Sunstorm - House of Dreams

[TIM (2)]

I've been playing the soundbytes a bit and am going to save myself some money & not bother picking this one up. I thought the first was pretty patchy & this doesn't even seem as good as that - and if they can't even be bothered to come up with 10 songs of new material without simply rehashing old tunes then I'll spend my money elsewhere. Shoot me down, but I don't even think his vocals are that good...

[Doksdad]

The debut is excellent! I love JLT. Everything he touches is stellar! This will be too.

Now that I finally have this one in my hands, I am disappointed. Huge. The songs just are not there compared to the S/T. Too bad as I was looking so forward to this one.

[Glen]

The debut is excellent! I love JLT. Everything he touches is stellar! This will be too.

Now that I finally have this one in my hands, I am disappointed. Huge. The songs just are not there compared to the S/T. Too bad as I was looking so forward to this one.

 

Not enough original material for my liking. Good album but nothing more.

[Geoff]

The debut is excellent! I love JLT. Everything he touches is stellar! This will be too.

Now that I finally have this one in my hands, I am disappointed. Huge. The songs just are not there compared to the S/T. Too bad as I was looking so forward to this one.

 

Not enough original material for my liking. Good album but nothing more.

Don't you dislike all the original material anyway?

[heaven&hell]

The debut is excellent! I love JLT. Everything he touches is stellar! This will be too.

Now that I finally have this one in my hands, I am disappointed. Huge. The songs just are not there compared to the S/T. Too bad as I was looking so forward to this one.

 

Well that's a little dissapointing as I was looking forward to hearing this one eventually.

[TIM (2)]

So after not being impressed by the soundbytes I decided to pick this up & have been spinning it constantly the past week or so. Here are my comments....

 

01. Divided - Stunning opener. Huge hooky monster of a song with killer solo's. Immense.

02. Don't Give Up - More laid back tune, but big hook & nice chorus.

03. The Spirit Inside - Even more laid back number, pure AOR this, with a very House of Lords vibe. Great chorus,cool tune.

04. I Found Love - Uptempo stuff (like "Fame & Fortune" from the S/T). Great keys, cool chorus, another strong tune in a killer opening sequence.

05. Say You Will - The first ballad & it's laid-back overly-sentimental nonsense. Skip it.

06. Gutters of Gold - More hard rocking tune, & obviously a Peterik write. Formulaic & out of place on an AOR album. Skip it.

07. Save a Place in Your Heart - Sabu song (written by JLT) given a weak arrangement, still a strong tune but couldve been better.

08. Forever Now - Another JLT written cover, this one hits the mark. Killer hooky AOR, album's back on track....

09. Tears on the Pages - Cool tune given laid back AOR treatment, & it works well. Another great tune.

10. House of Dreams - Heavier tune which doesn't work as well. Good chorus saves it though.

11. Walk On - Another JLT write,& another classic tune given a weak arrangement. Brilliant lyrics & great vocals rescue this.

 

So overall, despite the quality dropping off a cliff for tracks 5 & 6, this is very strong stuff. A crystal-clear production, way better than the muddy sound on the first Sunstorm disc, and brilliant musicianship (the keyboards and lead guitar work is flawless) really raise the quality of even the weaker tunes. Would definitely have preferred a full album of material like the utterly brilliant opener "Divided", but that said this does contain some of my all-time fave AOR tunes ("Walk On" & "Save A Place In Your Heart") which - despite the slightly plodding arrangements on those tunes - still makes for an album chock full of incredible songwriting genius. No-one in the world will agree with me here & I don't care, but this is a much better album than the patchy/overrated S/T album IMHO....

[Glen]

So after not being impressed by the soundbytes I decided to pick this up & have been spinning it constantly the past week or so. Here are my comments....

 

01. Divided - Stunning opener. Huge hooky monster of a song with killer solo's. Immense.

02. Don't Give Up - More laid back tune, but big hook & nice chorus.

03. The Spirit Inside - Even more laid back number, pure AOR this, with a very House of Lords vibe. Great chorus,cool tune.

