Album Review: House Of Lords - Saints And Sinners

Music is a fickle thing, and few bands have embodied that more than House Of Lords. Their album "Indestructible" is one of my favorite melodic rock albums ever, and yet I find every album that has come since then to be rather forgettable. This hearkens back to when people say, "if you like ____, you'll like ____". It isn't that simple, since even within one band's discography, albums that all sound the same don't have the same impact. House Of Lords hasn't changed anything about what they do, but they only tapped into a well of songwriting I can also drink from for that one brief window of time.

This album continues that trend, as it often feels like the band doesn't quite have a handle on their own sound. We get songs like the title track, which are lighter fare, but amplify their ability to write anthemic choruses with angelic backing vocals. That sort of song, or "House Of The Lord", are really good compositions that do the job well. If the band stuck to doing that, they would probably be able to put together another album that worked as well as "Indestructible" did.

Unfortunately, the band is still focused on proving how hard they can rock. Those songs, like "Road Warrior" and "Roll Like Thunder", don't have the hooks necessary for this kind of melodic rock. They are too stock, too flat, and saddled with a production that puts the guitars so far back they don't have any power either. If they are trying to rock hard, we can't hear it, because the album sounds soft even at its heaviest. That explains why it's their more AOR songs that work better, but it doesn't explain why they picked guitar tones and a mix that work against almost half of the album's success.

Now, with that being said, is this album really that different from the one I love? Honestly, not really. They're using the same sounds and the same conceits, so you would think the results would be more closely aligned. But this is why I was talking about fickleness, as this album is quite far apart in terms of quality. There's something about the way the melodies are written now that don't hook me as much, that don't get my fist pumping as I'm tempted to sing along. Without that connection, the music is just sort of there.

Once again, House Of Lords has delivered an album that sounds the part, but doesn't stick the landing. There are hints of their greatness, but they can't keep it up for an entire record. When people use the phrase 'a shadow of themselves', I think an album like this is a good illustration of what they mean. It sounds like them from a distance, and it is them, but all the detail has been obscured. Those are what make things interesting, and this album falls short.