TEN - review added 9th February 2011
Album Review: Stormwarning (2011)
For fans of: Hard Rock... and standing on a gargoyle
UK rock act Ten - with a line-up here of Gary Hughes on vocals and guitars, John Halliwell on guitars, Neil Fraser on guitars, Paul Hodson on keys, synth, and programming, Mark Sumner on bass, and Mark Zonder (Fates Warning) on drums and percussion - released their last album "The Twilight Chronicles" back in 2006. To be honest it wasn't that great, so the Dennis Ward produced "Stormwarning" has a lot of questions to answer.
Least important thing first... The artwork is by Spanish fantasy artist Luis Royo who did the covers for the two best Ten albums "Spellbound" and "Babylon". Of more interest is the aforementioned producer, so at least we know the sound quality is going to be good.
Even better, the songwriting now incorporates catchiness. The last album was so far up its own a*se it could lick it's tonsils. "Stormwarning" has clever-for-clever's-sake moments, but they do not dominate proceedings.
The sound is a nicely judged hard rock with nods to folk, Celtic battle hymns and progressive rock. As a whole the album is a mix of Ten's early and later sounds, with only occasional nods to their heavier work. The mellowness works though, and to be fair the album still weights up quite often, just not as much as the band have done in the past.
Gary sounds the same as ever; meaning a little too warm and mellow for this type of music. He has a good tone, but he isn't exactly 'rock'. Still, Ten wouldn't be Ten without him, and looking at the number of good songs he's sung with them over the years, he must be doing something right. The musicianship is mostly on the money. Occasionally it's understated...and occasionally it'll blow you out of the water with its technical brilliance.
The slightly annoying but very catchy 'Endless Symphony' kicks things off. The mellow-rocking 'Centre Of My Universe' has a cool vibe. I'm a big fan of the chorus on 'Kingdom Come', though the rest is a tad snoozy. 'Book Of Secrets' is a rockier, speedier number that wakes things up. The title track has it's charms, but it's not as memorable as it should have been.
'Invisible' is my favourite track, boasting a bunch of fine melodies that conspire to give it a truly classic feel. 'Love Song' is nice enough, if not that memorable. 'The Hourglass And The Landslide' is a good entry with plenty of stunning musicianship. 'Destiny' is another of the likeable but middling songs. Final track 'The Wave' is something a little different. It's a very chilled number. There's a bit of Buddy Holly's "Raining In My Heart' in there, and something else soft 'n' charty I can't quite put my finger on. Told you it was different!
In Summation:
Definitely the band's best album since "Return To Evermore", maybe the best since "Far Beyond The World", "Stormwarning" is a fine addition to the Ten catalogue...but I don't think it's rubbing shoulders with their very best work.
Entertainment/Enjoyment:
Musicianship:
Vocals:
Song Writing:
Production:
Overall (Not An Average Of The Above):
Check out... 'Invisible'.
Track List:
01. Endless Symphony
02. Centre Of My Universe
03. Kingdom Come
04. Book Of Secrets
05. Stormwarning
06. Invisible
07. Love Song
08. The Hourglass And The Landslide
09. Destiny
10. The Wave
Label: Frontiers Records
Artist's website(s): Ten | MySpace
