Ten - The Robe
The Robe Bright On The Blade Standing On The Edge Of Time Virtual Reality Arcadia Battlelines You're In My Heart Fly Like An Eagle Ten Fathoms Deep Someday Producer: Gary Hughes (Mixed My Mike Stone) Label: Now & Then Records Year: 1997 Total Playing Time: 65:31 m:s
Being a Ten fan isn't easy (or cheap). In a very short space of time they've unleashed 3 albums upon us. It took me a while before I decided to buy this one, especially after I read an interview in which N&T's Mark Ashton admitted that the production/mix could have been better, as the individual instruments aren't are well defined as they were on The Name Of The Rose.
On their second album, The Name Of The Rose, the band established their own style - Melodic Hard Rock with a large measure of Pomp and a hint of AOR. On this album, the band firms up on their identity by following a very similar formula. Therein lies the major problem most people seem to be having with this album - it's just so similar to TNOTR. In fact, a post about this started off a whole discussion about bands sticking to formulas/repeating themselves on the AOR Mailing List and, believe or not, nobody mentioned Status Quo. The other problem that people seem to have with Ten is Gary Hughes' voice. It's deep and he doesn't have the range that some other vocalist have, but I actually prefer this to a high-pitched screamer. I'm not going to bother with a track by track description and I'll just select the standout tracks.
The opening track is a Ten epic and does bear a striking resemblance to the opening title track on TNOTR. The use of a choir is the stroke on genius that saves it. I love the epic/biblical feel it brings to the song. Standing On The Edge Of Time sees the band adopting the AOR style that was on display on the debut.
Arcadia is the song that has generated the most interest on this album. Ten would appear to have a liking for Pomp style epics. After the grandiose Arabic style opening, the band unleash a lumbering monster of a song that is the most adventurous Ten offering so far. For the last 30 secs or so the band goes into riff overdrive and takes on Metallica.
Someday finishes off the album with an epic power/pomp ballad that I like.
Ten have come under quite a bit of criticism following the release of this album. Most of this criticism is centred on the sameness of Ten's material. There is no denying this album doesn't break new ground for the band. Maybe the band will take more time to explore some new areas before recording the next album. If it were possible to disconnect this one from the previous 2, then it would probably stand well on it's own. However, those 2 previous albums do exist and The Robe suffers in comparison. If you want to find out just how good Ten are, then The Name Of The Rose remains the essential purchase.
Rating: 7/8
