"House of Lords" refuse to slow down !
Nikiforos V. Skoumas | Athens Greece, Cambridge UK | 11/09/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
""House of Lords" is the archetypal all star hard rock band. Making their first appearance in 1988 the band went on to record some of the most influential arena rock albums before breaking up in late 1993. In 2004 the "Lords" returned and have been active and really consistent in their releases. So here comes the fourth post reunion studio album. "Cartesian Dreams". It is very easy for one to underrate this release, it is not as easy a listener as "Come to my Kingdom" nor does it have that `instant classic' quality of "World up side down".
Still it offers a good number of melodic hard rock highlights: "Born to be your baby", "A simple plan" the furious "The bigger they come" and "Bangin" which is a really surprising inclusion as it sounds very much like "Danger Danger"!
I would say that this album's greatest advantage is that it includes equal amounts of pomp rock compositions and direct party metal anthems, offering the listener the best of both worlds. Overall a very strong album which will require a couple of plays to familiarize one's self with the relatively diverse material on "Cartesian Dreams".
The way I see it "Cartesian Dreams" completes a very strong hard rock trilogy that started with "World up side down" and continued with "Come to my kingdom".
"Rock Hard" Greek magazine (issue 46) marks this album with 8,5/10 commenting: "An album that does justice to the fans."
"Classic Rock" UK magazine (issue 137) marks this album with 8/10 commenting: "Cartesian Dreams is as pulsating a slice of melodic pomp rock as you'll hear all year."
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NEW DISCOVERY
jimthar | orlando, fla | 06/21/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"ok this is pretty much my first exposure to this band. i had the cassette for their 'sahara' cd about 16 years ago but really didnt listen to it much and remember very little about it. fast forward to today while i'm tooling around myspace listning to 80's metal while rearranging my room. i went through lillian axe, firehouse, and europe before i landed on HOUSE OF LORDS. i gotta tell you, i was blown away. for someone who has lived at the altar of 80's metal, how this band got by me i'll never know. granted this album i'm reviewing didnt come out in the 80's, but the band's been around since then.
i listened to 2 h.o.l. albums while tooling around on myspace. the first one was 'come to my kingdom'. a very good album that i liked very much and will be buying soon.
then i decided to listen to CARTESIAN DREAMS. wow. this album is awesome. i love it. it rocks from beginning to end. it's heavy, melodic, and fun. just like music should be. the guitar and drums are phenominal and the lead singer can belt it out like nobodys business. he reminds me of david coverdale. and it says something that after all these years rocking that his voice still sounds awesome. the production and mixing are also both spot on. this is a well produced album with a great sound.
if you're a fan of 80's metal or even great melodic hard rock, this album is definately for you. you cant go wrong with this one."
What Dreams are made of......
Scott A. Pickett | Camden,Arkansas | 12/08/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I must admit,upon the first listen to Cartesian Dreams,i wasn't blown away. When HOL released World Upside Down they set the bar so high that it is almost unattainable.The follow up "Come to my Kingdom" was a great cd,but not an instant classic,in my opinion.It was still better than most of the mainstream hard rock acts are passing off today as music.I'm not going to highlight every song,but if you don't give it a chance,you will be missing out on a very good cd. Anything from them,except maybe "The Power and the myth" in my opinion,is a worthwhile effort.Check out "Bangin'"....Sheer 80's delight!"
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1