04. I Found Love - Uptempo stuff (like "Fame & Fortune" from the S/T). Great keys, cool chorus, another strong tune in a killer opening sequence.

05. Say You Will - The first ballad & it's laid-back overly-sentimental nonsense. Skip it.

06. Gutters of Gold - More hard rocking tune, & obviously a Peterik write. Formulaic & out of place on an AOR album. Skip it.

07. Save a Place in Your Heart - Sabu song (written by JLT) given a weak arrangement, still a strong tune but couldve been better.

08. Forever Now - Another JLT written cover, this one hits the mark. Killer hooky AOR, album's back on track....

09. Tears on the Pages - Cool tune given laid back AOR treatment, & it works well. Another great tune.

10. House of Dreams - Heavier tune which doesn't work as well. Good chorus saves it though.

11. Walk On - Another JLT write,& another classic tune given a weak arrangement. Brilliant lyrics & great vocals rescue this.

 

So overall, despite the quality dropping off a cliff for tracks 5 & 6, this is very strong stuff. A crystal-clear production, way better than the muddy sound on the first Sunstorm disc, and brilliant musicianship (the keyboards and lead guitar work is flawless) really raise the quality of even the weaker tunes. Would definitely have preferred a full album of material like the utterly brilliant opener "Divided", but that said this does contain some of my all-time fave AOR tunes ("Walk On" & "Save A Place In Your Heart") which - despite the slightly plodding arrangements on those tunes - still makes for an album chock full of incredible songwriting genius. No-one in the world will agree with me here & I don't care, but this is a much better album than the patchy/overrated S/T album IMHO....

 

Right I'll be the first to skip right in and disagree with you.

 

1. This is not better than the debut. Sorry mate but the debut was great. Where is the energy on the new album that compares with 'Keep Tonight', 'Fame & Fortune', Fist Full Of Heat', 'Love's Gone Wrong' or 'This is My Heart'???? The only track which comes close to matching this magic is 'I Found Love' which is great and easily the best track on offer.

 

2. 'the utterly brilliant opener Divided' - you must be listening to a different track to me mate??! If youd said the 'utterly average House of Lords sounding track Divided which absolutely pales against the formidable Keep Tonight'.....youd be closer to the truth.

 

3. All of the first three tracks have that horrible forced HOL sound which Ive now grown to dispise....as I said before the exact sound which lead to the last HOL dying a death for me.

 

4. Slagging 'Gutters Of Gold' and 'House Of Dreams'? 2 of the better tracks IMO.

 

5. 'Forever Now'......good track obviously but JLTs vocals pale against Tel Brock.

 

Ho hum...........

[Glen]

So after not being impressed by the soundbytes I decided to pick this up & have been spinning it constantly the past week or so. Here are my comments....

 

01. Divided - Stunning opener. Huge hooky monster of a song with killer solo's. Immense.

02. Don't Give Up - More laid back tune, but big hook & nice chorus.

03. The Spirit Inside - Even more laid back number, pure AOR this, with a very House of Lords vibe. Great chorus,cool tune.

04. I Found Love - Uptempo stuff (like "Fame & Fortune" from the S/T). Great keys, cool chorus, another strong tune in a killer opening sequence.

05. Say You Will - The first ballad & it's laid-back overly-sentimental nonsense. Skip it.

06. Gutters of Gold - More hard rocking tune, & obviously a Peterik write. Formulaic & out of place on an AOR album. Skip it.

07. Save a Place in Your Heart - Sabu song (written by JLT) given a weak arrangement, still a strong tune but couldve been better.

08. Forever Now - Another JLT written cover, this one hits the mark. Killer hooky AOR, album's back on track....

09. Tears on the Pages - Cool tune given laid back AOR treatment, & it works well. Another great tune.

10. House of Dreams - Heavier tune which doesn't work as well. Good chorus saves it though.

11. Walk On - Another JLT write,& another classic tune given a weak arrangement. Brilliant lyrics & great vocals rescue this.

