TEN – Gothica [Japanese Edition +1] (2017)

After a couple of busy years with one album, one EP and extensive tours, British Melodic Hard Rock institution TEN have returned to their former label Frontiers Music for the release of their 13th studio album “Gothica” next month. The Japanese Edition just arrived with a bonus track.

TEN has slightly changed their style in the last 10 years or so, and perhaps their current musical path is perfectly encapsulated by the track ‘Travellers’. Its depth and scope are amazing, the band’s usual palette of colours stretched to somewhat darker hues, though without sacrificing musical identity, nor their storytelling element.

Explaining that its contents dwell upon history, romance and erotic horror, leader Gary Hughes has called the album “a little more sinister then the previous”.
From the Henry VIII-themed ‘A Man For All Seasons’ to ‘Welcome To The Freakshow’ fetishism and the vampiric ‘La Luna Dra-cu-la’, this album stimulates the ol’ grey matter as well as entertaining, while refusing to be bogged down by bookish stuffiness.

The classic TEN catchiness it’s well represented by ‘Jekyll and Hyde’, the very melodic ‘In My Dreams’ (which felt like a piece of commercial melodic rock perfectly designed for early ’90s radio).
I really like the first single ‘Paragon’ however is not the strongest song here, but this Japanese Edition includes as bonus track a remix of it, different, shorter and much more effective.

Then if you are looking for TEN’s melodious light proggy side check ‘The Wild King Of Winter’, an almost sorrowful piece of beautiful music, leading into rhythmic guitar with a fantastic beat and some great guitar solos, as well as a catchy chorus and some very prog leaning keys from Darrel Treece-Birch, a man whose surname is even cooler than his nickname.

A true contender for ‘Album Of the Year’, TEN’s “Gothica” is a rich tapestry of an album, full of beautifully written songs with fantastic guitars, great rhythm and keys, all overlaid with the colorful voice of Gary Hughes.
Produced by Hughes, and mixed & mastered once again by the man of the moment, Dennis Ward, the album’s sound is very good avoiding the ‘muddy’ output of some of the band’s last recordings.
Definitely one of the best albums this year so far.
HIGHLY Recommended

01. The Grail
02. Jekyll And Hyde
03. Travellers
04. Man For All Seasons
05. In My Dreams
06. The Wild King Of Winter
07. Paragon
08. Welcome To The Freak Show
09. La Luna Dra-cu-la
10. Into Darkness
11. Paragon (Bonus Mix) [Japan Bonus Track]

Gary Hughes – Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Programming
Dann Rosingana – Guitar
Steve Grocott – Guitar
John Halliwell – Guitar
Steve McKenna – Bass
Darrel Treece-Birch – Keyboards
Max Yates – Drums, Percussion
Karen Fell – Backing Vocals

BUY IT !
www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/MICP-11358
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