House Of Lords

America's House of Lords formed in 1987 as a seasoned American hard rock outfit drawing from AOR and glam metal traditions, emerging once keyboardist Gregg Giuffria disbanded his prior group Giuffria. Their self-titled debut arrived in 1988 on Simmons Records, the RCA subsidiary launched by Kiss bassist Gene Simmons, and it performed solidly by reaching number 78 while its lead single “I Wanna Be Loved” climbed to number 58. Follow-up sets Sahara in 1990 and Demons Down in 1992 also charted before grunge curtailed their commercial traction and prompted an extended hiatus that carried through the rest of the decade.

Reassembling in the mid-2000s without Giuffria and fronted by vocalist-guitarist James Christian, the band issued a steady run of melodic rock albums on Frontiers Records, among them Come to My Kingdom in 2008, Indestructible in 2015, and Saints and Sinners in 2022. The group’s origins trace directly to Giuffria, the melodic rock act fronted by Gregg Giuffria that scored a Top 30 single with “Call to the Heart.” After MCA dropped the band following the weak sales of its second album Silk and Steel, the musicians began demoing material for a prospective third record and attracted Gene Simmons’ interest as he prepared to activate his own label. Simmons agreed to sign them only after insisting that lead singer David Glen Eisley be replaced; Connecticut native James Christian, previously associated with bassist Chuck Wright in L.A. Rocks, took the role. The resulting House of Lords debut shifted toward a heavier, less keyboard-centric approach and appeared in 1988. Once touring concluded, guitarist Lanny Cordola departed in favor of Michael Guy.

Sahara followed in 1990 and featured guest contributions from Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen and Robin Zander plus White Lion’s Mike Tramp. A cover of Blind Faith’s “Can’t Find My Way Home” received AOR airplay and “Remember My Name” earned MTV exposure, yet the album stalled at number 121, leading Simmons to release the band. Wright, Guy, and drummer Ken Mary exited and were succeeded by Sean McNabb, Dennis Chick, and Tommy Aldridge. With grunge ascending, the third album Demons Down surfaced in 1992 to little attention and the lineup soon dissolved. The original members briefly reunited for concerts in 2002 and issued The Power and the Myth in 2004, though Giuffria had already withdrawn and session keyboardists handled those parts. Two years later only James Christian remained; he recruited an essentially new configuration that proved prolific, delivering World Upside Down in 2006, Big Money in 2011, Saint of the Lost Souls in 2017 (with bassist Chris Tristram replacing Chris McCarvill), New World – New Eyes in 2020, and the eleventh studio album Saints and Sinners in 2022.