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Ten
« Spellbound »
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Gary Hughes - vocals
Vinny Burns - guitars
John Halliwell - guitars
Ged Rylands - keyboards
Steve McKenna - bass
Greg Morgan - drums |
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| Fear The Force
This land was stark and bare,
A veil of darkest night disguised our deep despair
We lived in danger here under a shadow of fear
But then the stranger came
He spoke in ancient tongue, his task was pre-ordained
He broke the ancient seal upon a box he revealed
And in the stil |
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На дворе стоял 1999 год. Уже вышел на экраны фильм "Храброе Сердце". Уже начались съёмки "Властелина Колец". Весь мир был во власти кельтских и фентезийных образов, и мир тяжёлой музыки не был исключением - достаточно вспомнить "Nightfall in Middle Earth" Слепого Стража, вышедший годом ранее.
Гэри Хьюз, основной композитор мелодик-роковой группы Ten, тоже подхватил эту волну, написав к тому времени альбом для старого британского сказочника Боба Кэтли из Magnum - "The Tower", и готовил материал для его второго альбома: "Legend", и всё это "без отрыва от производства", т.е. от сочинения для своей основной группы.
Поэтому альбом "Spellbound" ("очарованный, завороженный"), вышедший в апреле 1999 года на мейджоре Mercury Records, был пропитан этим фентезийно-кельтским духом целиком, начиная с обложки, выполненной испанским иллюстратором Луисом Ройо и заканчивая волынками в инструментале "Remembrance for the Brave". Но также в альбоме чувствуется дух старого хард-рока 70х а-ля Led Zeppelin, как в песне "Spellbound", или Whitesnake - в лихой "Inside the Pyramid of Light". Интересна быстрая "The Phantom" с красивым клавишно-гитарным соло и замедлением в конце, она по стилю вообще напоминает Rainbow, а в конце идёт "зажигательная" AOR-баллада, родом из MTV-эпохи 80х, и, появись она тогда, стала бы большим хитом.
Альбом крайне разнообразен и увлекателен, единственным минусом, на мой взгляд, является плоский и тихий звук ударных, задвинутых на задний план. И ещё - стремление гитариста Винни Бёрнса солировать везде и всюду, и посреди куплетов и припевов - также "на любителя".
Ну, а из плюсов - именно здесь присутствует целая россыпь несомненных и любимых хитов Ten: симфо-хеви "Fear the Force", шотландская джига "Red" и, конечно же, классный воинский гимн "We Rule the Night".
По сравнению же с другими альбомами Ten, здесь больше творческой свободы, но меньше цельности, поэтому от оценки "шедевр" воздержусь. |
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Так как я увлекаюсь несколько более тяжелой музыкой, хороший хард-рок попадается мне нечасто. А недавно вот послушал обозреваемый альбом и решил написать на него хвалебную рецензию.
Очень интересная эдакая смесь «Rainbow», «Royal Hunt» и Мальмстина. Диск слушается на одном дыхании. Фавориты: «Fear The Force», «Spellbound», «The Alchemist», и, особенно, « The Phantom ». Несколько выпадает «Wonderland», а остальные – на уровне.
Любители не очень тяжелого: послушайте – не пожалеете.
