Ten – Gothica

The phrase ‘close but no cigar’ seems to be apt with Ten, good ideas mostly, but unable to convince when it comes to delivering the goods.

Written by: gdmonline

ARTIST: Ten
ALBUM: Gothica
LABEL: Frontiers
SERIAL: FRCD 802
YEAR: 2017
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

LINEUP: Gary Hughes – vocals * Dann Rosingana, Steve Grocott, John Halliwell – guitars * Darrel Treece-Birch – keyboards * Steve McKenna – bass * Max Yates – drums

TRACK LISTING: 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)

RATING:

WEBLINKS: Site Link

Background

I must be a sucker for punishment. Time and time again, I keep coming back to this lot, reviewing their albums and hoping to be witness to the next great coming of melodic rock. The phrase ‘close but no cigar’ seems to be apt with them. Good ideas mostly, but unable to convince when it comes to delivering the goods.

After a few years on the Rocktopia label, the band return to Frontiers, hoping for their next big break. Admittedly, ‘Gothica’ sounds a lot more convincing than recent efforts ‘Albion’ and ‘Isla De Muerta’, but the whole fantasy realm is kinda done to death don’t you think? Then again, I doubt they could sing/write/play about any other subject matter. It’s like they are caught in a spiral without a way out.

The Songs

The band play a pleasant brand of melodic rock, but it’s just not nasty enough for my liking considering the subject matter. Really, with three guitarists, Ten should at least have one of these blokes sounding like he’s playing a chainsaw, not a fairy wand of candy floss. Gary Hughes should do a solo AOR CD rather than this fare to which he’s much better suited.

In Summary

Overall, ‘Gothica’ is a good album, if a little too inoffensive and squeaky clean. A bit of dirt and grit would not go amiss.

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