THE FLOWER KINGS

We have a pretty good new album by The Flower Kings, their seventeenth studio release, to be precise, the aptly titled 'Love'; and with this rather plain and broadly-suggestive title, together with the gorgeous album art, this new TFK offering is definitely a mellower, harmonious and swiftly developing work, with the band turning their backs on their more explosive and instrumentally intense side, prioritizing songwriting, feel and melody above anything else, as it seems. The addition of Lalle Larsson as a full-time band member pays off rather brilliantly, as the experienced keyboard player brings a flavor of fusion to the mix and displays an overall classy performance with his vast array of keys and synths gracing the songs on the album. Michael Stolt, one of the founding members of the band continues to handle all bass duties, while relative newcomer Mirko DeMaio appears on his fifth TFK album, making him one of the longer-lasting drummers of the band. Hasse Fröberg provides some excellent vocals, while band leader Roine Stolt covers all other aspects of this work.

Musically, there is perhaps nothing incrementally different from the rest of the more recent Flower Kings albums, after the band's 2018 reincarnation, yet 'Love' seems to be a more consistent release with a decent flow and a good balance between shorter and longer entries. The album's pace is kept all within the lower registers here, with the music being really atmospheric and hypnotic at times, with some soulful guitar and keyboard solos. The vocal harmonies between Stolt and Fröberg are gorgeous and represent one of the key elements making up the swaying emotionality of 'Love'. And with a bit of blues, bit of influence from classical music, fusion and classic 70s prog, what the listener is in for here is a solid work by a band of veterans who are trying out to work on some more laid-back stuff.

Opening track 'We Claim the Moon' is among the highlights, it is a pacey and uplifting piece with that typical Flower Kings flamboyancy. 11-minute epic 'The Elder' is excellent, a moody and reflective piece, as is the third track 'How Can You Leave Us Now?'. 'Burning Both Edges' once again very melodic, some tremendous vocals are to be enjoyed here. Towards the end we get the fine pieces 'Walls of Shame' and the 10-minute album closer 'Considerations', a more typically-structured TFK song that works very well and has Michael Stolt doing the lead vocals. It is only in the middle that this album seems to be more uneventful, but overall, 'Love' is enjoyable and plentiful, if you are ready to embrace its oceanic sways.

1. We Claim the Moon, a FLOWER KINGS-style debut, that's for sure; Hans still sings so well; the atmosphere reminds me of The Love Boat, in fact, the jazzy escapade at the end of the race is hard to digest, too focused, this track is a blast. 2. The Elder goes into symphonic territory bordering on elegiac, reminiscent of the great YES; the development is worth it for its marshmallow arrangements that make you want to sit down in the evening and stop thinking; symphony in the style of themselves and the youngsters of BIG BIG TRAIN; one of the current prog signatures of the last of the 70s dinosaurs. 3. How Can You Leave Us Now!? for its SERRA-like base from the 80s, for the AOR air of BOSTON from the love song era, for the bucolic and flowery side of GENESIS, for the bewitching ballad. Beautiful but overdone, bombastic and demonstrative. 4. World Spinning for Lalle's keyboard interlude leading to a soaring, invigorating orchestral prog. 5. Burning Both Edges for the epic track, a long progressive build-up oozing with overly sweet candy. For Roine's guitar solo, revealing his delicate and melting touch, yes, it's enticing; the Genesis-esque atmosphere I adored almost 50 years ago is still as beautiful but dries up with time; in short, a musical slap in the face for anyone who didn't know this band before. 6. The Rubble for the bluesy sound it exudes, a fruity mid-tempo that makes you want to invite your future partner to this slow jam reminiscent of SANTANA, with its atmosphere and guitar solo; very rhythmic, very fresh, groovy, inviting you to snap your fingers. The melting Hammond behind it.

