House of Lords was formed in 1988 by Giuffria members, keyboardist Gregg Giuffria (Angel) and bassist Chuck Wright (Quiet Riot). They brought in Alice Cooper drummer Ken Mary and the highly respected Lanny Cordola on guitars to fill out the instrumental portion of the group. They were destined to become a real supergroup. Based on the line-up and some early demos, they eventually caught the interest of Kiss bassist Gene Simmons, who immediately signed the band to his new custom label Simmons Records, a subsidiary of RCA/BMG. The band's 1989 self-titled debut, produced by the legendary Andy Johns (Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones), also featured the untapped talents of vocalist James Christian. The album is still regarded as one of the best arena rock releases of the 80’s.
The colossal sound, the soaring vocals and instrumental capabilities of the band, reminiscent of such frontrunners as Whitesnake, Deep Purple and Van Halen, immediately brought the band to the attention of the media and fans. House Of Lords toured with Cheap Trick in the U.S. and later joined the Scorpions for a trek through Europe. In 1990, House of Lords released their sophomore effort, "Sahara", produced again by Andy Johns. Lanny Cordola had left the group prior to the recording sessions and Doug Aldrich (currently with Whitesnake and a former member of Dio, Hurricane and Bad Moon Rising) was brought in to handle the majority of the guitar tracks on the album.
He would later accompany the group on the road. Other notables such as Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen (of Cheap Trick) and Chris Impellitteri contributed their unique guitar work to "Sahara" as well. Like its predecessor, the album is a spectacular sampling of incisive, tastefully executed hard rock. House of Lords gained considerable chart success with their cover version of Blind Faith’s “Can't Find My Way Home”. It was the number one most requested song on rock radio in the U.S. that year. After a long tour with hit rock popsters Nelson in 1991, the band called it a day.
Another version of the House of Lords was put together thanks to the input of JVC in Japan and Victory Records in the U.S., who went on to produce a third album for the group: "Demon's Down". This was a more melodic record with a dramatically altered line-up that now included Dennis Chick on guitar, Sean McNabb (Great White) on bass and legendary drummer Tommy Aldridge (Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake). The band finally returned in 2000 with a bona fide classic line up of Christian, Giuffria, Wright, Cordola, Guy and Mary, with Giuffria who opted out of the recording at the last minute. Following the release of "The Power & The Myth”, House Of Lords decided on a reunion tour that took the band to England & Greece for two outstanding shows in the fall of 2005. After the short tour James decided to continue with the trademark sound of House Of Lords with the help of his original bandmate Gregg Giuffria. A new line-up added new life into the grandiose sound. Jimi Bell on guitars, B.J Zampa on drums and Jeff Kent on bass & keyboards make up the new powerhouse band. This CD is an extension of their critically acclaimed "Demons Down CD. Every song tells a story and every moment of music is House Of Lords at its best. "World Upside Down is quite possibly the best CD House Of Lords has ever released. As James Christian has stated “This lineup is here to stay and this is only the beginning of many more great records from us. The music speaks for itself”.
One of the recent claims made for Jeff Scott Soto is that ‘he is the front man every band wants to have’, his energy, vocal ability, writing talents substantiate this claim. He’s definitely THE frontman in melodic rock and in addition to his entertaining abilities, he knows how to sing. Blending such diverse influences as Glenn Hughes, Ronnie James Dio, Steve Perry, Prince, Freddy Mercury and Seal, he can actually perform everything, from funk and R & B to melodic rock and heavy metal. Since 2002 when Jeff Scott Soto signed with melodic rock kingpins, Frontiers Records, the man has been busy releasing 2 studio albums, 2 EP’s, & a live CD/DVD led with 2 world tours. Following a great success and airplay gathered on BBC national radio in the United Kingdom of his more ballad oriented material, 2006 introduces a compilation release featuring the ‘best of’ JSS’s softer side, which includes songs from all of his 3 solo albums (Love Parade, Prism & Lost In The Translation) & the limited released EP’s (Holding On & Believe In Me) as well as 3 new, unreleased tracks.
For the first time, these gems, these ‘essentials’, are together on one digitally re-mastered disc, including the Journey cover ‘Send Her My Love’, making them available for the JSS connoisseur in May 2006. Don’t miss out on the perfect JSS collection to date!
Michael Kiske's career in music began at 17, when he was the vocalist of his school band called ILL PROPHECY. He left in order to join HELLOWEEN a band who would become one of the most popular and respected Heavy Metal groups of all time. His dynamic and amazing vocals graced the two classic albums "Keeper of the Seven Keys" - released in 1987 and 1988 - with sales in excess of one million copies worldwide.
During the HELLOWEEN years, Michael Kiske gained his reputation as one of the best singers of the scene and he has been often rumored to join very successful metal bands. Kiske however, after the decision to quit HELLOWEEN following the release of the band’s fifth studio album “Chameleon”, started to work on his solo career. He debuted in 1996 with “Instant Clarity", a record that counts former band-mate Kai Hansen and Adrian Smith (IRON MAIDEN) as special guests. The sound style differs from the old work with HELLOWEEN and paved the way for more records (“Readiness To Sacrifice” and the “SupaRed” project) that would have departed him more and more from his roots. During the winter of 2004 Michael, whose voice is still nowadays regarded as one of the most fascinating of the whole scene in rock (hence his participation in several rock operas including the very successful “Avantasia” and later on “Aina” and “Tribuzy”), accepted to be part of a Melodic Rock oriented project called PLACE VENDOME patronized by Frontiers Records’ President Serafino Perugino, together with members of PINK CREAM 69 and VANDENPLAS. Following a great acclaim from the critics and fans alike, Kiske started to gather again some material to give birth to his long awaited third solo album. Surrounded by a positive and totally free environment, made of great friends and musicians (Karsten Nagel – an old schoolmate – on drums and Sandro Giampietro and Fontaine Burnett on guitars and bass respectively), Kiske gained again strong confidence with his music and expressive style. The resulting album: “Kiske” is a very personal statement - from the beginning to the end. “It's a healthy-careless and musically free album”, says Michael who wanted to tirelessly explore his more melodic and straightforward roots. “I am very proud of this record because it is a true statement from myself”, declares the German singer, “and I could easily build up new things from it, but also can let it stand there as an artistic closing-comment from myself, because I am sure I will still like this album in 10 years time!”.
