This is the long awaited multi-singer project from
Ten songwriter and singer,
Gary Hughes. Once and future king is his take on the Arthurian legend and my expectations were extremely high for this one. I can't say that they have been completely fulfilled yet, I still have to listen to the second part to make my overall judgement. But this first part is a high quality release that will no doubt please all those who are already fans of
Gary Hughes. For those who don't know
Gary Hughes, this is as good a time as any to make that discovery.
I would describe the music on Once and future king Part I as Hard Rock with many symphonic elements and a heavy, epic quality in many songs, but above all, the songs are ruled by
Gary Hughes' unique sense of huge sweeping melodies. Everything from ballads to heavy, powerful hymns can be found here and the songs are catchy and quick to enter your mind. In fact, I was a little surprised at how straight forward many of the songs actually are.
A big point of interest is the variety of first class singers involved. The following people participate in Part I:
Damian Wilson (former Threshold, Ayreon) as Prologue Narrator
Gary Hughes as King Arthur
Lana Lane as Guinevere
Danny Vaughn (Tyketto) as Lancelot
Irene Jansen (Karma) as Morgana
Bob Catley (Magnum) as Merlin
Sean Harris (Diamond Head) as Galahad
The story is well thought out and has an overall dark atmosphere. Each song adds a layer to the intriguing tale and the dark story is told with conviction through the various singers.
The opener
Excalibur takes us back in time with a symphonic keyboard intro (played by Arjen Lucassen by the way) before a fast bass line and drums are joined by a furious guitar riff. Damian Wilson's haunting tone of voice fits this song brilliantly and it works as a great start to the album. Also the hardest song on the album by far.
Dragon Island Cathedral follows, and this is epic hard rock at its best. From start to end it is a pleasure and definitely my favourite song of the album. A brilliant guitar riff underlines the main melody of the song and
Gary Hughes' deep voice smoothly fits with the music giving it that epic quality. The chorus is also one of the record's finest.
After this things slow down and
At the end of the day sees
Gary Hughes and Lana Lane embarging on a beautiful duet in this ballad, complete with heartfelt guitar solo. The song works and storywise it builds the relationship between Arthur and Guinevere. The little piano outro works great, setting a feeling of foreboding.
After this amazing start the album unfortunately take a couple of dives into more familiar territory. First,
The reason why is a mid-tempo love song about Lancelot's infatuation with Guinevere who is to become Arthur's queen. Second, two tracks later
Avalon lets them finally live out their love.
Danny Vaughn sings both songs and it's not like I have anything against the guy. It's just that these songs are nothing special and I don't feel they have the same quality as the rest of the songs at all. Nor do they manage keep the atmosphere established by the tracks that have run before, and unfortunately I find myself skipping past these two. They are not as interesting as the other songs and never get out of the, here, fatal "sweet love song" mode. I feel like they could just as well have been included on any other of
Gary Hughes' solo releases where they would have fitted just fine.
While this is enough to make me lose my grasp on the atmosphere these two stumbling blocks are not enough to ruin everything, not by far.
When I saw Irene Jansen doing background vocals on the
Star One tour I was quite impressed. And on
Shapeshifter she impresses me again. She quickly guides the album back on track and uses her wide range to give the song a mystical quality. While it is a pretty simple song, there is something drawing about it and I look forward to hearing more from Irene in the future. Great guitar work in this one too.
Bob Catley as Merlin literally almost takes the crown in the power ballad
King for a day. His voice is melodc, powerful and emotional and as always a joy to listen to.
Hhmmm, there is something about the start to
Sinner that takes me back in time to Queen's "I want it all". Well, I won't complain about that :) Anyway, a great heavy guitar can be found in this track, which sees Sean Harris as Galahad, comdemning the two lovers.
In flames has
Bob Catley using a the dark charisma of his voice to undeline the lyrical content, and finally the melancholic
Lies is a perfect closer of this first part.
Gary Hughes' voice is filled with withdrawn emotion and the epic melody is very beautiful. With a finish like this, my expectations are set extremely high for the second part, which will be released in October.
The instruments are handled by the musicians from
Ten and they all do a terrific job. Especially Chris Francis on the guitar has some great moments. The production is full and warm, fitting the music very well.
The songs on the album are very well connected and like I said,
Avalon and
The reason why are the only real downpoints. I know that both are necessary to proceed the story, but musically I just don't find them very interesting. I wish something had been done to make them go beyond that "standard love song" mode they are stuck in. A little surprise, some experimentation or maybe just a killer rabbit to spice up the action a little... :)
When the rest of the songs are of such high quality and the album overall is excellent and highly enjoyable, a couple of more standard songs aren't enough to stop me from declaring this project a success so far. Most songs manage to capture a unique atmosphere and now I can't wait to hear the second part and conclusion to the 2 disc set. I have a feeling that the best is yet to come...
Favorite songs: Dragon Island Cathredral, Lies, Excalibur, King for a day, Shapeshifter
Written by
Steen Saturday, August 16, 2003
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