7. Kaiser Razor for the second interlude, which makes your ears prick up even more. An expressive interlude reminding me of TOTO's 'Childs Anthem'; a short but intense moment, navigating between jazz, bossa, South American ambiance, and Scandinavian symphony. 8. The Phoenix for my favorite track, short and to the point, for its airy Yessian intro, a beautiful solemn track that doesn't just leave its nest. 9. The Promise for its country side with folk arpeggios, for its accordion, also settling down and showing that progressive rock comes from classical and popular music in fact; a beautiful ballad. 10. Love Is returns after these few short and remarkable tracks to the lands of Albion, eyeing GENESIS; a country sound, like a funfair, a small village clique. In short, a break after a flight, the symphonic melody joins the progressive, forgetting how well-crafted it is, superb. 11. Walls of Shame for the Gilmourian guitar intro, for the progressive twist; the FLOWER KINGS showed what they could do with a good copy/paste. Then they let loose; a bluesy solo with the organ of the time behind, Hans giving his gravelly voice, the synths and keyboard dripping their octaves, then the crystalline piano. 12. Considerations with the intro smelling good of KING CRIMSON, yes from afar but still; well, an intro that makes you dream, the crescendic rise to a castle, a pyramid, in short, an Olympian mount. Hans modulates his voice, the tone is more solemn before heading off into the territory of SPOCK'S BEARD from Neal's time. The track that connects you and connects you to symphonic prog with its clarity, much more refined than the last PATTERN SEEKING ANIMALS in comparison. A symphonic track that showcases Mirko accompanying Roine for a high-note finale.

A FLOWER KINGS with a FLOWER KINGS twist, in fact. Well, without more, it would be another band, one could call very good, disconcerting. (3.5)

The Flower Kings were on good track when they first made Back in the World of Adventures. All they had to do was improve their sound and add some much darker and moodier elements into the equation. Without their own knowing that mission, they took one step further to success a year after their first album with their second studio album, Retropolis.

The material that was delivered in this album had already begun to sound a little darker and prophetic, taking more of a concept approach to the album. Some of the songs began to take to the futuristic device, which worked exceptionally well with King Crimson's In the Court of the Crimson King. The new question would be this: would it work with this album? It certainly didn't hurt the album much. In fact, it benefited the content of the album quite a bit. It gave the darker material more flavor, mood, and uncertainty while it uplifted the brighter tracks even higher in attitude. However, there was a little less traditional content in this album than their 1st effort, which could have helped Retropolis be a little more interesting.

4.0

The Flower Kings' tenth studio album happens to be one of their most adventurous, captivating, dynamic and front-to-back relentless works of theirs, a 75-minute-long album contained just within six tracks, 'The Sum of No Evil' from 2007 is a gorgeous and expansive symphonic prog record full of bold and unexpected turns, strong melodies and overall excellent, soulful playing; briefly put, here are all the elements of a TFK album delivering all the goods, in spades. Narrowing things down to a single-disc set (in contemporary terms) seems to have allowed the band to organize a rather focused work, and a surprisingly accessible one, too, thanks to the myriad of fantastic and highly memorable hooks and melodies. Needless to say, Stolt's guitar work here is driven and flamboyant, with the experienced Swedish axe-man delivering some of the most delightful and appealing riffs of the entire back catalogue of the The Flower Kings.

The opening scene here is the uplifting and "flowery" 'One More Time', a longer piece that features prominent lush instrumentation all over, some really fine singing, and beautiful build-ups, definitely a nod to good ol' Genesis. This is followed by the centerpiece of the album, the 24-minute suite 'Love is the Only Answer', a virtually perfect long epic from The Flower Kings, a multi-part song with tons of unexpected twists and turns, incredible arrangements, strong licks and some emotive playing. This might as well be the perfect representation of the vivid symphonic rock style of the band, it has both the pace, the grit and the atmosphere of some of the most inspiring prog epics of the genre's classic era. A trippy and elegiac shorter piece comes up next in the face of 'Trading My Soul', after which we get another very powerful longer song, 'The Sum of No Reason', a slightly darker but no less impressive piece that definitely hints at a possible future itinerary for the band (thinking of 'Banks of Eden' and 'Desolation Rose'). An excellent and avant-garde instrumental gives way to the sixth and final song off the album, 'Life in Motion', a more upbeat and pastoral trip that dares to close off the work on a high note. The entire album is nothing short of excellent, and while one might "devise" minute flaws here and there, with the song lengths and some of the arrangements coming up as challenging, this is an eclectic and rewarding listen that keeps you acutely interested in what's going on all throughout.