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Четвёртый альбом английских хард рокеров получился необычайно тяжёлым и жёстким по части звучания, а также весьма разнообразным в плане структурирования композиций. Однако при таком состоянии дел ушла, да что там ушла – полностью исчезла почти вся эпичность которая была присуща альбомам «The Name Of The Rose» и «The Robe». Хотя, с другой стороны - это сделало данный диск ещё интереснее за счёт укорачивания песен, поскольку слушать уйму материала длинной в среднем по семь минут не каждый может выдержать. Продюсировал диск и на этот раз сам вокалист и лидер группы Гари Хьюз, что альбому пошло только на пользу, а сведение выполнял Раф Маккена (Giant, Fair Warning, Foreigner). Интересным фактом является и то, что альбом вышел в 1998 году сначала в Японии, а потом уже в других странах. Ребята на этот раз решили поступить очень оригинально и задействовали в записи диска различные кельтские и струнные инструменты, что ещё больше разнообразило и так довольно-таки впечатляющую картину! Нельзя не упомянуть о том что вокал Гари Хьюза несколько видоизменился, и, как это не странно, но кажется годы всё-таки несколько притёрли его голос. Диск начинается очень оптимистически с угарного, обратите внимание, хэви металлического боевика «Fear The Force», который, по-моему, стал самой сильной композицией на диске. Интересную смесь замутили ребята и на заглавной вещи «Spellbound», где драйвовый кач и мелодия а-ля воскрешение памяти о Лед Зеппелин, делают эту песню весьма необыкновенной. «We Rule The Night» – так называется произведение, которое вошло в историю группы как одно из самых удачных её творений, представляет оно собой неторопливый и не тяжёлый, но очень величественный и мелодичный гимн. Также в нём отметился на бэк вокале Боб Кэтли (Magnum, Avantasia Pt2, Hard Rain) и Сью Виллетс (Dante Fox). Композиция «Red» не совсем вписывается в альбом из-за своего инструментального гибрида – что-то типа хард-пауэр рок. Ещё неплохое впечатление оставляет забойная песня «The Alchemist». К сожалению остальной музыкальный материал, причём его большинство, ощутимо проигрывает названным вещам, и остается где-то на отметке «стандартно». Как не прискорбно мне это заявлять, но после «The Name Of The Rose» ребята потихоньку начинают скатываться вниз. |
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They mesmerized us
And from the shapes they formed emerged the great unicorn
His bare back rider on the storm
As day and night were born
The yin and yang were torn
They sail a chartered course
Each as the purest source
Of darkness and of light
The dragon knows his claws
Can't touch the unicorn
Fear the force
A single ray of light
Disturbed the dragon's sleep
The time has come to fight
He knew his Nemesis as it appeared from the mist
White lighting from the sky
Struck at the beast as it turned to fly
The titan cried out
Then as the sage foretold,
From black and white come the whole
As natural balance was restored
As day and night were born
The yin and yang were torn
They sail a chartered course
Each as the purest source
Of darkness and of light
The dragon knows his claws
Can't touch the unicorn
Fear the force
Inside The Pyramid Of Light
The warm desert winds caress and touch her skin tonight
The stars light her face, celestial embrace tonight
The Queen she bathed in incense, her daddy's little princess
Like the Nile, she's a sacred river
I'm like a beast to the slaughter
Gods could not have taught her what she knows
When she's in control
Down, down, down, I dared to look into her eyes
Deeper than my soul
She read the great book of lovers, cover page to cover
Spins me like a top tonight
Inside the pyramid of light
She'll put the desert in your soul
She is the isthmus
Standing in her light, away into the night we go
Inside the pyramid of light
Within the myriad of gold
My Cleopatra, timeless as the Nile
Mysterious and wild tonight
Inside the pyramid of light
I came from the North with legions and a cause of fight
But tall city walls could not resist the force tonight
The moment that I kissed her, My Anthony she whispered
When she spoke it was sweet and low
Lust treat your heart as a weakness
Hide it with the things you never show
Never let them show
Down, down, down
Inside the pyramid of light
she'll put the desert in your soul
She is the isthmus
Standing in her light, away into the night we go
Inside the pyramid of light
Within the myriad of gold
My Cleopatra, timeless as the Nile
Mysterious and wild tonight
Inside the pyramid of light
Spellbound
Midnight, chimes and the full moon climbs
But the clock is not alone
Something stirs in the west wing tower
Passion undiscovered isn't flesh and bone
Until you turn it on
I wake up when my sweat turns cold
And she's calling out my name
For there in the room like a strange apparition
Stands the kind of woman who can ease my pain
I just can't fight it alone
Spellbound, in the breathless heat of night I 'm falling
Spellbound, by the supernatural love I've found
Spellbound, for with every beat of I'm calling
Can you feel my desire
This restless soul
Her every touch turns me on so much
Every kiss time and time again
And when she moves every curve is a vision
Now I know I never want tonight to end
My fantasy, my reality
Spellbound, in the breathless heat of night I 'm falling
Spellbound, by the supernatural love I've found
Spellbound, for with every beat of I'm calling
Can you feel my desire
This restless soul
Spellbound, in the breathless heat of night I 'm falling
Spellbound, when the power of love comes crashing down
Spellbound, when she brings me to my knees I'm crawling
Putting fuel on the fire
She takes control
She's by my side when the cruel sunrise
Makes me watch her melt away
But we can be together if it takes until forever
Lady, I'll be waiting when the daylight fades
When the daylight fades,
And night falls, I'm not alone
Spellbound...
