Following a four year hiatus, the British melodic rockers Ten re-emerge and present their new work “Stormwarning”.

When they started, back in 1996, Ten was a spectacular new band and one of the most promising ones within a lost generation of hard rock bands dwelling in a dying hard rock scene. They did release astonishing albums up until 2001 when the acclaimed “Far Beyond The World” proved to be a conclusion to a chapter of big success and excellence for the band. In 2002, Vinny Burns left the band, Gary Hughes released another solo album and in 2003 he astonishes the world with the exquisite rock opera “Once A Future King”. As for Ten, they just seem to be fading away…

Their follow-up “Return To Evermore” (2004) and the “Twilight Chronicles” (2006) had absolutely nothing to do with their established quality level. As a composer, Gary Hughes seemed dramatically disoriented and barren while the albums themselves were not to mention really.

It is 2011 now, though, and the British melodic rockers are pilling up their discography with this new “Stormwarning” and judging by its cover alone, it is obvious that they felt they should go back and re-visit their original way of seeing things. Mark Zonder (Walord, Fates Warning) takes over the drum throne this time, while Dennis Ward (Pink Cream 69, SunStorm, Place Vendome) takes care of the engineering.

Listening to the album for the first time, to be honest, I wasn’t impressed. It might be that I expected something stronger, more vibrant than this storm of melancholy. “Stormwarning” is in no aspect the album to overthrow the listener and boost one’s mood up. On the contrary, it casts a gloom over one and after some time it could make cheering up too difficult!

As for the songs themselves, their level, in general, manages to stay above average while songs like “Kingdom Come”, “Stromwarning” and “Love Song” are somehow remarkable. However, this album remains tiring and monotonous.

“Stromwarning” is hard to digest for somebody unfamiliar with Ten. Even for those that are more accustomed to the band, it might be hard to swallow at first. There are some good songs indeed but this pessimistic disposition is a turn off, actually. Maybe the only way to appreciate this album is to listen to it in a specific mood, although it will drive you to a comfortable sleep in the end… Therefore, no matter how you approach this album, you’re going to end up between a rock and a hard place…