OTHERWISE – Sleeping Lions

24th September 2017 0 By Aaron Emerson

Glitz, glamour and all things sparkly; the lights and action of the Las Vegas backdrop gives us Otherwise, who have already produced three full albums and a few EP’s in their time together since 2003. Otherwise have made their mark on the hard rock scene, yes it took them three years to produce a full length album but since then they have joined forces with Century Media Records and produced two albums and two EP’s that has allowed them to reach an even bigger audience; their latest work, which has taken three years to produce, Sleeping Lions has brought them back to the fold once more. If their 2012 release, True Love Never Dies and their 2014 Peace at All Cost is anything to go off, this should be a doozie.

It’s your typical hard rock fiesta from the moment you press play, Otherise has a formula which holds true today as it did back in 2006, holding all the trademarks you would expect from an American hard rock band; the opening track, Angry Heart, start the show with panache, helped along with the clear lyrics, rumbling riffs and pitch perfect percussions. Sleeping Lions really does not let you down in any form, each track can hold its own comfortably, selling their sound with ease; Otherwise has a vibe about them that does not need fixing, and nor do they try to fix it, in fact they seem very comfortable with who they are and what they produce, bringing together a high quality production of sound that does not deviate from their previous work too much, save the odd tweak to modernize here and there. Their sound definitely lends from the mid noughties with a similar arching quality to Saliva and Crossfade; the rising chorus’s of that era still hit home with stunning regularity throughout and it really gives the songs a sense of power and melody. Riffs roar in at every possible corner, the vocals are strong, crystal clear and with that touch of hip hop that is so the noughties its untrue.

It’s tracks like Nothing to Me, Close to the Gods and Blame that really are the show stoppers along with the opener Angry Heart; they show off Otherwise’s heaviness, core sound and melodic chorus’s that gift them with an accessible that opens the door to all rockers young and old, light and heavy. The anthemic quality of Suffer really give them a more modern twist in the tail with the piano opening that power chords into melodic undertones that make it the perfect radio friendly sound, give or take the odd swear word that could easily be changed. Nothing says class like a well-rounded rock album, and Sleeping Lions is just that; there isn’t any filler, there isn’t a bad song in sight, it’s just what the doctor ordered, great riffs, vocal harmonies and melodies and percussion to sew it all together in a lovely neat box. Otherwise are on form.
Score 8/10

Track Listing:
1. Angry Heart
2. Sleeping Lions
3. Suffer
4. Nothing to Me
5. Weapons
6. Crocodile Tears
7. Close to the Gods
8. Dead in the Air
9. Beautiful Monster
10. Blame
11. Bloodline Lullaby