A lot of people are not going to agree with this, but the more time spent with "Over:Load", the more
Pretty Maids comes to mind, especially the Scream/Spooked discs. It has that same kind of feel, a melodic rock recording with a very modern slant and crunchy guitars, but it is Harry
Hess's vocals that really hit this comparison home, as they are gruff yet emotional, just as Atkins' were on the above mentioned P'Maids albums. Also with the more modern-esque direction, it's difficult to not have
Westworld pop up since Harnell's band has contributed some of the better sounding updated
AOR music in recent memory.
What we have here is an entirely different beast from the cleaner more "classic" sounding past two releases from these guys, the big, fat
AOR antics of "Weight of the World" and the mellower yet uber-melodic "Higher". They were slanted more towards the style of the debut and the absolutely untouchable classic (although they can still try) "Mood Swings".
AOR doesn't get much better than 1993's "Mood Swings", but "Over:Load" doesn't attempt to be that disc, as "WotW" and even the very pop, "Higher" tried. They have scrapped that approach, and are doing something completely different as they reinvent themselves once again. Just as
Pretty Maids does every other album. No wonder those delightful Danes keep popping into the mind eh?
The music is doused with darker colours and a harsher aggression, and seems to mimic their 1995 release "Voice of Reason", yet one ups it in every way. Experience has definitely tempered the song writing duo of Harry
Hess and guitarist Pete Lesperance, and honed it to have a very fine edge. They are producing songs that while may not initially win the fancy of fans of the past two discs, as well as their first two discs ever, there is a lot of heart and emotion involved, and they seem to bring out the best of many worlds to combine for a pretty killer release. It takes a little while to get into it, but with a few replays, the songs really begin to develop and show their multifaceted nature.
"Over:Load" unfortunately does suffer from the top heavy syndrome. The first batch of songs are just killer, plain and simple. A little too modern perhaps for some tastes but in a very subtle way, absolutely cannot be ignored. Even with just a single spin, some of these choruses have the power to get stuck in your mind and leave you wondering just where it came from out of the blue like that. Now that's the sign of a catchy-as-hell tune. The latter five tracks however, don't have that same punch and addictive qualities. Some of these songs are good, and have layers of backing vocals, and other nods to melodic excess, they still lack the staying power of the first five. But the album is finished off in fine style which makes up for it.
I absolutely adore the opening track,
"Dagger". In fact, it is one of the strongest songs they have done in years and has this gritty feel that receives a melodic electric shock with the powerful chorus they sling in there after the venom dripped lines are dropped with such charge and conviction. The guitars chug along with a dark thread running under their surface.
"Afterglow" slams it with some nice melodic verses and the chorus and rides along with a prevalent chunkiness. The guitar solo just rips it up, tearing the strings apart and bringing the song to a sizzling climax of fret burning glory.
"Rise and Fall" features some really throaty vocals by
Hess, that comes across lovely considering the structures of the track. He really puts some feel and weight to the music here which helps support it. This one may walk a little too close to the modern side for some, but those hefty melodies are still present to hold your hand along the way. Darkened and moody in atmosphere, this one is a pleasant diversion to break up the feel of the disc so far.
"Don't Come Easy" actually comes, very easily. It slides into the eardrums like butter, with a fat chorus that teeters on bombast and
AOR-esque familiarity. This meanderings into classic territory is offset by the dark hues of the extended intro and the crunch-tastic guitars that make parts of this song like crunchy peanut butter, filled with harder chunks but a slipperiness still lurking, and the chorus would be that same peanut butter, put through a blender for optimum smoothness.
"Can't Live With You" comes out of the box as a heavy hitter in the
AOR sound-alike department. The vocals here are absolutely massive, we are talking
Def Leppard multi tracking kind of "big". Which is, of course, mind numbling huge. It drives that chorus into your brain with force, conviction and a stickiness as it attaches itself to your brain and won't let up on replaying itself. The overall song is like clashing two evolutions of
Harem Scarem and pounding out into one offering. "Mood Swings" and "Voice of Reason" are the two releases in questions here.