We Rule The Night
We rule the night, we rule by day
For we believe in time-honoured ways
We fight for truth, that peace may reign
We hold the scales of justice, keepers of the faith
We rule the night ten thousand voices
We rule the night like timeless horses
We rule the night, with fire and flame
Those who resist us lie in our wake
So sound asleep our children dream
Safe in the arms of something far beyond belief
This flag is battletorn, we rule the night
We conquered by the sword, we rule the night
From the dark to the light we roar like a thunderstorm
We rule the night
Our sacred race was born, we rule the night
Immortal dogs of war, we rule the night
And we stand by the oath we swore
Till the last ones falls, we rule the night
We rule the night, protect our homes
Pure were the righteous against our foes
Our blades are stained, their blood remains
As a remembance of the lives we had to take
To rule the night this rock of ages
We rule the night as battle rages
We rule the night
This flag is battletorn, we rule the night
We conquered by the sword, we rule the night
From the dark to the light we roar like a thunderstorm
We rule the night
Our sacred race was born, we rule the night
Immortal dogs of war, we rule the night
And we stand by the oath we swore
Till the last ones falls, we rule the night
To the brave that have gone before
To the yet unborn
We rule the night
Remembrance For The Brave
Instrumental track
Red
The mist rolling in from the lochs to the Spey
Will rise from the valleys as the dawn comes again
We stand here together and prepare for the fray
When today could leave our history in flames
I look on the faces that oppression has greyed
The scars deep within that mark a lifetime in chains
The stark legacies of a nation have changed
As the history book begins another page
The strong urge to fight that was never overcome
The spirit burning bright that we shielded from the huns
The lost mother tongue never spoken in the light
Will echo in their ears tonight
For now the last cry of battle has returned to the glens
The clan fires are burning in the highlands again
We'll fight 'til the flag of freedom files overhead
Till the evil-hearted tyranny is dead
And the colour of the battlefield is red
From east where the mountains meet the sea to the west
We are legion united by the cause from the rest
They won't us wanting when our steel's to the test
I know every man and will give his best
We stare with defiance and our eyes are ablaze
We will kill every man who tries to stand in our way
We'll cut out their hearts and send them back where they came
For our claymores will send them to the grave
They can't turn the tide, now the battle has begun
The devil take the man, when his soul is on the run
The land will return to her long forgotten sons
To cherish in our hearts tonight
For now the last cry of battle has returned to the glens
The clan fires are burning in the highlands again
It's time for the million cast aside to be free
For we'll drive oppression back into the sea
We'll die for the children and the wives we defend
The lives and the memories of the proud-hearted man
We'll fight 'til the flag of freedom files overhead
Till the evil-hearted tyranny is dead
And the colour of the battlefield is red
The Alchemist
Like a satellite breaking orbit to the sun
So another day is over and the light has just begun
For in his timeless eyes there is so much to be done
When the past is just a memory and the future's yet to come
His castle on the mountain shades the land below
And no-one dares to doubt him
For not so long ago
The alchemist looked down from towers above this town
He summoned forth the lighting, brought it crashing to the ground
The power in his hands cast shadow on this land
Earth, water, fire and air succumb and bow to his command
Old Malachi stands the last in line
The secrets with him die
He lives his life protecting what he can
An honest man
He shines a brighter light than you've ever known before
He protected us for centuries
Delivered us from war
Because of Malachi there's a haven from the storm
There's a place we can discover what the future has in store
But such fear surrounds the fortress
That no-one ever goes
For there you'll find the sorcerer the centuries have known
The alchemist looked down from towers above this town
He summoned forth the lighting, brought it crashing to the ground
The power in his hands cast shadow on this land
Earth, water, fire and air succumb and bow to his command
