:: Harem Scarem - Hope

Harem Scarem

In theory, Canadian act Harem Scarem should have been one of the biggest melodic rock acts in the world. After all, for the last twenty years, the band has delivered twelve studio albums that have been universally hailed amongst critics. But for reasons unknown, the band never achieved the level of success they deserved outside of a truly diehard following in Japan. Lack of exposure and commercial success will take its toll on any band, and, after twenty years, Harem Scarem has finally decided to call an end to the band. But as a parting gift, the four piece act have released one final album in ‘Hope’. And it doesn’t need saying that it’s everything you would expect from the band. ‘Watch Your Back’ is a classic Harem Scarem opener with its heavy and modern sounding riffs woven in and around the band’s trademark melodic chorus harmonies, while ‘Time Bomb’ and the title track ‘Hope’ maintains the same heavy and darker feel of the opener, but not at the cost of the catchy melodies and the hook laden choruses that the band are renowned for. It’s the fourth track ‘Days Are Numbered’ that the band really hit high gear, with the song easily standing out as one of the album’s genuine classic efforts, while the guitar driven ‘Dark Times’ beautifully balances out the heavier side of the band and their ability to keep things catchy and memorable. The emotive ‘Beyond Repair’ is definitely another Harem Scarem classic with its modern groove and Hess’ passionate delivery, while ‘Never Too Late’ and ‘Calm Before The Storm’ sees the band provide the latter part of the album with some great up-tempo rocking numbers. Harem Scarem ballads have always been winners in the past, and ‘Shooting Star’ is no exception, while the slower paced ‘Nothing Without You’ simply sounds huge, and is without a doubt a perfect closer for the album. As an added bonus, an acoustic version of ‘Higher’ is added to the tail end of ‘Hope’, which even in its stripped down form, still remains a strong track. ‘Hope’ is easily one of 2008’s best melodic rock albums, and one that every fan of hard rock should check out. The only real disappointment about ‘Hope’ is that it marks the end of Harem Scarem as a band. I can only hope that in time the band’s vast catalogue will be recognised, and that the band will once again get back together. But even if that doesn’t happen, at least they’ve parted for the right reasons, leaving us with ‘Hope’.