strengthened by the talented axeman, Jimi Bell and veteran drummer, BJ Zampa. Original member, Gregg Giuffria, helped the band with his keyboard contribution but unable to permanently join the band. "World Upside Down" signified a new chapter of the band's career, incorporates both melodic hard rock and AOR feel to their musical style, lush of intense guitar solos and crystal keys, encapsulated with a metallic edge on the rhythm section.

The album was opened with a pompous overture, "Mask of Eternity", and blasted with a powerful uptempo harmony of "These Are The Times". Jimi Bell puts an incredible Spanish acoustic intro to the passionate ballad, "Field of Shattered Dreams", but "All The Pieces Falling" is a better ballad with a lot of beautiful melodies. "I'm Free" has a darker edge and inspired by "Demons Down"-era arrangement. "Rock Bottom" is an adrenaline pumper and the heaviest track of the album. This is my fave track of the album along with the gigantic melodic rock, "Million Miles", and a haunting mid-tempo power ballad, "Ghost of Time".

Overall, this solid record answered the doubt of House of Lords' fans that their days are over, in fact, this marks the new era of the band, which is in my opinion, are better than their 80s era. The mixing production was handled by Dennis Ward, and as usual, you'll get a killer sounding album. James Christian's voice is better than ever, the whole band delivered a perfect and tight performance, and couple of decent songs but most of them are very good, making this an absolute mind-blowing release of 2006.

Bottomline : The grand revival of the Lords!