Customer Reviews

Cartesian Dreams

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"House of Lords" is the archetypal all star hard rock band. Making their first appearance in 1988 the band went on to record some of the most influential arena rock albums before breaking up in late 1993. In 2004 the "Lords" returned and have been active and really consistent in their releases. So here comes the fourth post reunion studio album. "Cartesian Dreams". It is very easy for one to underrate this release, it is not as easy a listener as "Come to my Kingdom" nor does it have that `instant classic' quality of "World up side down".

Still it offers a good number of melodic hard rock highlights: "Born to be your baby", "A simple plan" the furious "The bigger they come" and "Bangin" which is a really surprising inclusion as it sounds very much like "Danger Danger"!
I would say that this album's greatest advantage is that it includes equal amounts of pomp rock compositions and direct party metal anthems, offering the listener the best of both worlds. Overall a very strong album which will require a couple of plays to familiarize one's self with the relatively diverse material on "Cartesian Dreams".

The way I see it "Cartesian Dreams" completes a very strong hard rock trilogy that started with "World up side down" and continued with "Come to my kingdom".



"Rock Hard" Greek magazine (issue 46) marks this album with 8,5/10 commenting: "An album that does justice to the fans."


"Classic Rock" UK magazine (issue 137) marks this album with 8/10 commenting: "Cartesian Dreams is as pulsating a slice of melodic pomp rock as you'll hear all year."

ok this is pretty much my first exposure to this band. i had the cassette for their 'sahara' cd about 16 years ago but really didnt listen to it much and remember very little about it. fast forward to today while i'm tooling around myspace listning to 80's metal while rearranging my room. i went through lillian axe, firehouse, and europe before i landed on HOUSE OF LORDS. i gotta tell you, i was blown away. for someone who has lived at the altar of 80's metal, how this band got by me i'll never know. granted this album i'm reviewing didnt come out in the 80's, but the band's been around since then.
i listened to 2 h.o.l. albums while tooling around on myspace. the first one was 'come to my kingdom'. a very good album that i liked very much and will be buying soon.
then i decided to listen to CARTESIAN DREAMS. wow. this album is awesome. i love it. it rocks from beginning to end. it's heavy, melodic, and fun. just like music should be. the guitar and drums are phenominal and the lead singer can belt it out like nobodys business. he reminds me of david coverdale. and it says something that after all these years rocking that his voice still sounds awesome. the production and mixing are also both spot on. this is a well produced album with a great sound.
if you're a fan of 80's metal or even great melodic hard rock, this album is definately for you. you cant go wrong with this one.

I remember seeing a HOL video on Headbangers ball back in the day, but didn't really get into them. I remember liking what I heard, but never went out and looked for their debute album. I am an 80's hard rock/glam what have you collector. I came across HOL here on Amazon, I was looking at some new c.d's and this c.d. came up, so I listened to the samples and immediatley ordered this and Come tomy Kingdom. These guys have it all, great lyrics, Amazing shredding guitar leads, and something that a lot of music today is missing...Melody. These guys are amazing. Some of the best music I've heard in such a long time if ever. These guys really are the Diamond in the rough. If you skip out on this or any of their c.d.'s you are missing out on some amazing music.

Great singing melodies. I like almost every track on the album and I'm not a huge fan of House of Lords. I try a lot of new bands and I am not disappointed with this purchase at all. It has moved up to my iPod favorites rotation. I thought Repo Man had some goofy lyrics but I catch myself singing to them in the car every time it is played. Check it out.

This is my first time hearing this band. It took some time (two times thru) to find what I liked. "Repo Man" and "Saved by Rock" are my favorites right now; my 8 year old son likes "Joanna". Don't let his age fool you, he is into harder rock (I got thru to one child) like Avantasia,Pink Cream 69,Hammerfall,Dream Evil and Gotthard. I am likely to try other House of Lords albums.

House Of Lords have released three awesome albums in a row now and their consistent quality is unmatched in this style of music. I'm not going to single out particular songs because I just want to say that the quality of the recording is excellent, the mixing is spot on, the mastering is huge, and the performances by all the musicians is perfect. These guys know what they are doing and they are an example to other bands of what is expected in this day and age. The only other band with this much consistency is Eden's Curse who I also admire alot. Some critics might complain about the lack of experimentation in the delivery of the music but I think that when something is this good it should be encouraged. I can easily recommend this album to fans of heavy melodic rock - 4.5 stars.

I have all of the House Of Lord cds. Some of them were definitely better than others. The Power and The Myth I didn't like at all. Ever since World Upside Down I have loved them all. Cartesian Dreams is one of the best cds of all time. Not only do they play the songs awesome, they sound like they are having fun. I am a disciple of melodic 80s rock. I can listen to this disc all the way from start to finish. I normally have to skip songs on every disc that I hear. I am very impressed with this disc. I recommend it very much.

WHOA! Finally something that took my breath and made me pump my fist. This album has THE sound I personally love. Desert Rain is a my favorite so far but I've barely listened through once so that may change. Title track is also heavy. Cartisian has the big sound HOL is known for and includes some heavy riffs. James sounds great although a couple tunes in the middle kind of run together because that big sound in the chorus' just kinda blends it all together, could've used a little stripping back I guess to break it up; like James' solo work or Can't Find My Way Home style. It takes listening to 100 or more albums to come across something this exciting. THAT METAL SHOW book this band ASAP!

This album opens with Cartesian Dreams which is an great hard rock song with incredible vocals.
This band has some of the best vocals I have ever heard, and they are all very talented.
It's a pleasure to listen to the drummer.
I recommend this 100%.

I must admit,upon the first listen to Cartesian Dreams,i wasn't blown away. When HOL released World Upside Down they set the bar so high that it is almost unattainable.The follow up "Come to my Kingdom" was a great cd,but not an instant classic,in my opinion.It was still better than most of the mainstream hard rock acts are passing off today as music.I'm not going to highlight every song,but if you don't give it a chance,you will be missing out on a very good cd. Anything from them,except maybe "The Power and the myth" in my opinion,is a worthwhile effort.Check out "Bangin'"....Sheer 80's delight!