From here on out, the album starts to waver a bit in quality. While the songwriting remains tight and there are surprises galore along the way, there is really nothing else that has that staying power that the first five tracks possess in spades. It only takes one listen to get
"Can't Live With You" or
"Dagger" interrupting your quiet solitude for days after, but nothing beyond this point seems to have the blessing of popping out at you in this manner. This makes the modern turn of "Over:Load" more of a chore to digest in its latter half, because without those huge hooks to reel you in, kicking and screaming and clutching "Mood Swings" as you may have done, there's not alot here that breaks away from the modern radio pop formula to give you incentive to carry on. So having said that, and with hope that you can embrace this a little better after
Harem Scarem has eased you into their latest sound incarnation...
"Forgive & Forget" is like a fist in your face, with extreme modern twists on the Harem sound. You would not be caught off guard if this was being spun on the radio, which is kind of a sad thing. Harry's voice is put through the machine and is spat out with its essence warped by effects. It just doesn't work out in the end, but we can forgive and forget this one.
"All You're Getting" is a nice step in the right direction, being more of a ballad than the midtempo "Can't", with a piano heavy lead-in that is quickly given away for more of a full-on band sound, as all the instruments start up and flood the peaceful atmosphere with a bold sweep into
Queen territory.
"Leading Me On" requires multiple listens to completely grasp what the guys are shooting for. At first glance, its just another modern take on the
AOR/hard rock genre, but the chorus will eventually win you over to the dark side, with its abundance of guitars that seem to fill every nook and cranny with their angsty power drive.
By the time
"Understand You" hits the airwaves, I begin to feel that things are just not going as well as planned for the latter half of this and crave to just hit the first track again, but in sticking with it, this song always comes off as being pleasant. They keep it simple and kind of stripped, with tons of acoustic and a ditty-like chorus that doesn't have alot of trappings to get in the way. Deceptively simplistic and nice background music. It's not going to rattle your world but it is not terrible either.
"Same Mistakes" could have been ripped right off of "Voice of Reason", in fact, who knows, it could very well have taken its first steps as a contender for that album and resurrected just now for the present day, who's to say? The world will never know... Again, this track is not remarkable, it's alright, but the guys have and will do better work.
Does
"Wishing" count as part of this album? Well, since it is here as somewhat of a "bonus", despite the fact the Japanese were sinking their teeth into this juicy number, quite awhile ago as a region exclusive piece for "Higher", it counts, and what an outstanding number to end the disc on. This winds up being a lovely ballad that embraces the emotional side of things with arms widespread. Even if the mind has wandered away from the disc, this will snap you right back into it with eyes aglow with the heavenly light sounds that are flowing through the speakers.
With
"Wishing" on board, "Over:Load" comes packed with a total of six truly great songs, many of these that showcase the blendings of modern music with classic sounds in a positive manner. Tracks such as
"Dagger" manage to lift the aggression and let it unleash itself freely while slamming the listener with a melody packed chorus. This is just the perfect combination and
Harem Scarem keeps managing to forge new songs created from the ashes of these genres, and coax those ashes into a full burning flame. Unfortunately, the disc seems to lose momentum as time and tracks wear on, but you can still see through the modern curtains shrouding the way, and look through to see the depth and quality of the songwriting, especially after more time has been given to the album. The first half of "Over:Load" is just so sadly addictive that it seems like a waste of time going through the "getting to know you" period that the last half requires.
"Weight of the World", "Higher", or "Mood Swings" this is not, but overall,
Harem Scarem have somehow pulled a rather attractive rabbit out of their hat, especially so, given the choice of genres they decided to blend here. It's a very delicate thing handling that modern rock sound, it very easily blows up in your face and turns into a disasterous mess, but these guys, with their skill and experience in the game, more often turn this abused and overused style into something worthwhile that even achieves greatness now and then. That's quite the accomplishment and if exposed to this disc, you'll likely agree. A must buy for Harem fans and adventurous sorts questing for some catchy tuneage with a twist.
Written by
Alanna Monday, July 4, 2005
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