Melodic hard rock band Ten – fronted by Gary Hughes – issue an excellent album of reliable quality as they always do.
Here Be Monsters featuring plenty of what makes Ten one of the premier bands in this genre packed to the rafters with great melodies, soaring hooks in amongst the chunky guitars and wonderful soloing with the rich voice of Hughes as welcomed as ever.
Overall the style on Here Be Monsters is a bit less grandiose than some of their recent output and more what you might call traditional hard/melodic though there is plenty of bite going on via the fluid guitar work of Dann Rosingana and Steve Grocott.
And the always excellent Darrel Treece-Birch is has a more prominent role with his variety on the keyboards used to good effect throughout swelling out the sound and adding some very nice flourishes.
Each of the nine songs here are typical Hughes compositions full of atmosphere and melody in amongst the twin guitars.
The gentle piano-based intro of Fearless breaks out in to astrong rocker. Chapter and Psalm one of those sweeping mini-epics Ten are known for with the strong melody and even stronger guitars (check out the solo) adding to the pleasure of the listen.
Strangers on a Distant Shore has plenty more of the trademark Huges/Ten melodies and punches along nicely too with a nice riff and a heavier delivery. Arguably the strongest track on the album. Have a listen:
The Dream That Fell to Earth has a dramatic feel with a bit of a progressive edge to it and Follow Me In To The Fire bounces along with an impossibly catchy, memorable hook and the guitars all over it again.
No weak tracks anywhere and not a trace of a soppy, sugary ballad which sometimes creeps in on a Hughes/Ten album. The Longest Time threatens to be one, though rescues itself just in time.
With Here Be Monsters, Ten have put together an album of superior top drawer melodic heaviness.
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I understand that there’s another album from Ten slotted for release later this year. Something to look forward to.