 

So overall, despite the quality dropping off a cliff for tracks 5 & 6, this is very strong stuff. A crystal-clear production, way better than the muddy sound on the first Sunstorm disc, and brilliant musicianship (the keyboards and lead guitar work is flawless) really raise the quality of even the weaker tunes. Would definitely have preferred a full album of material like the utterly brilliant opener "Divided", but that said this does contain some of my all-time fave AOR tunes ("Walk On" & "Save A Place In Your Heart") which - despite the slightly plodding arrangements on those tunes - still makes for an album chock full of incredible songwriting genius. No-one in the world will agree with me here & I don't care, but this is a much better album than the patchy/overrated S/T album IMHO....

 

Right I'll be the first to skip right in and disagree with you.

 

1. This is not better than the debut. Sorry mate but the debut was great. Where is the energy on the new album that compares with 'Keep Tonight', 'Fame & Fortune', Fist Full Of Heat', 'Love's Gone Wrong' or 'This is My Heart'???? The only track which comes close to matching this magic is 'I Found Love' which is great and easily the best track on offer.

 

2. 'the utterly brilliant opener Divided' - you must be listening to a different track to me mate??! If youd said the 'utterly average House of Lords sounding track Divided which absolutely pales against the formidable Keep Tonight'.....youd be closer to the truth.

 

3. All of the first three tracks have that horrible forced HOL sound which Ive now grown to dispise....as I said before the exact sound which lead to the last HOL dying a death for me.

 

4. Slagging 'Gutters Of Gold' and 'House Of Dreams'? 2 of the better tracks IMO.

 

5. 'Forever Now'......good track obviously but JLTs vocals pale against Tel Brock.

 

Ho hum...........

[TIM (2)]

You disagreed so much you posted twice?! As I've mentioned before, aside from a couple of tunes the S/T was just so overrated IMO. Way too many slow/dull tunes, and the only two tracks I really loved were "Fame & Fortune" and "Strength Over Time". IMHO "Divided" is better than both of those, but maybe that's because I quite liked the last couple of HOL albums... Have just played "Gutters of Gold" again in my car - it's no more & no less than a standard FILLER.

[Glen]

You disagreed so much you posted twice?! As I've mentioned before, aside from a couple of tunes the S/T was just so overrated IMO. Way too many slow/dull tunes, and the only two tracks I really loved were "Fame & Fortune" and "Strength Over Time". IMHO "Divided" is better than both of those, but maybe that's because I quite liked the last couple of HOL albums... Have just played "Gutters of Gold" again in my car - it's no more & no less than a standard FILLER.

 

Shitty computer

 

Im quite surprised at how much our tastes must differ........I always thought they were pretty close, but way off in this instance.

 

To say that 'Divided' is better than those 2 tunes and more importantly 'Keep Tonight' is a big big statement, and one which quite frankly I disagree with 100%.

 

I tell you why......the sound of 'Divided' is one dimensional....no pick up in the chorus for me at all. sad really. No big over the top chorus like 'Keep Tonight'.....that blew me away when I first heard it.

[TIM (2)]

You disagreed so much you posted twice?! As I've mentioned before, aside from a couple of tunes the S/T was just so overrated IMO. Way too many slow/dull tunes, and the only two tracks I really loved were "Fame & Fortune" and "Strength Over Time". IMHO "Divided" is better than both of those, but maybe that's because I quite liked the last couple of HOL albums... Have just played "Gutters of Gold" again in my car - it's no more & no less than a standard FILLER.

 

Shitty computer

 

Im quite surprised at how much our tastes must differ........I always thought they were pretty close, but way off in this instance.

 

To say that 'Divided' is better than those 2 tunes and more importantly 'Keep Tonight' is a big big statement, and one which quite frankly I disagree with 100%.