'Adam & Eve' is still to this day one of the most entertaining albums by The Flower Kings, this is the Swedes' 2004 studio release and is one of the rare occasions of a 2000s single album, featuring ten new tracks, both traditional prog epics as well as short snippets of music connecting the major pieces. This also happens to be the second album with Pain of Salvation's Daniel Gildenlöw, who shares vocal duties with Stolt and Fröberg, as he had done on 'Unfold the Future'. His addition is a rather interesting one as well as surprising, knowing how "busy" the vocal department within TFK already was, but his strong and roaring wails add a tone of aggression and edge to the otherwise lush symphonic sounds explore by the band.

Not necessarily a concept album, 'Adam & Eve' deals extensively with the themes of religion, love and sexuality, all while remotely touching upon some Biblical topics as well. Music-wise the listener will experience the usual blend of symphonic and experimental rock with a strong retro feel that The Flower Kings mastered on their early releases, although this particular album has some unusual entries. The sound of 'Adam & Eve' is dense and complex, of course, but there is a general feel of harmony and textural richness that elevates the album, whose structure is quite interesting as well - enframed by the two exquisite epic pieces 'Love Supreme' and 'Drivers Seat', very strong offerings filled with great melodies, virtuosic playing and excellent vocals. In-between them, one shall discover the quirky 'A Vampire's View', with lead vocals by Gildenlöw, this song is not your typical TFK mini-opus, but it still contains some intriguing bits, the uplifting title track, another well-written song, and the crammed and chaotic 'Timelines', co-written by bassist Jonas Reingold. The transitional shorter tracks are no less enthusiastic in their soundscapes, while the album ultimately remains a very consistent and creatively-acute work that presents a familiar but slightly unusual side of the band.

A darker, bluesier and a tad bit more cynical version of The Flower Kings is to be experienced on the band's 2001 studio album 'The Rainmaker', the sixth installment in the Swedish band's discography, an album following a string of excellent works and the first album of their that dares to be significantly odder than its predecessors. Of course, such a statement comes at the premise that 'The Rainmaker' is a single-disc album with a fair balance between epic, lush suites and shorter, more straightforward pieces, often instrumental and improvised, unliked previous efforts on which a strong taste for the unhinged symphonic rock pomp had dominated the music. 'The Rainmaker' may as well be a more prudent record, one that follows a more conceivable structure, allowing each piece to breathe and unfold itself and to affirm its place on the tracklist.

A signature opener in the face of 'Last Minute on Earth', a longer composition that remains of the band's finest moments in terms of songwriting, production, and performance, a piece that explores Roine Stolt's blues roots and allows Hasse Fröberg to deliver a stunning vocal performance. A shorter and less salient track titled 'World Without A Heart' bridges the other long piece on here, 'Road to Sanctuary', an epic that is much more jam-oriented and improvisational, also very symphonic and ornate for what concerns the keyboards department. The prog-march instrumental title track introduces 'City of Angels', another classy piece full of fine vocals and excellent guitar works. Some shorter tracks follows, of which the rocker 'Sword of God' is particularly noteworthy, something that cannot be said for the mellow pieces 'Elaine' (despite its lovely fusion ending) and 'Blessing of a Smile', until the album closes off with the elegant prog-blues epic 'Serious Dreamers', delivering a somewhat melancholic and dreamy final tone to an otherwise beautiful and well-arranged album with a few experimental spots testing the resilience of the band's most dedicated enjoyers.

Well I guess its time to review the album in my profile picture. The Flower Kings' fast rise to the top of the progressive rock community was equal to their recording pace. The two hours of music on "Stardust We Are" completed a four-album run in a little less than four years. Roine Stolt's creativity seemed without limits, but listening to this two-CD set, one finds a little more filler than usual, mostly in the form of poppier tunes (like "Different People," "Kingdom of Lies," and "Compassion") and short instrumental pieces meant as bridges between more significant songs. Strangely, it didn't affect the album's cohesion or interest (it wouldn't be the case for Flower Power) and, although it could have been stripped down to an even stronger 75- minute CD, Stardust We Are made a strong impression and opened the U.S. doors for the Swedish band. The opener "In the Eyes of the World" has the strength and positive drive of the best Stolt songs and became an instant live classic, as did "Church of Your Heart," which also contained all the Flower Kings trademark ingredients: a memorable melody; intelligent shifts in time signature, speed, and key; lush arrangements; spirited musicianship; heartfelt vocals (alternating between Stolt and Hans Fröberg, depending on register and the emotional effect required); and a positive attitude toward life. "Circus Brimstone" is a strange and complex instrumental piece with backward voices inherited from Frank Zappa -- one of Roine Stolt's least-suspected influences. Disc two contains less strong moments: "The End of Innocence" is a good track, but afterwards it seems "Different People," "Kingdom of Lies," and "If 28" are just there to kill time before the epic "Stardust We Are," a 25-minute tour de force, full of well-developed music ideas seamlessly stitched together. More cohesive as a whole than the previous album Retropolis, but it remains one of the very good Flower Kings albums, by far my personal favorite of the Flower Kings discography and one of my favorite albums of all time.

