THE BLACK FOREST

With Roine Stolt's brainchild Agents of Mercy going back in the studio within a very short time after their second release Dramarama, I knew that he had those creative juices flowing and was itching to get back to work. This comes as no surprise as the man has been on a creative curve going upwards for over two decades now.

In case you were new to this band they are Nad Sylvan (Lead vocal & keyboard), Roine Stolt (Guitars & vocal, production), Lalle Larsson (Keyboards & vocal), Jonas Reingold (Bass) and Walle Wahlgren (Drums).

As with his several other projects, Roine stretches out more and comes up with a masterpiece of progressive rock that always improves upon the last recording. Black Forest is the band's first concept album and actually a 56 minute track that they cut up into more bite sized digestible pieces. So where does one start with a prog rock magnum opus such as this? Is it going to be pompous overkill or a beautiful painting on a musical palette? What I heard was 8 tracks of unrestrained brilliance from beginning to end on this release. I expect each release to be different and so far all three have with this being the most captivating of them all. I found it interesting how CD Baby listed this album as 70s rock with influences from Led Zeppelin, Genesis and Procol Harum. The influences are clear with the music Roine makes however I would not call this 70s rock, there are bits and pieces that would qualify as such on any album but make no mistake this is progressive rock through and through.

The lead off track "Black Forest" takes you into another time and place some 300 years ago through the eyes of a weary traveler and as the album progresses so does the music and the story. "A Quiet Little Town" is an interesting thought provoking track that will form a perception not only through the storyteller's eyes but through you, the listener. It is beauty and cynicism that leaves you hanging at the end of a rope waiting for an escape route then around the corner comes more darkness with "Black Sunday." While this is all going on as you are absorbing all the incredible soundscapes created by this band of musical supermen, you hear Roine's guitar wailing away, cutting like a knife or in the same instance giving a subtle nod for the next instrument to come in and lead the way. Although Roine is a musical genius he plays as part of a team and each member of the band gets their moments in the sun as matter of course.

"Freak of Life" is the most powerful rocking track. It sounds like it could be a step back to medieval times but the difference is there is a stage where Roine and the band are playing this song right outside the renaissance fair, luring you in to see the show. You could also imagine this being played outside of a modern day circus big top. Any way you look at it, it's a freak show. Think of a deranged Jethro Tull minus Ian's flute and a little more sophisticated and heavy you may get a grasp of what this music can sound like on this powerhouse track.

But don't get the impression this is anything like Jethro Tull or any other band you have heard. This is Agents of Mercy, a project that started off with two guys throwing a few songs together that became a band that rivals the Flower Kings in their most fertile period. I think it was best to put the Flower Kings to bed for a while and start something new and challenging, and that is what Mr. Stolt has done, again with great success.

Black Forest can be a fantasy, a tale from the dark ages or a twisted look upon on the cold realities of life regardless of what century you lived in. It all depends on what eyes you are looking through but in the end what you get is one of the finest progressive rock albums of 2011.

Key Tracks: The Black Forest, Freak Of Life, Black Sunday

The Black Forest is the new album from Swedish symphonic/neo proggers Agents Of Mercy. Originally conceived as something of a side project for Flower Kings guitarist Roine Stolt and Nad Sylvan of Unifaun fame, it would appear that Agents Of Mercy has replaced The Flower Kings as Stolt's main gig, this being their third album in quick succession since their debut in 2009 and The Flower Kings having not released a new studio album since 2007. As on 2010's Dramarama the pair are joined by Stolt's Flower King's buddy Jonas Reingold on bass, Lalle Larsson on keyboards and drummer Walle Wahlgren forming what appears to be a now stable line-up.

Anyone having heard Dramarama in particular will know what to expect here as The Black Forest contains the same sort of symphonic prog. This time however the band seem to be going for a more bombastic approach with a number of songs such as Citadel and Black Sunday having a heavier edge than past outings. The more restrained Elegy and Between Sun & Moon is more in keeping with the past though. Agents of Mercy go for a more direct songwriting approach where the song takes precedence over the lengthy instrumental workouts the FK's often went for, though there's still much to enjoy on a musical level here. Best of all is opener and title track The Black Forest which does break the ten minute barrier. It's a dynamic piece with strong melodies and giving them more opportunity to stretch out on a musical level and the song most like The Flower King's on the album.

Another very good album from Agents of Mercy, with moments that equal Dramarama and in the title track surpassing it, though perhaps as a whole not quite on the same level. Well worth 3 ½ stars though.

Swedish band AGENTS OF MERCY initially started out as the solo vehicle of Roine Stolt (The Flower Kings, Kaipa, Transatlantic), but in a few years this side project has developed into a fine and mature band, actively recording and releasing new material and performing it live. "The Black Forest" is their third and most recent CD, and was released in the fall of 2011.

Vintage oriented symphonic progressive rock is what Agents of Mercy is all about, with a few bells and whistles added to their repertoire this time around that does add a subtle nuance of innovation to the proceedings. Excellent musicianship, performance and production all around are the icing on the cake. If you have a soft spot for the likes of Genesis and Camel and generally enjoy that sound, this is a CD that should appeal to you.

Agents Of Mercy is a brainchild of Roine Stolt (The Flower Kings) and it's quite easy to identify an album with his signature. His pattern of composition is unmistakable and it's already a stamp in the 'new' wave of Prog Rock. Although in The Black Forest (2011), latest release by Agents Of Mercy band that he founded with Nad Sylvan, he comes with darker shadows. And not only with the lyrics, with the compositions too. Maybe Roine father's death have something to do with it, it was about the same time.

As usual the band that plays on the album is sharp. None other than Lalle Larsson (keyboards) and Jonas Reingold (bass). Names that any Flower Kings fan knows by heart.

'The Black Forest' starts werdly the album and the track has many changes in its 11:10. The chorus seems to mention Gentle Giant with "The Power And The Glory" line. 'A Quiet Little Town' was written by Nad Sylvan and it's quite different. 'Black Sunday' has weird vocals followed by organ and synths. Full of rhythm and heavy like few times I've seen Roine been. 'Elegy' is classic. Violins and piano give its sound. 'Citadel' is followed without blank space and has its lyrics inspired by Elizabeth Bathory de Ecsed (Google it), first track where Roine does lead vocals. 'Between Sun & Moon' reminds me a Rush's track with the same name, but there's nothing to do with it. Roine sings again. One of my favorites in the album. Great line on the lyrics:

"When you look for a lifeline And reasons to soldier on Take a look at your offspring and The seeds of success you've sown"

'Freak Of Life' is another one written by Nad and it's a Circus kinda track, this to match with the lyrics that talk about old time Circus. 'Kingdom Of Heaven' is the last song and it's almost instrumental. Almost cause Roine sings just one line: "No more fears, no more tears?' probably has everything to do with his father again. The Black Forest (2011) isn't really a conceptual album, but there's a sort of concept in it. They're talking about the dark side of life and people.

Great album.

On The Black Forest Agents of Mercy play a somewhat different style of progressive rock to Roine Stolt's other major prog project, the Flower Kings. Whereas the Kings tend to play a very lush and multifaceted style of retro-prog which hits on the approaches of a dizzying variety of different bands from the 1970s, here the Agents play an interesting mashup of the classic Genesis style with heavier, harder-edged, guitar-focused stuff similar to the heavy style of neo-prog pioneered by Arena on Contagion. The end result is rather pleasing but, as with a lot of the Flower Kings stuff, can tend towards excess reliance on technical showing off and can lack sincerity at points. Pleasant, but it doesn't have me running off to consult their back catalogue.