Metal has gone through so many iterations and variations that it is pretty easy to forget where it all came from. We can sometimes get so caught up in trying to define the music that we forget what it is all really about, having fun and partying to extremely loud music. HOUSE OF X are the breath of fresh air that every one needs once in a while to remember that it isn't all about drop tuning to G# or perfecting that guttural roar to the point where you can actually make someone shit their pants with the right PA system.

The debut album from this motley crew (can I say that?) of old school semi-legends is an excellent example of classic rock being made in the now and still sounding not only relevant but also incredibly kick ass. The band has been former by members of some of the old greats from the UK rock scene. Bands like UFO, LIONHEART and ELECTRIC SUN have all made big names for themselves over the years and now some of the lesser (but nonetheless extremely talented) known members of those bands have joined forces to bless our tainted current iteration of popular Metal/Rock with a healthy dose of old school.

"Redemption" is a tour de force through everything that makes the old classics classic.  The album opens with "Do Me Wrong" and instantly you can tell what the next 45 minutes is going to hold Danny Peyronel's vocals have the same kind of attention demanding tone that Ozzy's used to have but with the addition of a bit more gravel in the throat. Less than 2 minutes into the album and the first of many guitar solos tears its way through the speakers and assaults your ears with raw sexual power. It's these kind of things that we need more of, big manly sexual guitars and vocalists that sound like they have balls the size of Florida oranges. The aforementioned party element isn't far behind though and the second song is the aptly named "No More Tequila" and quite frankly, it made me want to go and dig out an old leather jacket and start a swinging my hair in the face of the sweet old lady next door.

The album does switch it up a little and there are a few more ballad-esque songs in the latter sections. The transition between "Rage" and "Alive" is a beautiful crossover and happens so organically that you barely notice it happening. One minute you are burning your way through a level of Road Rash and swinging a big chain into the face of some policeman that's trying desperately to kill your buzz. Before you know it, you've come off the bike and are drifting in and out of a coma in hospital with your relatives fretting around your mangled corpse. I am a sucker for this kind of imagery and story telling in an album, although I have no idea if the songs have anything to do with this but I like to believe they do.

This is definitely an album that will resonate well with fans of the good old days, when perms were cool. A very well needed dose of fun and some seriously talented musicianship make this an album that deserves to be heard.<