The 1990s was a great decade for more progressive rock and metal revitalization. Dream Theater made their breakthrough album in 1992, Porcupine Tree started to become popular around that time too. Spock's Beard debuted with The Light in 1995. Opeth was picking up the pace along with many other prog metal groups. It was around the mid-1990s that a less known prog group under the work of guitarist and vocalist Roine Stolt would be created. After finishing his solo album, the "Flower King" his next work would make a studio album involving the group he had worked with in his solo album. This album would become Back In the World of Adventures.

The first thought that may come to mind is this: will the Flower King's first studio effort still sound like it should be a solo artist album? It has happened many times before and after. Zeitgeist was considered as just another Billy Corgan work. The same could be said about Genesis's Invisible Touch with Phil Collins. At first when listening to the first song or two, it may seem like just another Roine Stolt album, but as the album progresses, there are moments in which the drummer or the keyboardist steals the show for a while. So, it is not completely a soloist album. However, it still has its signs to make other listeners think differently. And since this was only the first Flower Kings album, the music was still developing. So, there are places in the album that may be questionable. Other than that, Back in the World of Adventures is mostly composed of good elements.

One nice factor is that Stolt is continuing to improve both his vocals and his guitar playing from his previous works. He adds more emotion into his voice and puts more of a mood to his guitar melodies. Take for example, Stolt executes more difficult solo passages, heavier riffs, and builds more onto the foundation of the group. This only helps them more than they already were.

All the other members as well as Stolt seem to know their prog rock pretty well. They appear to make their music off of the influence of older albums. Oblivion Road sounds like a cross breed between something from Any Colour You Like by Pink Floyd and Moonchild by King Crimson. Perhaps the same could be said about Temple of Snakes. There are times when Theme For a Hero, World of Adventures, and Atomic Prince gives you the ballad feel of Close to the Edge.

The Flower Kings aren't just good at knowing their prog elements in their first album. They also know each of their instruments pretty well too. Roine's brother, Michael, who plays the bass, could possibly match up his level of musicianship with him. The only factor that prevents that from happening is that Stolt has more experience in more instruments than his brother does. Thomas Bodin plays very beautiful keyboard passages throughout the album, giving it more magic. Hans Bruniusson and Jaime Salazar both have a nice percussion talent that gives the album more flavor, rigor, intensity, and eccentricity. And the soprano sax is like the spice; thus completing the recipe that is the Flower King's first album. This proves that the Swedish can make some pretty neat progressive rock.

Another great advantage of this album is that each of the songs is pretty well spread out in time length. The songs longer than 10 minutes are guaranteed to keep the listener busy and interested while the shorter songs are fun, catchy, and contain some the more upbeat feeling to bring the listener back to focus. And another plus: The Flower Kings's content blooms with some of the greatest modern prog elements without sacrificing the older, more traditional ones. This is where another nice sense of balance in the music is found. The only content this album could have used more of is some more moody tunes.

So to conclude, The Flower King's first album is a pretty well done effort, showing a good deal of musicianship, progressive rock content, and balance. There were minor flaws in the first album, but there were more positive impacts in it than bad ones. The Flower Kings would continue to improve over the years until there were even better albums such as Space Revolver, Stardust We Are, Unfold the Future, and much more after this. All of this would be because of an album that brought a new prog rock band to life.

The Flower Kings shuffle their discography on latest live release titled 'Live in Europe 2023', capturing one of the final shows of their tour recorded in the Netherlands, presenting a recording of six tracks, both old and new that really put on display a mature band of veterans who have been focusing on the more serene side of their music recently. The recording is quite well-made as you would expect from TFK as we have a live album on which each member is able to shine through in their respective ways (as the lineup features Roine Stolt, Hasse Fröberg, Michael Stolt, Mirko DeMaio, and Lalle Larsson); we can definitely speak of a brilliant mix by Roine Stolt.

