(Hard Rock) Sons Of Angels - Slumber With The Lion - 2001, APE (image+.cue) lossless

Sons of Angels was formed in 1988 when longtime songwriter-partners Torstein and Lars K. decided to start a band. They had already had several no. 1 hits in their native Norway. After the process of having auditions all over Scandinavia they discovered vocalist Solli. Soon after they line-up was completed with the Swedish guitar-wizard Staffan William-Olsson and Norwegian drummer Geir Digernes. The band recorded some smoking demos and went straight to L.A. with just one single name in their pocket. In just two weeks they had 3 major labels interested; MCA, Warner Bros. and Atlantic. The bands next move was to have those labels coming to Oslo to see the band live and they decided to go with Atlantic. As the band said; "We just had to have that logo on our album"!!! This was summer of 1989 and already in November the band found themselves recording their eponomously titeled debut-album in Cherokee Studios in L.A. Kevin Elson produced the album together with Torstein and Lars K. 1990 was a very exciting year for SOA. In February the band finished of the album in Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, San Francisco and in April they did a video in Paris for the first single, "Cowgirl". This is probably the song that most people relate to SOA, it did well in the charts and a lot of places on the east coast of America it was even a huge hit. The album and the single were released worldwide in May. The album had great reviews on both side of the Atlantic, 4 out of 5 in Kerrang! And so on. A lot of the reviews stated that SOA together with Electric Boys where the prime representatives of Scandinavian funk-metal. In July the band started their first American tour. The absolute highlight of the tour was when they pulled 7000 people as headliners of an outdoor-festival in Louisville, Kentucky. At the time both "Cowgirl" and "Lonely Rose", the second single, was top 5 at the local radios. In the fall SOA also toured Scandinavia with Magnum and Germany with Steelheart. Even though "Cowgirl" did well the band wasn't satisfied with the enthusiasm at Atlantic. It seemed they had way to many bands at the time and SOA decided they wanted to get out, which they did, in April 1991. The next year the band was working close with SBK Records and were just about to enter the studio for doing their second album when suddenly SBK merged with EMI and Chrysalis to the new EMI Music Group. This was a major set-back for the band and even though Desmond Child got involved, stating; "You're one of the best bands I ever heard"!, he couldn't help the band getting a new deal. This was obviously right at the time when everyone, as Torstein rightly put's it; "jumped onto their shorts to become grunge". SOA was unfortunately just to late in doing just that. The band officially split in August 1992. The rest of the nineties went on with Torstein getting heavy into the movie-business, directing a couple of award-winning shortmovies, Lars K. got heavy into the internet, starting amongst others Freetrax, Staffan William-Olsson got heavy into jazz releasing a whole lot of albums which brought him a Norwegian Grammy. Solli, the lead-singer, was determind to stay on the hardrock-scene and did albums with both Adrian Smith of Iron Maiden, Psycho Motel, and Scott Gorham of Thin Lizzy, 21 Guns. When you enter a new decade it's often time to look back and think about what you achieved the last ten years, so also with the members of Sons of Angels. In the year of 2000 it seemed like all the members suddenly had the same thought: "We didn't finish off SOA in the right way ……. Needless to say, the band got back together and here's the result; "Slumber With the Lion" A new deal with Europes major player in Hard Rock the English based label Z Records Slumber with the lion is a triamphant return to form.
nehrecords.com

Welcome back Sons Of Angels! Without skipping a beat, the guys are back, picking up where they left off 10 years ago!
This album and the songs contained within were recorded over a long period - in fact the whole period the band has been away from the scene. A couple of tracks hark back to 1989, others were recorded last year. Importantly, they all flow evenly within the context of the album.
Sons Of Angels know how to write a catchy hard rock song and with Solli at the helm, you know it isn't always going to be straight forward.
Their debut album was recorded for Atlantic Records under the production guidance of Kevin Elson. Label problems entered the fray and the band went AWOL. But they kept themselves busy and Solli sang on several other projects.
They were made to look like your average LA band (even though they are from Norway!), but never sounded like it, with a knack of sounding just a little above those bands they were competing with.
On Slumber With The Lion, the band's sound remains planted in commercial European rock territory, but they have toughened up a little. With age comes maturity and Sons Of Angels are no different.
Their sound is tighter, the songs a little more refined and the package as a whole is certainly updated.
Burning Childhood open the album in fine fashion - a good fun up tempo hard rocker with the sound of the band's debut not far away.
No Sorrow is darker and heavier and also about half the pace of the opening number. This is an example of how the band have evolved and a taste of a darker more modern sound.
Fire falls somewhere in between the opening two tracks. Moody in delivery, mid tempo in pace, but featuring a catchy but simple chorus and an unmistakable Solli vocal.
Slumber With The Lion is another example of the band in 2000/1. Heavy, slow, dark and intense. Thankfully, the band know how to write good songs and there are still hooks here to latch on to.
Hopeless Kind is a u-turn from the last couple of songs. This track is a pretty acoustic ballad with a hummable chorus hook. It picks up pace a little as the songs develops, but is primarily an acoustic ballad.
Lazy Stacy is another darker mid tempo number, with a heavily accented lead vocal and a hook reminsicent of the band's occasionally funky debut.
Love You To Much is another track that harks back to the sound of the debut. Another good fun rock track with one of the bigger anthem choruses of the album. An album highlight.
It's big ballad time with Gimmie Lovin'. This could be my favourite track of the album as it features a very strong lead vocal and a big anthem chorus, complete with strong harmony vocals and a big - no scratch that - a huge finish!
Talk About Girls is a harmless groovy little rock number that isn't one of the better songs of the album, but a good pace changer nevertheless.
Stranded is ballad number 3, but with all three ballads sounding a little different than the last. This is another good softer sounding acoustic driven track.
Hunger For Love is an example of what the band do best - another good fun funked up guitar driven rocker.
Baby Wanna Ride is a European bonus track. The production sound is different than that of the rest of the album, so I am not sure where it was lifted from. Still, it's a good enough song and a groovy little number with a good chorus hook.
BOTTOM LINE: Welcome back guys! The band have reformed and picked up where they left off, only stopping to update their sound a little. The production of the album will never be able to complete with a 1990 budget including Kevin Elson, but it's still pretty strong and better than many releases out there.
As for the songs - they are all there. A good, strong collection of songs and melodies that should entertain every fan of the debut, and maybe re-introduce the band to some new fans on the scene.
PRODUCTION: 85% SONGS: 93% VIBE: 90% ATTITUDE: 92%
ESSENTIAL FOR: All fans of the Sons Of Angels debut and fans of European hard rock.
melodicrock.com

Musicians:



Solli (vocals)
Torstein (bass, backing vocals)
Lars K. (keyboards)
Staffan William-Olsson (guitar)
Geir Digernes (drums)

Produced by: Torstein and Lars K.
Mixed by: Torstein and Lars K.
Mastered by: Morten Lund