|
4th Sep 200777 |
Frontiers Press Release - Gary Hughes - Veritas
Ten frontman Gary Hughes is
currently working hard to put finishing
touches to his forthcoming solo album entitled "Veritas", latin
word for
"Truth".
The new CD is taking shape in the Arena studios in Lancashire, UK and
according to Hughes, "the songs on this album are among the strongest II
have ever written in my lifetime".
"Veritas" feels like the natural successor to "Precious Ones",
Gary
Hughes' last solo output dated 1998. This time around Gary used a
different array of players to enhance the diversity of the album. "I
have gone for a variety of music styles with regard to musicians this
time around", explains Gary, "drummer Dave Ingledew and bass
player Rick
Stewart are currently members of British Dark Metal band Devil To
Pay,
Jason Robinson is the drummer with Alternative Metal band Absent
Minds,
whilst Simon Brayshaw is the bass player with British Blues
outfit
Nightshift. From the Ten ranks, Chris Francis contributes with
leadwork
once again and John Halliwell has taken acoustic guitar duties as
usual". Gary is playing keyboards and caring for all the orchestrations.
"Given the long awaited nature this album and the anticipation already
beginning I have been working really hard to make this album the best I
possibly can" concludes Gary "we could be sitting on a truly outstanding
piece of product, and maybe a yardstick for my future releases".
Frontiers Records plans to release "Veritas" in November, with
more info
to be released at a later stage.
|
14th Oct
2006 |
TEN PRESS RELEASE
"Dear All,
Apologies for the current disruption to The Official Ten website, we have
been working on a number of issues behind the scenes. However Ten are pleased to announce some changes within its web team.
Due to a variety of circumstances, its has not always been possible to keep
the site as up to date as you the fans would like. Ten are extremely thankful for the help and support provided by our current webmaster Craig
Kerry over the previous years, but have recognised that, due to the pressures of work for both the band & Craig, that some additional resources
are required.
To that affect Ten have asked Tez Durrant ( who is the webmaster of the http://www.tenofthebest.com/ Ten fan site ) to join the team as co-webmaster
for the new website. Tez has been a supporter of the band since the very
beginning and Ten would like to welcome him to our official team. I know Tez
has some ideas for the site, as well as keeping Ten's profile updated on
other related sources ( Tez has already produced a small Wiki entry for the
band on Wikipedia. As part of the commitment to the new website, we have also taken ownership of a
number of alternative domains, which may help other fans find the website.
As well as the existing http://www.ten-online.com/, you will also be able to
access the site at http://www.tentheband.co.uk/ &
http://www.tenrocks.co.uk/. Work on the website is well underway, & I look forward to
announcing its launch some time in the very near future.
Tez can be contacted via 'tez' at 'tentheband.co.uk' & Craig can be
contacted via 'c' at 'tentheband.co.uk'.
Ten would also like to remind everyone of our forthcoming appearance at the
Fleetwoodstock 2006 event. Tickets are now available from the following box
offices :-
The Marine Hall Booking Office: 01253 770547
Dazamakiz: 01253 822215
The Melody Box: 01253 871056
Please give them a call or visit to get your tickets now.
DETAILS SO FAR:
Friday 3rd November - Fleetwoodstock 2006 - TEN plus Counterparts plus
support TBC @ Marine Hall, Fleetwood
Saturday 4th November - "Fleetwood Live" - 16 Local Bands (8 in afternoon &
8 in Evening) @ British Legion, Fleetwood
Sunday 5th November - "Fleetwood Live" - 16 Local Bands (8 in afternoon & 8
in Evening) @ British Legion, Fleetwood
All the bands and individuals who played in 2005 are to be invited back for
Fleetwoodstock 2006
Hope to see you all there.
Best Wishes
Gary Hughes & Ten"
|
|
15th June
2006 |
Frontiers Press Release
Frontiers
Records is proud to welcome back in its roster the legendary
British Hard Rock band TEN for the release of their brand new
album "The Twilight Chronicles" on August 25th 2006.
Left to Right: Paul Hodson, Chris
Francis, Gary Hughes, John Helliwell
Singer and songwriter Gary Hughes describes
the new recording as "Epic beyond the limits of all previous Ten
albums, with vast and intricate orchestra sections that can only be
described as Cinematic".
Gary worked endless hours in his studio in
Manchester with the precise task to create "the highest
productional scale TEN album ever". Hughes used as reference TEN's
two most successful releases ever ( "The Name of The Rose" and
"Spellbound" ) and mixed them with a "Troy" meets
the "London Symphony Orchestra" approach.
The result is a record that features mighty
orchestral passages and boasts all the usual opus of hooks, riffs,
haunting melodies and themes that are always expected and associated
with any TEN release: a mixture of rock and ballads with a strong
atmospheric mood and lyrics that tell tales of love, lust, death, glory,
revenge and darkness.
The final tracklisting shall include:
The Prologue / Rome; The Chronicles; Elysian Fields; Hallowed Ground;
This Heart Goes On; Oblivion; The Twilight Masquerade: Tourniquet; Born
To The Grave; When This Night Is Done; Epilogue.
Enjoy a special mp3 sample preview of the
song "The Chronicles"
by clicking on the song title!
The current TEN line up circa June 2006 is:
Gary Hughes - Vocals
Chris Francis - Guitars
John Halliwell - Guitars
Paul Hodson - Keyboards
With American session drummer, Frank Basile, playing all drums on the
album.