The album opens up with a 'Garden of Dreams' medley, quite a nice rendition of the one-hour long suite, with the band focusing their efforts on the instrumental first half; then comes 'Big Puzzle', which predisposes Stolt and Co. to exercise their bluesy side. We then have two mellow tracks from the latest studio album 'Look at You Now', followed by 'What If God Is Alone' from 2005's 'Paradox Hotel', and finally, there is the classic epic 'Stardust We Are', a lovely playthrough of which graces the last half hour of this live album. This is a great addition to the band's discography that captures one of their really fine shows of 2023.

Swedish band The Flower Kings was founded in 1994, after a number of band members assisted singer/guitarist Roine Stolt earlier that year during the recording of his solo album "The Flower King". The group's popularity is increasing rapidly and after just a few albums they are commonly deemed, the standard bearers of progressive rock, together with Spock's Beard. These musicians owe this title entirely to themselves. Especially the musical capability and the own identity that is created with it is unprecedented. In particular, the achievements of frontman Stolt and his keyboard-playing colleague Tomas Bodin are top-notch. On "Retropolis" from 1996, their sophomore album, as discussed here, it is clear that their rapid rise to fame is more than justified.

First of all, the cover artwork catches the eye. We see part of an imaginary city called Retropolis. The time factor does not seem to exist as past, present and future merge into each other. A look at the booklet makes it clear that this has led to poetic lyrics. Musically, this gives you license to justify the large number of tempo and atmosphere changes. Necessary, because "Retropolis" is full of said changes. Inherent to progressive rock, The Flower Kings know how to let their music, heavily inspired by Genesis and Yes, go in all directions.

After the ping-pong sounds of the short opener Rhythm Of Life, which I think is a variation on a heartbeat, the instrumental title track follows, lasting eleven minutes. Here Stolt and Bodin give free rein to their creativity, resulting in a tasteful and lush song that captivates. It is a series of bombast, cinematic music and Santana-like jazz prog with wonderful Hammond playing. In addition, there are things like psychedelic darkness, lots of exuberance and a brilliant ending with acoustic guitar. Anyone who accuses The Flower Kings of copycat behavior is missing the point in my opinion, this song (and actually the entire album) shows a lot of their own identity, my brothers and sisters. The subsequent Rhythm Of The Sea has a mild character with a beautiful synth line. Stolt makes himself immortal once again with his elusive touch. It's the perfect precursor to the album's three highlights to come.

There Is More To This World: get a load of this. It goes through life as a wonderful song for the first few minutes until the acoustic guitar makes its appearance and Hasse Fröberg takes over on lead vocals. What happens then is magical. Fans of the angelic voice of Jon Anderson (ex-Yes) can indulge themselves here, especially when Fröberg increases the intensity. At the end the chorus from the beginning returns and Fröberg and Stolt together sing the song to an end. Extraordinary.

Another highlight is undeniably the instrumental The Melting Pot and yes, it is indeed a gigantic melting pot of styles. Here the band mixes progressive rock with fusion and world music, with Ulf Wallander trying to blow the copper from his sopranosax like a true Klaus Doldinger (Passport). Great!

The third wow song is the slightly heavier The Judas Kiss, a catchy song with strong guitar lines and a somewhat jumpy synthesized bass section. It's funny that the song is full of barking dogs and howling wolves, the lyrical protagonists. Halfway through the band ends up in dark jazz after which it goes in all directions. We also find such bursts of creativity in the catchy Silent Sorrow, where the atmosphere changes after a few minutes. This time the band comes with smooth jazz blues in all colors of the rainbow.

For variation, there are also three tracks composed by Bodin. In addition to the aforementioned opener, these are the piano intermezzo Romancing The City and the electronic Retropolis By Night, which builds on a keyboard theme from the title track. It's also nice to be able to step out of the atmosphere of the album to refresh your mind for a while.

The last two songs form the finale of the whole. Flora Majora is a beautiful instrumental track with a stunning melody that is a finale in itself. The majestic The Road Back Home then finalizes it completely. Filled with a host of reflective feelings, it's over.

"Retropolis" is an incredibly exciting CD. The subsequent albums "Stardust We Are" and "Flower Power" are a bit better, but the desire to return to "Retropolis" is always there.

Orginally posted on www.progenrock.com