Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: House Of Lords
Label: Frontiers Records
Release: 2014
Running time: 50:08
Rating: 4/5
James Christian never sleeps! Last summer he put out a solo studio album, “Lay It All On Me” – RockLine review HERE – while since 2004, at regular intervals of a year or two, we’ve been getting new studio albums from the legendary American melodic rockers House Of Lords. After their reactivation in the early years of the new millennium, the lineup led by James Christian really found its footing with the album »World Upside Down« (2006), which signaled a return to the band’s traditional sonic and stylistic trademarks, rooted in the turn of the eighties into the nineties. And now here’s “Precious Metal”! The band’s ninth studio album overall.
No tricks. No novelties. The new album keeps up the band’s expressive constant of the last ten years. »Big Money« did serve up a somewhat grittier, grubbier sound production, but Christian didn’t overdo the experiment, knowing he could draw the wrath of fans who demand House Of Lords albums with the typical hallmarks of melodic, bombastic catchiness. So: business as usual in maintaining the typical House Of Lords art constant.
And compared to its predecessor »Big Money«, »Precious Metal« swings back toward a stronger sense of classic bombastic allure. The keyboards have taken up more room in the sound and the arrangements again, and this album leans more toward earlier records like »Cartesian Dreams« (2009) and/or »Come To My Kingdom« (2008).
Christian is so seasoned that he can repackage the idea of a melodic tune into a grabby riff »with his eyes closed«, dressed up with the »bombastic frills« of keyboards and, of course, the anthemic allure of the vocal melodies. Over the years he’s honed this skill as a composer to the max. He steers it so deftly that you can’t fault him for even a single artistic slip-up. None of this is new anymore, neither in terms of production nor, of course, arrangement and songwriting. What’s interesting is that, despite the chewed-over and well-worn phrases of past studio outings, Christian repackages them so cleverly that they hit full-blooded again and again. And that goes for »Precious Metal« too. That’s a noble virtue that only a few songwriters possess.
The coloring of the lead vocal with backing harmonies once again brings the album its typical emotional peaks. Of course, these are focused on achieving that grabby effect when you listen to the melodically polished chorus hooks that have to win the listener over instantly. Besides Christian’s own vocal lines layered on top of the lead, we can’t overlook the magical touch that the velvety vocal charm of his life partner Robin Beck brings to those same harmonies. In the song Enemy Inside, Christian »lets« Beck take a few of the lead verses too, and the duet combination once again proves a winning formula for creating the album’s grabbiest moments (take the superbly catchy, melodically polished chorus of the song Action). Worth mentioning that Robin Beck also put out another excellent solo studio album in 2013, titled “Underneath” – RockLine review HERE – and once again, none other than James Christian played a hugely important role in its arrangement and production.
»Precious Metal« once again delivers everything that’s demanded and expected of James Christian and company. Fans of the band will be thrilled with the result all over again. Tried and tested, predictable, no artistic surprises. With the new album, House Of Lords remain a constant of high quality among the most prominent standard-bearers of melodic rock. So we’ll definitely see you at one of the dates on the new House Of Lords European tour in 2014!
Lineup
James Christian – vocals, keyboards
Jimi Bell – guitar
Chris McCarvill – bass
BJ Zampa – drums
GUEST MUSICIAN:
Robin Beck – vocal duet on the song Enemy Mine, backing vocals
Production
James Christian
Track list
1. Battle
2. I’m Breakin’ Free
3. Epic
4. Live Every Day (Like Its The Last)
5. Permission To Die
6. Precious Metal
7. Swimmin’ With The Sharks
8. Raw
9. Enemy Mine
10. Action
11. Turn Back The Tide
12. You Might Just Save My Life
