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The Flower Kings - Back in the World of Adventures CD (album) cover

BACK IN THE WORLD OF ADVENTURES

The Flower Kings

 

Symphonic Prog

4.03 | 711 ratings

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Trelecke
2 stars *Disclaimer: All of the things I say in this review are subject to change, as my opinion is bound to evolve in some way or another*

Ever since I got into prog almost three years ago, I had always heard about the Flower Kings. Despite all the praise they got, I never really listened to any of their discography since I was still busy getting through all the OG prog master (Yes, Genesis, ELP, etc.). But now that I've basically covered ground on all the big prog bands (and a few lesser known ones too), I decided that now was a better time than ever to check out what was up with this band.

- World of Adventures - A pretty solid track to start off the album. While nothing particularly stood out as amazing, I did seem to set the mood for what was to come pretty well, with some nice keyboard ear candies, simple but catchy lyrics and good-proggy chord progression. A tad bit long and sugary for my taste, but it left me with a good vibe. (6.5/10)

- Atomic Prince/Kaleidoscope - Easily my favorite track on the whole record. It starts off with an atmospheric synth hook, building up to pretty cool jam with some great interplay between the wailing, perfectly toned guitar and the synthesizers. The Kaleidoscope part of the song, a short acoustic outro, is probably the best moment on the whole album. (8/10)

- Go West Judas - A lot of people seem to think this is one of the best songs on the album and, honestly, I don't know why. It's not bad by any means, and I do appreciate the change of pace from the last two songs, but it... well, I don't know. There's just something about it that doesn't quite work for me. It all seems too bland and meandering, without any real dynamic hook or point. I will say that I quite dug the interlude that happens at around the 5 minute mark. (6/10)

- Train to Nowhere - Around this part on the album is when I started losing hope. This song is just bleehhh. It tries to be King Crimson-ish, but by the end, it sound like a very bland 90's pop-rock song, on the border of being a tune you'd hear during worship at the local church that tries to be "hip" and "with the kids". Not bad or offensive, just white bread. (5/10)

- Oblivion Road - Ok, now we're getting back on track! This jazzy ditty serves a good transitional piece between Train to Nowhere and Theme for a Hero. Unfortunately, while a fun listen, it doesn't hold up as well as a stand alone track. (6/10)

- Theme for a Hero - Honestly, I don't have much to say for this song. It's pretty decent, but ultimately forgetful. (5/10)

- Temple of Snakes - Not even gonna give this one a rating, since it's so short

- My Cosmic Lover - Absolute Rubbish and easily the worst track on the album. Takes the blandness of Train to Nowhere one step further and turns it into a straight-up 90's christian-pop-sounding song. The lyrics are as bland as ever here and the hook is very, very weak. It also goes overboard on the tad "overly-sweet" tone of the first song and pours a whole bag into your ears. Slightly redeemable, but a song I will never come back to. (3.5/10)

- The Wonder Wheel - A decent instrumental piece that would fit nicely in the soundtrack for an action/thriller film. (6/10)

- Big Puzzle - Well, despite my mixed feelings over this album, atleast it goes out on a positive note. Much like the first song, it's filled with good chord progressions and riffs that seem to fall a bit short due to the album being too scared to do something outside of it's comfort zone. The ending guitar solo is definitely a highlight. (6.5/10)

While not a bad album, this debut by The Flower Kings did not really impress me or gave me anything unique and, considering this is the band's highest rated album, it leads me to believe that maybe it's just not for me.

Overall Rating: 5.5/10

Trelecke | 2/5 |

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