House of Lords used to be one of my favorite hard rock bands as their first three albums marked permanently the genre but most importantly my personal taste in music. The follow-up records were not up to par and it’s no secret that things changed and deteriorated rapidly upon Giuffria’s departure. Nevertheless, I always wanted to check out their works for obvious reasons and “New World – New Eyes” could not be an exception.
Let’s start from the basic stuff. For years now, James Christian is the undisputed leader of the band and I truly reckon that this affects the quality of the albums. His voice remains as impressive as ever but the songs themselves leaves you under the impression that this is more likely a solo project than a true band effort. At least, that’s how I perceive the whole thing. Having said that, I think that “New World – New Eyes” is an OK record that has greatly benefited by Mark Spiro’s magic touch in the songwriting department but once again the production is flat and uninspired –as it happens with most of the Frontiers releases- thus not giving the chance really to some good songs like “One More”, “Chemical Rush” and “Better Off Broken” to stand out. Also, Jimi Bell’s guitar is on the forefront but again the album does not offer something really significant.
Some might be satisfied by an OK album by House of Lords. Not me. I will say it one more time…this is a band that offered us in the past three milestone albums that set the bar high for them…fortunately or unfortunately for them. It depends how you see it.
Highlight: Cannot be something else than Christian’s excellent vocal work.