 

I tell you why......the sound of 'Divided' is one dimensional....no pick up in the chorus for me at all. sad really. No big over the top chorus like 'Keep Tonight'.....that blew me away when I first heard it.

 

To be honest "Keep Tonight" does nothing for me, in fact I can't even recall the chorus from memory (though I can with "Strength Over Time"). I do agree that the chorus to "Divided" is not quite as stunning as the awesome verses or pre-chorus, but I still love it. The solo'ing is killer, & the way the song closes (with layers of keyboards) is right up my street. It's definitely my fave SUNSTORM tune.

 

Well no two people are gonna like all the same stuff so it makes for interesting debate when opinions vary. And given that I'm the only one raving about this album then it seems mine's a lonely opinion (again)!

[Glen]

You disagreed so much you posted twice?! As I've mentioned before, aside from a couple of tunes the S/T was just so overrated IMO. Way too many slow/dull tunes, and the only two tracks I really loved were "Fame & Fortune" and "Strength Over Time". IMHO "Divided" is better than both of those, but maybe that's because I quite liked the last couple of HOL albums... Have just played "Gutters of Gold" again in my car - it's no more & no less than a standard FILLER.

 

Shitty computer

 

Im quite surprised at how much our tastes must differ........I always thought they were pretty close, but way off in this instance.

 

To say that 'Divided' is better than those 2 tunes and more importantly 'Keep Tonight' is a big big statement, and one which quite frankly I disagree with 100%.

 

I tell you why......the sound of 'Divided' is one dimensional....no pick up in the chorus for me at all. sad really. No big over the top chorus like 'Keep Tonight'.....that blew me away when I first heard it.

 

To be honest "Keep Tonight" does nothing for me, in fact I can't even recall the chorus from memory (though I can with "Strength Over Time"). I do agree that the chorus to "Divided" is not quite as stunning as the awesome verses or pre-chorus, but I still love it. The solo'ing is killer, & the way the song closes (with layers of keyboards) is right up my street. It's definitely my fave SUNSTORM tune.

 

Well no two people are gonna like all the same stuff so it makes for interesting debate when opinions vary. And given that I'm the only one raving about this album then it seems mine's a lonely opinion (again)!

 

yeah true.

 

Look this is by no means a bad album....just not as good as the debut IMO.

 

Its still sitting comfortably in No 2 spot for MHR (although I havent heard Farcry yet)...but then again that just shows what a disappointing start to the year its been

[Geoff]

Have my previous posts been deleted from this thread? Our thoughts on this disc are almost identical, Tim. Hug me and admit we both agree and are right. Who knows what Glen is listening to, but a few points:

 

1. 'House of dreams' probably is better than the great debut. Both good discs, but I prefer the new one - if only for those first 4 songs.

 

2. 'Divided' is a brilliant track and probably better than anything off the debut, to be honest. Maybe.

 

3. HOL's last 2 discs have been excellent and if a band sounds like that it's a great thing. Sure as hell superior to cover songs and Peterik excretions.

[Jez]

My copy should be arriving later today or Friday, so I will pass my worthless opinion afterwards.

[TIM (2)]

Have my previous posts been deleted from this thread? Our thoughts on this disc are almost identical, Tim. Hug me and admit we both agree and are right. Who knows what Glen is listening to, but a few points:

 

1. 'House of dreams' probably is better than the great debut. Both good discs, but I prefer the new one - if only for those first 4 songs.

 

2. 'Divided' is a brilliant track and probably better than anything off the debut, to be honest. Maybe.

 

3. HOL's last 2 discs have been excellent and if a band sounds like that it's a great thing. Sure as hell superior to cover songs and Peterik excretions.

 

Wow, you really are a man of exceptional taste. Group hug alert...

 

I agree the last couple of HOL albums have been very good, though I still think "Divided" is a better song than anything off either album (though it does sound pretty similar to "Million Miles" off the "World Upside Down" disc). The verses & pre-chorus are absolutely stunning, exactly what I love about this style of music. In hindsight I didn't really talk up what an amazing track "The Spirit Inside" is, another HOL-style tune & another amazingly hooky chorus. Can't get this disc out of my CD player....

