Dansk version

You'd be excused for worrying when a rockband who were once in the late 1980's and early ‘90's international contenders ride into town in 2014 to play for a measly 100 people at a Copenhagen rock club.

You'd be excused for worrying simply because there's a real risk of encountering a wreck only a weak stroke to the glassjaw away from falling over for good.

So yeah, it was with some trepidation I set course for High Voltage to experience House Of Lords from Los Angeles. All right, they shifted over a million copies of their second album "Sahara" but that was almost a quarter of a century ago.

Now what would a band like that have to offer these days? Apart from a not very pretty, uneven promenade through long withered laurels towards terminal oblivion?

Well as it happened the band in question turned out to have quite a lot to offer.

Despite the poor turn out, bad times in general and the fact that they – probably for financial reasons – had to rely on sampled keyboards, House Of Lords at High Voltage played the proverbial blinder.

Singer James Christian – the only member left from the original line up – has to be well into his sixties but he's still an exceptional singer and what he does, he does majestically. Obviously both he and the band have still got several measures of life blood to share with the rest of us.

And boys (!): I salute you!

BATTLE
Anyway, it would be a bloody shame if a band responsible for songs like "Cartesian Dreams", "Swimmin' With Sharks" and the roaring "Rock Bottom" threw in the towel. Especially considering that House Of Lords' new album "Precious Metal" (their ninth) is qualitative top shelf material when it comes down to melodic hard rock.

The album in question opens with a song called "Battle" (yeah, we got that one at HV too) and House Of Lords won the battle in style Sunday evening with a load of catchy songs.

Exuberantly delivered to an extent where I seem to remember having performed something that could have been interpreted as dance moves as the show rolled on. Oh well ...

Great though (the show not the dance moves!) and another example that Americans take work seriously and always deliver with professionalism in a league of it's own. These people simply never surrender and the effort is always beyond criticism.

And that's a fact despite three fourths of the band (James Christian, guitarist Jimi Bell og drummer B.J. Zampa) having already done one job this evening. As backing band for special guest and Christian's wife, singer Robin Beck.

She too delivered a good show and a load of catchy songs was crowned by an excellent version of the old Kiss chestnut "Hide Your Heart". I hadn't seen that coming but it was certainly a welcome surprise.

If this was just another day at the office to raise dollars for the rent both House Of Lords and Robin Beck hid it better than certain politicians hide their morals.

So of course it wasn't. On the contrary I'm pretty sure we're talking good musicians playing good music here. Because they simply can't help it!

That's the way to do it and they do it real well – to paraphrase a Motörhead song ...