TEN - Stormwarning (2011)

01. Endless Symphony
02. Centre Of My Universe
03. Kingdom Come
04. Book Of Secrets
05. Stormwarning             play
06. Invisible
07. Love Song
08. The Hourglass and the Landslide
09. Destiny
10. The Wale
11. The Darkness             play

Personnel:
Gary Hughes - vocals, guitars, backing vocals
John Halliwell - guitars, acoustic guitars
Neil Fraser - guitars, lead guitars
Paul Hodson - keyboards and synthesisers, programming
Mark Sumner - bass guitars
Mark Zonder - additional drums and percussion

Gary Hughes returns with his band, Ten, after a five-year absence, releasing Stormwarning on Frontiers Records. The band has seen turmoil over the last few years with several lineup changes. Joining Hughes for this leg of the journey are guest drummer Mark Zonder from Fates Warning, guitarists John Halliwell and Neil Fraser, keyboardist Paul Hodson and bassist Mark Sumner. Hughes also enlisted Dennis Ward as producer. Ward (Pink Cream 69) has produced albums with Angra, Place Vendome, Sunstorm and Edenbridge. Everything that is wrong with Ten’s new studio album Stormwarning is the exact same issue as with the third Allen/Lande CD, The Showdown, that being neither disk brings forth new ideas. It’s a rehash of Ten’s formulated songwriting scheme, in which melodic, breathy vocals intertwine within mid-tempo AOR compositions. Layers and layers of guitars and vocals drench the album. Hughes has pulled new musicians into the fold, but as the primary songwriter, Stromwarning falls victim to the pitfalls of the same old song and dance.

The music is so syrupy that it’s enough to induce an upset stomach. It’s drenched so deep in vocal harmonies, studio effects, endless solos and repetitive themes. Truly, no instrument stands out as everything blends together. It’s like a perpetual journey across an endless sea with no land in sight, leaving the listener mired in the sand, looking at a mirage of hope that ultimately leads to a hole of an unknown depth. Stormwarning is disappointing after the past releases like Hughes Opus Once and Future King Part 1 and 2, or Ten’s The Robe and In the Name of the Rose or even their last album Twilight Chronicles, where Hughes mixed it up with more dynamic song writing.

It’s not that the musicianship sucks or the vocals suck. There is just not anything here that promotes excitement. The more that Hughes stays in his current melancholy state of mind, the more Ten sounds like the Goth-rock band HIM. After five years, one would expect something more creative and dynamic than what we get on Stormwarning. In fact, the album title should be a warning to fans because there usually is a calm before the storm. On this their 10th album, the band chooses to play it safe and not venture into the eye of the storm. Unfortunately for fans, it leaves you wanting more and truly disappointed. –--John Kindred, hardrockhaven.net

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