[TIM (2)]

P.s. This is a good review of it....

 

http://www.rockrealms.com/archive/s/sunstorm_hod.php

[Glen]

Have my previous posts been deleted from this thread? Our thoughts on this disc are almost identical, Tim. Hug me and admit we both agree and are right. Who knows what Glen is listening to, but a few points:

 

1. 'House of dreams' probably is better than the great debut. Both good discs, but I prefer the new one - if only for those first 4 songs.

 

2. 'Divided' is a brilliant track and probably better than anything off the debut, to be honest. Maybe.

 

3. HOL's last 2 discs have been excellent and if a band sounds like that it's a great thing. Sure as hell superior to cover songs and Peterik excretions.

 

Wow, you really are a man of exceptional taste. Group hug alert...

 

I agree the last couple of HOL albums have been very good, though I still think "Divided" is a better song than anything off either album (though it does sound pretty similar to "Million Miles" off the "World Upside Down" disc). The verses & pre-chorus are absolutely stunning, exactly what I love about this style of music. In hindsight I didn't really talk up what an amazing track "The Spirit Inside" is, another HOL-style tune & another amazingly hooky chorus. Can't get this disc out of my CD player....

 

Yeah it does sound pretty similar to 'Million Miles' up until the chorus...then Million Miles blows it away. Come on, you cant say that the chorus to Divided is as good as Million Miles??? Can you?? Surely.

 

Here's a question : what happened to the Sunstorm sound on the debut album? By this I mean the sound of 'Loves Gone Wrong', 'Keep Tonight', 'Fist Full Of Heat'???? This was the sound I was expecting from this new album.....not a HOL sound. I think that's why Im disappointed.

 

As I said before its not a bad album.....its a good album. Just not what I was expecting from these guys.

 

Cheers

[Swazi]

Have my previous posts been deleted from this thread? Our thoughts on this disc are almost identical, Tim. Hug me and admit we both agree and are right. Who knows what Glen is listening to, but a few points:

 

1. 'House of dreams' probably is better than the great debut. Both good discs, but I prefer the new one - if only for those first 4 songs.

 

2. 'Divided' is a brilliant track and probably better than anything off the debut, to be honest. Maybe.

 

3. HOL's last 2 discs have been excellent and if a band sounds like that it's a great thing. Sure as hell superior to cover songs and Peterik excretions.

 

Wow, you really are a man of exceptional taste. Group hug alert...

 

I agree the last couple of HOL albums have been very good, though I still think "Divided" is a better song than anything off either album (though it does sound pretty similar to "Million Miles" off the "World Upside Down" disc). The verses & pre-chorus are absolutely stunning, exactly what I love about this style of music. In hindsight I didn't really talk up what an amazing track "The Spirit Inside" is, another HOL-style tune & another amazingly hooky chorus. Can't get this disc out of my CD player....

 

Yeah it does sound pretty similar to 'Million Miles' up until the chorus...then Million Miles blows it away. Come on, you cant say that the chorus to Divided is as good as Million Miles??? Can you?? Surely.

 

Here's a question : what happened to the Sunstorm sound on the debut album? By this I mean the sound of 'Loves Gone Wrong', 'Keep Tonight', 'Fist Full Of Heat'???? This was the sound I was expecting from this new album.....not a HOL sound. I think that's why Im disappointed.

 

As I said before its not a bad album.....its a good album. Just not what I was expecting from these guys.

 

Cheers

 

Geezzz ..., you guys are way too complicated ! Why don't you just enjoy it the way it is ?!?!

[Glen]

Have my previous posts been deleted from this thread? Our thoughts on this disc are almost identical, Tim. Hug me and admit we both agree and are right. Who knows what Glen is listening to, but a few points:

 

1. 'House of dreams' probably is better than the great debut. Both good discs, but I prefer the new one - if only for those first 4 songs.