In addition to this massive new release,
Frontiers Records and TEN agreed to officially re-release in mid-price
series "Return To Evermore", the bands brilliant previous
studio album, with the inclusion of the original Japanese only bonus
track "It's You I Adore". Both albums will be made
simultaneously available in Europe on August 25th 2006.
|
8th
Jan
2006 |
TEN - The Essentials - 9/10 Review in Hard RoxX 2
Just thought I'd share this review from Hard
RoxX 2. Hard RoxX 2 is a FREE fortnightly internet magazine for
lovers of rock music. To receive your copy, e-mail Matthew at hardroxxhoney@aol.com
TEN - The Essential Collection 1995-2005
Frontiers Records FR CD 272
"I make no apologies if this review
seems a tad biased, as I’ve been a big Ten fan pretty much since day
one. Band mainstay (and all round nice guy) Gary Hughes is, to these
ears at least, one of the most gifted and most underrated songwriters
this country has produced in the hard rock field in more than a decade.
Granted, I think Ten peaked back in the mid 90’s with the awesome ‘The
Name Of The Rose’ album, but there’s been a frighteningly good level
of consistency in Gary’s writing all the way down the line, and even
at their lowest ebb – 2001’s ‘Far Beyond The World’ in my
opinion – they were still producing songs which were way above
anything most of their contemporaries could muster.
Over the last few years, Ten’s presence
has dwindled a bit – partly due to the influx of newer bands from the
continent and elsewhere, partly due to the fact that their live
performances have become few and far between. Around the time of release
of the aforementioned ‘Far Beyond The World’ album, it was announced
that longstanding guitarist Vinny Burns (ex Asia / Dare) had left the
band in, shall we say, less than amicable circumstances, his replacement
Chris Francis debuting soon after at The Gods. Inevitably, comparisons
were made with his predecessor, many lamenting the departure of Vinny
Burns, but for what its worth, I thought he did a fine job on 2004’s
return to form ‘Return To Evermore’ offering.
Now, as a taster for the brand new studio
which I’m told is imminent, Ten have issued this rather fine
retrospective which showcases just some of the highlights of the past
decade. Entitled ‘The Essential Collection 1995-2005’, it’s a
little different to most compilations insofar as all the songs have been
completely re-recorded to better reflect how the current version of Ten
interpret them. Again, I guess people are gonna compare Chris’ playing
with the Vinny originals, but beyond saying that his approach is
slightly less metal edged and more old school, I see very little reason
to comment further – some might not agree, but as I see it, there’s
plenty of room for both, and I’d sooner have a Ten without Vinny than
no Ten at all!
Presented over two discs – the ‘Essential
Rockers’, and ‘Essential Ballads’ – there are 18 tracks in
total, although when you consider that ‘The Name Of The Rose’ segues
into ‘Wildest Dreams’, there are actually 19 songs (and that’s
discounting the titled intro’s!). Rather than review each disc
separately, I thought I’d just offer a few thought on some the tracks
lifted from the landmark albums, kicking off with the self titled debut.
Well represented with a track on each CD – ‘After The Love Has Gone’
and ‘Yesterday Lies In The Flames’ – both of which retain the
charm of the originals whilst adding an extra dynamic. Personally
speaking, I would’ve loved to hear Chris’ version of ‘The
Loneliest Place In The World’, although given that track really was
Vinny’s anthem, I can quite understand them leaving well alone!
The monster ‘The Name Of The Rose’
album makes its presence felt from the off with the awesome title track,
although I must admit I still prefer the original mix. That said, I did
enjoy what they’ve done with ‘Wildest Dreams’ which as I said
earlier, is segued straight afterwards. Then there’s the spine
tingling ‘Through The Fire’ which still gives me goose bumps nearly
ten years later. Without doubt the best ballad Gary has ever written,
this version has a slightly more orchestral feel to it. At the time of
its release, ‘The
Robe’ got quite a lot of stick for the
quality of the production. No such problems here though as ‘The Robe’,
‘Virtual Reality’, and ‘Ten Fathoms Deep’, all sparkle like the
diamonds they are – maybe someday they might consider revamping the
whole album?!
The last album to make any major headway
was 98’s ‘Spellbound’, which was by far the heaviest thing the
band ever recorded. Possessed of a distinctly Celtic feel, it was in
many respects the natural follow up to the rich Lizzy / Gary Moore
legacy explored by Dare on their much underrated ‘Blood From Stone’
effort. The most well represented of all the Ten albums featured here, I
particularly like the new interpretation of ‘Remembrance Of The Brave
/ Red’, although ‘Spellbound’, ‘March Of The Argonauts / Fear
The Force’, ‘We Rule The Night’, and ‘Till The End of Time’
all sound bright and fresh too. As for the rest, ‘Evermore’, ‘Sail
Away’ and ‘Apparition’ from ‘Return To Evermore’ offer a nice
alternative mix, whilst ‘Valentine’ and ‘Silent Rain’ from ‘Babylon’
complete the ballads selection rather nicely.
Obviously, there are bound to be tracks
which some feel ought to have been included – ‘The Rainbow’ for
instance’, or ‘Arcadia’ – but as collections go, this is fitting
testament to the first decade of one of the best melodic rock acts this
country has produced in the last 15 years. Can’t wait for the new
album guys!"
9/10 Dave Cockett |
