HOUSE OF LORDS – New World – New Eyes
- Posted on 11-07-2020
US hard rockers House of Lords have churned out a handful of well-written and interesting records these past many years, but their latest one entitled “New World – New Eyes” may in fact be one of their very best yet. First of all, this 2020 opus comes across as more of a proper band effort than previous efforts and the riffs are better and the choruses bigger, which is perfectly exemplified by the ridiculously memorable “Change (What’s It Gonna Take)”, the punchy yet melodically rich “One More”, and the entertaining arena-rocker “The Both of Us”. My personal favorite is probably the groovy “Chemical Rush” which even possesses a few Zeppelin-esque ideas and elements and sounds slightly grittier than the other tracks on the album. The bluesy delight that is “The Chase” is wicked too, and “Better off Broken” is a killer anthem thanks to its infectious riffs and vocals.
The production is strong too and each member of the ensemble delivers the goods, so no complaints there whatsoever. Despite the strength of the melodies and the passionate performance by the band all around, there are a few tunes present on the disc that fall by the wayside and contribute very little of worth to the affair, namely the ballad “Perfectly (You and I)” and “We’re All That We Got”, but given that the remaining nine compositions are all well-executed and elegantly arranged, I am not going to act like a sour ass just because a couple of songs lack depth and staying power. By the way, did I mention that the solos are quite tasteful and exquisite too?
I think 2017’s “Saint of the Lost Souls” captured a certain spark and energy that were lacking at times on some of its predecessors, but “New World – New Eyes” is even better than that one and is undoubtedly one of the most driven and superbly written offerings of their career. Its grand atmosphere and dynamics ought to excite all you lovers of melodic hard rock out there. This one is definitely worth looking into.