{"id":15080,"date":"2013-09-27T00:00:06","date_gmt":"2013-09-27T00:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=15080"},"modified":"2015-02-12T17:02:25","modified_gmt":"2015-02-12T17:02:25","slug":"album-review-harem-scarem-mood-swings-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-harem-scarem-mood-swings-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"HAREM SCAREM – Mood Swings II (2013) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

HAREM SCAREM
Mood Swings II<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nFrontiers (2013)<\/span>
Rating: 7.5\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Canadian hard rockers Harem Scarem have been responsible for some of rock\u2019s most underrated albums over the years. However, the main problem is that despite their beautiful melodies in tracks such as \u2018No Justice\u2019, the scene has passed them by, with the combo remaining popular in Japan and parts of Europe, but never quite fitting into any chosen genre. <\/p>\n

In the late 80s and early 90s other extremely talented bands such as Saigon Kick suffered the same fate, but Harem Scarem have marched on over the years, producing 12 superb albums \u2013 the first being the self-titled 1991 opus, and what seemed to be the last in 2008 with Hope<\/em>. <\/p>\n

Harem Scarem has always been fuelled by the passion and flair of lead vocalist Harry Hess and guitarist Pete Lesperance but, like a number of classic rock bands, they\u2019ve decided to re-work their history with Mood Swings II<\/em>, a celebration of the reunion of this highly talented act. <\/p>\n

The original 1993 opus, Mood Swings, was a career-defining extravaganza that boasted 11 innovative tracks and featured Mike Gionet on bass and Darren Smith on drums. Now, more than 20 years after that platter, Harem Scarem have come full circle and re-worked those 11 tracks which are accompanied by three extra tracks in the form of \u2018World Gone To Pieces\u2019, \u2018Anarchy\u2019 and \u2018Brighter Day\u2019.<\/p>\n

I have to admit that I never kept up with all of Harem Scarem\u2019s releases, but adored their 1995 effort Voice Of Reason<\/em>. I was rather surprised by their decision to re-record Mood Swings<\/em>, but this seems to be a current trend, what with all manner of bands ranging from Stryper (2011\u2019sThe Second Coming<\/em>) to thrashers Annihilator (2013\u2019s Re-Kill<\/em><\/a>) opting for such work. This time round the drums are taken by Creighton Doane and Lesperance plays guitar and bass on the album. <\/p>\n

Thankfully, the material on Mood Swings II<\/em> is not drastically different from the original although it could be argued that the newer workings have a fresher, more soulful feel, and it\u2019s only natural that Hess\u2019 vocals boast more strain as they\u2019ve aged over the years. <\/p>\n

But, the likes of \u2018Saviors Never Cry\u2019, the stomping \u2018No Justice\u2019 and the delightful \u2018Sentimental Blvd\u2019 \u2013 featuring Darren Smith on vocals \u2013 still harbour that pomp and pout. Harem Scarem have always had a lush, often polished edge to their melodic rockers, so it\u2019s no surprise that this is still evident here, albeit in slightly different shades. For instance, the likes of \u2018Jealousy\u2019 just seem a tad more funky this time round, and \u2018Mandy\u2019 seems to ache in far greater waves with those soaring solos and effortless tinkles. <\/p>\n

C\u2019mon, Harem Scarem were never going to ruin their 1993 composition. Instead, there\u2019s a modern hunger to tracks such as \u2018Empty Promises\u2019 and the gentle sways of \u2018If There Was A Time\u2019. <\/p>\n

Hess\u2019 vocals may sound a touch more gravelled, but with that band behind him they merely add a soulful dimension. And what of the new tracks? Well, they\u2019re typically Harem Scarem \u2013 robust yet rounded, sweet and moody. \u2018World Gone To Pieces\u2019 has a darker edge, particularly in that vocal, although it\u2019s more Def Leppard in its approach, while \u2018Anarchy\u2019 is a full on rocker with some real hair metal tinges. The album eventually comes to a halt with the lazy \u2018Brighter Day\u2019, a swooning, reflective semi-ballad of syrupy harmonies and summery lyrics.<\/p>\n

Die-hard fans of Harem Scarem will no doubt lap up Mood Swings II<\/em>, if only for the extra tracks and as part of a curiosity to hear old songs turned new. Despite this being a pleasant experience though, I\u2019d rather recommend you check out the band\u2019s back catalogue.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HAREM SCAREMMood Swings II Frontiers (2013)Rating: 7.5\/10 Canadian hard rockers Harem Scarem have been responsible for some of rock\u2019s most underrated albums over the years. However, the main problem is that despite their beautiful melodies in tracks such as \u2018No Justice\u2019, the scene has passed them by, with the combo remaining popular in Japan and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,798],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-harem-scarem"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15080"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15080\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23896,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15080\/revisions\/23896"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}