I have the utmost respect for Gary Hughes as a singer, both as a solo artist and in Ten, as a song writer for Bob Catley, in Ten, on the 'Once and Future King' project and as a solo artist, and as a producer for various bands as well as for himself. I have had a soft spot for Ten ever since they emerged many, many moons ago, and his rock opera 'Once and Future King' based the myths and stories of King Arthur totally blew my socks off, but I have somehow had troubles with his solo albums, none of them have really won me over - and 'Veritas' falls sadly enough nicely in line with his other solo albums.

On 'Veritas' Gary Hughes has used a different array of players; drummer Dave Ingledew and bass player Rick Stewart from dark metal band Devil To Pay, drummer Jason Robinson from alternative metal band Absent Minds, Simon Brayshaw from the blues band Nightshift, as well as his Ten colleagues guitarist Chris Francis, who takes care of the lead guitars, while John Halliwell takes care of the acoustic guitars duties. Gary handles the keyboard department as well as the orchestration. All done to enhance the diversity of the album, and the result is a versatile melodic rock album with loads of elements from the British School of Hard Rock.

Truth (Veritas) told and judged by the high standard Gary Hughes has set with Ten and his 'Once and Future King' project, this one falls a bit short and it never really convinces me. Gary Hughes delivers another outstanding vocal performance on the album, and the album is well produced and well written, but I still find it rather strange that the ignition never sparks for me when it comes to his solo albums.

This is still an OK album, but I still prefer a Ten album any day of the week. This is for fans of Melodic Rock, just give it time to really unfold itself and show its true colours...
It's worth the time...