SPACE REVOLVER

The release of ''Flower power'' was followed by two success stories for their leader Roine Stolt: The reformation of his first ever band Kaipa and the rise of what is considered the best modern Prog supergroup, Transatlantic, we all know what followed in the future.But within The Flower Kings family he had to say goodbye to Michael Stolt, who left the band, but the Swedish were determined not to slow down concerning their productions, they immediately hired emerging bass star Jonas Reingold, who had just released his debut album ''Universe''.In 2000 their fifth album sees the light on InsideOut, ''Space revolver''.

For the first time you get the feeling that all these running projects have somewhat affected the band's ability to produced really sublime progressive compositions, while they appear to be stuck in their previous sounds and sights, I think after four long and dense releases the fans needed this X factor, that would show The Flower Kings' development.Instead the band proposed exactly the same path they were known for, a 70's-influenced complex Progressive Rock, which still holds some instant melodies and romantic overtones, either talking about the stretched epics or the shorter cuts, often paused by a strong jazzy flavor, even Reingold is given some time here to proove how much of a talented bassist he was (''Rumble fish twist'').The music remains at very high standards, it's emphatic, grandiose, orchestrated and fairly symphonic with the analog keyboards battling over the contemporary synthesizers and Stolt's guitar talent delivering a wide range of ambiental, melodious, technical or virtuosic moves.Problem is the album lacks this definite highlight compared to some of The Flower Kings' best moments.Vocals in particular have become a bit tiresome in the process, I do not find them to be really interesting anymore, but noone can get over the brilliant instrumental passages that the band performed, fillled with thrilling Mellotron and organ washing and excellent fast or laid-back interplays.

I have to be a little harsh this time.If we were talking about any other band entering the prog world, this would be a really great debut.But from these guys I expected more.It's very good and, no doubt, recommended, Sympho Rock with jazzy overtones, but I fail to detect this monster track, which would lift this one to another level.