Some claim
that House of Lords peaked with their classic self-titled debut album
back in 1989, but I beg to differ because both of the two albums prior to this -
"World Upside Down" from 2006 and last years' "Come to My Kingdom" surpassed the
debut album by a distance...
So I was
naturally eager to hear if they have managed to top those two first class
melodic hard rock albums with "Cartesian Dreams". The classic House of Lords
trademarks are maintained even though they are coming across a bit harder and
heavier this time, which feels like a natural progress for the band. The songs
are still catchy and hook laden, expertly crafted and delivered and James
Christian sings up to par with his best, which in my book is absolutely world
class.
So why isn't
this album breaking into the Champions League, which should be the next natural
step for House of Lords? Well, the real blockbuster anthems are missing,
and the album falls just inches short of "World Upside Down" as well as "Come to
My Kingdom".
So where does
that leave us? It leaves us with a first class melodic hard rock album with
twelve well written, crafted and executed songs that leaves almost nothing to be
desired for - if you like House of Lords. And I am sure that when 2009
comes to an end and we look back, we will see that "Cartesian Dreams" was one of
the highlights in melodic hard rock.
House of Lords
proves once more why they should be considered one of the premier melodic hard
rock bands on this small green planet...
Good one!
