House of Lords – Indestructible

@planetmosh reviews Indestructible by .@_HouseOfLords_ on .@FrontiersMusic1

House of Lords was formed in 1987, which makes Indestructible only their tenth studio album in a twenty eight year career.  Not exactly prolific but when you take into account the many and varied line-up changes and the time spent on hiatus it’s actually quite surprising to find the band still making and releasing music at all.  This time around the line-up celebrates their tenth year together, with James Christian on vocals, Jimi Bell on guitars, Chris McCarvill on bass and BJ Zampa on drums.  The name Indestructible is a fitting one, faces have come and gone but the band goes on, due to the determination and love the one ever-present member, singer Christian has for the band.

Quite often bands who’ve been on the go for so long get stuck in their past glory days but House of Lords haven’t gotten stuck in that rut, this is as fresh sounding an album as you’ll hear.  Their aim was to combine elements of the heavy and melodic hard rock styles they love, making a cohesive sound.  Indestructible does that, with massive guitar riffs on songs like 100mph merged with soaring melodic elements, for example on Pillar of Salt.  The choral beginning to opening track Go To Hell wouldn’t sound out of place in a gothic cathedral but is quickly replaced with a riff that sets the tone for the rest of the album.  Christian’s vocal throughout is the glue that binds everything together.  There’s something of everything here, including classic rock power ballads in We Will Always Be One, a proper lighters in the air track that would go over really well live and Eye of the Storm, a great singalong number.   The addition of keyboards in tracks like Ain’t Suicidal adds to the melodic element they’re trying to incorporate, but is never allowed to overshadow a great guitar solo in the middle.  Final track Stand and Deliver is a fast-paced, drum-heavy, riffy song that guarantees banging heads and is an excellent closer to a really good album.

Fans of House of Lords will be over the moon with this album, as it stays true to the classic sound of the band, but the freshness of it will be sure to bring more new fans into the fold as well.

Track Listing:

Go To Hell

Indestructible

Pillar of Salt

100mph

Call My Bluff

We Will Always be One

Die to Tell

Another Dawn

Eye of the Storm

Ain’t Suicidal

Stand and Deliver

Links:

www.jameschristianmusic.com

www.facebook.com/House-Of-Lords-Legends-Of-Rock