HOUSE OF LORDS albums I've heard since they reformed in 2005.
Singer James Christian (who also played bass on the album) and keyboardist Mark Mangold were principally responsible for the recording and producing of this new album but with both drummer Johan Koleberg and guitarist Jimi Bell on hand, everyone makes their contributions to the album, Bell in particular because he's a surefire bet to be awesome every time out.
There's eleven tracks on Full Tilt Overdrive (an acoustic version of the song "I Don't Want To Say Goodbye" is a bonus 12th track on the Japanese version of the album) and it kicks off with the song "Crowded Room". I was struck by the fact that instead of a kind of grandiose sounding epic soundscape intro to the song, the band opted instead to simply burst forth from the speakers with a hard driving musical score and get right down to business. I was reading the lyrics as the song played and unless I'm mistaken, it seems like the song deals with matters of mental health as Christian seems to be singing about voices in one's head. (I really hope I'm not mis-interpreting those lyrics.) While the song does retain some of the trademark HOUSE OF LORDS sound, I liked how you've got a guitar line throughout the song that lends a grittier kind of feel at the same time.
I mentioned the song "Bad Karma" already but when I was listening to the album for this review, I found myself really enjoying the song like I was hearing it for the first time again. While it's not quite as fast moving as "Crowded Room", the track is still a hard rocking uptempo number. Jimi Bell has a fantastic solo in the song too.
The opening portion of "Cry of The Wicked" had me thinking that the song was going to serve as a dramatic sea change from the first two songs, but instead of a demonstrably slower tone, I found that the song may be a tad bit slower at the start of each main lyrical verse but it serves only to build up the tempo throughout and by the time the track hits the chorus, the pacing has a not only a livelier pace but the song feels like it is hitting you with a much heavier vibe as well. Christian's vocals are top-notch and I liked the way the song merges Mangold's keyboards with Bell's guitar fretwork.
The album's title track is kicked off and keyed by an explosive guitar riff in the intro. And along with that, the song as a whole is just a furiously relentless score. It's the audio version of trying to catch your breath as the band races through each note and vocal turn. The song's video being shot amidst a band of classic video game arcade consoles lends itself to the song title and just how fast paced the song is. With a shouted chorus and an annihilating guitar solo from Bell, you feel like you are going 100 miles-per-hour right alongside the band. This is a kick-ass song to say the least!
The song "Taking The Fall" has a bluesy stomp set-up in the intro and then that same kind of blues rock driven sound continues throughout as Christian lays out what sounds like a Southern and/or gothic mystery about a missing woman and the guy being accused of the crime. I have to say I love the idea of this song and it is certainly not something I was expecting to hear from HOUSE OF LORDS. As the song progresses the music becomes more intense and in-your-face, moving along with a quicker pace but that swampy blues stomp remains the foundation everything is built upon. A murder mystery hard rock song with an innocent man accused of the crime he didn't do woven into an incredible music score? This just might be my personal favorite song on Full Tilt Overdrive!
The various thematic elements powering the album takes a wild left turn for the next song. "You're Cursed" opens with an intro that sounds like the start of a horror movie. That doesn't last too long because after that intro, the music kicks in and you are off on a hard rocking trip that once again kicks up your adrenaline level with its energetic style. Whatever else one might say about the album and band, HOUSE OF LORDS is not lacking a bit in doling out plenty of fiery rock and roll!
There's a lot of moving parts at the start of "Not The Enemy" but once the vocals start, it's James Christian's vocals that take the main spotlight throughout the first lyrical verse. The music kicks in fully in the lead up to the first chorus and then propels you along throughout the rest of the song. It's got a hard-hitting style which is given a bit more depth with what Mark Mangold provides with his keyboards on the song.
The song "I Don't Wanna Say Goodbye" is the first real ballad presentation for the album. You get the expected slow musical score you might be used to for a ballad. Then you get the emotive vocal performance from Christian. It's fine for what it is but if I'm being honest, the rest of the album up to this point had me a bit spoiled and I was kind of eager to get back into more of the hard rocking music. I won't say this is a bad song or anything but it just wasn't my own personal cup of tea, even when the second half of the song brought in a much more fully integrated musical soundtrack to give the song more dramatic heft.
I will say that once the intro for "Still Believe" got started with it's quick building faster pace, I left that ballad in my rearview mirror. It's a straight up rocker and I really found myself swept up into it.
Aiming for more of a topical feel, HOUSE OF LORDS seemingly addresses the problem of homelessness on the song "State of Emergency". Wrapping the message inside of a heightened musical score makes it a really good song but as you read the lyrics you don't let the music make you forget what the band is saying.
The album close out with what can only be described as an epic track. Coming in at nearly 9 1/2 minutes, "Castles High" struck me as being a kind of world-building track. It's opening incorporates a kind of real world vibe (to coincide with that world building idea I mentioned) before the music comes in fully. Once the vocals start, the lyrical content does lend itself to a storyline that you'd find in a fantasy novel. Despite its length, the song never gets bogged down as it carries the listener along as the story plays out with plenty of storyline and musical peaks to enjoy.
For me, aside from my relative lack of interest in the ballad track, the HOUSE OF LORDS album Full Tilt Overdrive was a big success. It finds the band maintaining the overall sound that has powered them throughout their career while simultaneously exploring different creative topics and styles for the individual songs. This is one hell of an album that longtime fans and new ones alike will find plenty to delight in!
4.5 Out Of 5.0
