Full Tilt Overdrive” is a very fresh-sounding record from House of Lords. The band clearly caught whiff of a new wind and made a great album. This one rocks hard, and you don’t want it to end. The songs are full of catchy hooks and plenty of vocal lines that you can sing along with. In other words, a winning combination of melodies with creative arrangements and excellent vocals.
The addition of Mark Mangold into the House of Lords team was certainly very beneficial for both parties. Mangold certainly brings a lot of great ideas into the songs and works well with Christian and Bell. At the end of the day, it has to be about music, and this band delivers the goods. The songs vary in feel and display a plethora of emotions. Each listen takes you into different territory, and you discover something new, or become attracted to a track you failed to notice before. This album is charming all the way through.
Any of the songs on “Full Tilt Overdrive” could become your favorite. The material is strong, and there really is no filler. House of Lords spent a significant amount of time on this album and made sure only top-notch material made the final cut. There is one epic highlight that needs to be mentioned. It’s the closing, “Castles High,” completely delivered by Mark Mangold. The song is 9 minutes long and has a great build-up. As a culminating point, James Christian is joined by his wife Robin Beck on vocals, and brings it to a dramatic conclusion!
“Full Tilt Overdrive” is a state-of-the art melodic rock album! The songs are outstanding, and so are the performances from the individual musicians. James Christian is on top of his game vocally; Jimi Bell supplies great riffs and very ingenious leads; Johan Koleberg’s solid drumming gives the album a bit of a dangerous edge; and Mark Mangold finds a way to fill any space available on his keyboards. It’s a very tight unit, and it’s quite amazing how these players supplement each other within every track on this album. As a result, this album flows and glows with beauty entangled in intensity.
Mark Kadzielawa
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