 

2. 'Divided' is a brilliant track and probably better than anything off the debut, to be honest. Maybe.

 

3. HOL's last 2 discs have been excellent and if a band sounds like that it's a great thing. Sure as hell superior to cover songs and Peterik excretions.

 

Wow, you really are a man of exceptional taste. Group hug alert...

 

I agree the last couple of HOL albums have been very good, though I still think "Divided" is a better song than anything off either album (though it does sound pretty similar to "Million Miles" off the "World Upside Down" disc). The verses & pre-chorus are absolutely stunning, exactly what I love about this style of music. In hindsight I didn't really talk up what an amazing track "The Spirit Inside" is, another HOL-style tune & another amazingly hooky chorus. Can't get this disc out of my CD player....

 

Yeah it does sound pretty similar to 'Million Miles' up until the chorus...then Million Miles blows it away. Come on, you cant say that the chorus to Divided is as good as Million Miles??? Can you?? Surely.

 

Here's a question : what happened to the Sunstorm sound on the debut album? By this I mean the sound of 'Loves Gone Wrong', 'Keep Tonight', 'Fist Full Of Heat'???? This was the sound I was expecting from this new album.....not a HOL sound. I think that's why Im disappointed.

 

As I said before its not a bad album.....its a good album. Just not what I was expecting from these guys.

 

Cheers

 

Geezzz ..., you guys are way too complicated ! Why don't you just enjoy it the way it is ?!?!

 

cos Im not a massive fan of the HOL sound....simple really.

 

& i didnt expect that sound from a Sunstorm album.

[TIM (2)]

Have my previous posts been deleted from this thread? Our thoughts on this disc are almost identical, Tim. Hug me and admit we both agree and are right. Who knows what Glen is listening to, but a few points:

 

1. 'House of dreams' probably is better than the great debut. Both good discs, but I prefer the new one - if only for those first 4 songs.

 

2. 'Divided' is a brilliant track and probably better than anything off the debut, to be honest. Maybe.

 

3. HOL's last 2 discs have been excellent and if a band sounds like that it's a great thing. Sure as hell superior to cover songs and Peterik excretions.

 

Wow, you really are a man of exceptional taste. Group hug alert...

 

I agree the last couple of HOL albums have been very good, though I still think "Divided" is a better song than anything off either album (though it does sound pretty similar to "Million Miles" off the "World Upside Down" disc). The verses & pre-chorus are absolutely stunning, exactly what I love about this style of music. In hindsight I didn't really talk up what an amazing track "The Spirit Inside" is, another HOL-style tune & another amazingly hooky chorus. Can't get this disc out of my CD player....

 

Yeah it does sound pretty similar to 'Million Miles' up until the chorus...then Million Miles blows it away. Come on, you cant say that the chorus to Divided is as good as Million Miles??? Can you?? Surely.

 

Here's a question : what happened to the Sunstorm sound on the debut album? By this I mean the sound of 'Loves Gone Wrong', 'Keep Tonight', 'Fist Full Of Heat'???? This was the sound I was expecting from this new album.....not a HOL sound. I think that's why Im disappointed.

 

Cheers

 

I'd rate "Divided" and "Million Miles" (my fave tune off either of the last 2 HOL albums) about the same to be honest. I LOVE both tunes as they both are stunning throughout the entire song (so many songs just have a great chorus, with the rest of the song just uninteresting).

 

I do agree this has a more laid-back style to it & I definitely agree with the HOL comparison. Maybe it's the songwriters, as these are more 'AOR'-type songs than the Melodic Hard Rock-style of songwriting on the first disc (excluding the Peterik songs), mix this with JLT's vocals being not a million miles (no pun intended) from James Christian's anyway & you have a HOL-sounding disc....

[Stefan]

Revisiting this. Nice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2MPLu0GSZs

 

[KarpetRydOFunk]

Revisiting this. Nice.

 

 

Seems you're revisiting a lot of threads from 8 years ago.