Old Malachi stands the last in line
The secrets with him die
He lives his life protecting what he can
An honest man
Wonderland
It's not always what we planned
Sometimes our broken dreams are far away lands
Never knowing where we stand
We're holding on to something
Burning our hands
Didn't we run before we walked
Nothing designed to break our fall
So don't you understand, time is an ocean
And every life a grain of sand
Daybreak crossed a morning sky
Too late for the tears you cried
It's not always in your hands
For time alone can understand it all
In wonderland
It burns like fire, shines like gold
It pays to listen to your heart and your soul
For we are stronger than we know
So if you find true love then never let go
We're not a liberty to force
The evolutionary course
So don't you understand love is the potion
But there are those who taste it all
Daybreak crossed a morning sky
Too late for the tears you cried
It's not always in your hands
For time alone can understand it all
In wonderland
Someday this will all subside
You wake, then you'll realize
It's not always in your hands
For time alone can understand it all
In wonderland
Don't you understand I'll be your shoulder
And I will answer when you call
Daybreak crossed a morning sky
Eclipse
We chart the lands of make-believe
We proved the earth was flat
Masters of the briny deep
Clear skies to rough and stormy seas
I've seen most everything
But tonight's a mystery
Suddenly the moon began to disappear
Lust a ring of fire remained
Swallowed in the sky, this black unsleeping eye
Watching a world away
What in the world has happened here
Midsummer's moon has disappeared
What in the world has happened here
This evil source is drawing near
What in the world has happened here
These things I can't explain
What in the world
Our listless sails have lost the wind
We're prey to anything
Every sound is deafening
Whatever stirred the restless deep
Begun by surfacing
Miles away and closing in
As they went away the waves begin again
Growing with intensity
There on the horizon loomed our fatal destiny
What in the world has happened here
This crystal ball sees only tears
What in the world has happened here
So unprepared to face our fears
What in the world has happened here
Braced for the tidal wave
What in the world this fatal miracle
I surrender, I surrender
We're not prepared to face our fears
The Phantom
This is my legacy of pain
Condemned to darkness for a thousand years
Though I've learned I can disguise my tears
Inside the memory lingers on
Out on the cliffs I watch the waves
Incessant pounding like my funeral drum,
Not every semblance of my heart is gone
They show how empty I've become
I wasn't ready, my lifetime on God's earth had only begun
I was the victim of death's catastrophic mistake
No man sees the hands of the clock
When his moment come, it's not death that he fears
No man ever knows what he's got
Till he can't see the light for the tears
She was the one I lost in vain
She was the love I left behind that day
There were so many things I didn't say
I'll never have the chance again
I feel the rain upon my face
It just can't wash away a thousand years
And though I try so hard to hide my tears
Inside your memory lingers on
I wasn't ready, I thought that my life here had only begun
There was too much in my life just to take it away
No man sees the hands of the clock
When his moment come, it's not death that he fears
No man ever knows what he's got
Till he can't see the light for the tears
I feel the rain upon my face
It just can't wash away a thousand years
And though I try so hard to hide my tears
Inside your memory lingers on
Till The End Of Time
Girl I love you more than words can say
If I lost you then my heart would break
You are part of every breath I take
Till the end of time
Girl I never want this night to end
You're my everything, my only friend
I will never love this way again
Till the end of time
End of time, end of time
I love you so, I can't let go
No I wouldn't even try
So tonight don't you cry
This heart and soul you have and hold
Till the end of time
There are moments in our nights and days
When the world can seem so far away
Here beside you where I want to stay
Till the end of time
End of time, end of time
I love you so, I can't let go
No I wouldn't even try
So tonight don't you cry
This heart and soul you have and hold
Till the end of time
I love you so
No matter where you go
Till the end of time