BACK IN THE WORLD OF ADVENTURES

What a way for a band to introduce themselves to the world. This is a wonderful album, and one which sums up the essence of what makes The Flower Kings so special. The music, whilst influenced by the 70s prog giants sounds fresh, modern and dynamic, and the quality of the musicianship here is evident from the opening notes.

There's a great feeling of positivity about the music, something the band have carried on throughout their career. This though is symphonic prog of the very highest order.

World Of Adventures - A truly stunning piece of music to mark TFK's debut. It's choc-full of spine tingling moments from the incredible opening instrumental sequence through to the multi layered vocals that bring this to a goosebump-laden climax. This is a symphonic mini epic with more twists and turns than the Cresta Run. Laced with mellotron, the themes are magical and Stolt's guitar work is outstanding.

Kaleidoscope/Atomic Prince - One of TFK's finest instrumentals, a two-part piece of grandeur and majesty befitting the title. The opening part is mid-paced, the latter almost ambient. The combination of Stolt and Bodin is pure heaven.

Go West Judas - TFK keep 'em coming, another absolute stunner. This is a bit darker, and stands out because of this. The astonishing solo by Stolt here is one of his very best.

Train To Nowhere - Time for a breather! A quieter one, and probably weakest on the disc.

Oblivion Road - A very nice atmospheric, jazzy instrumental. A very moody piece, I love this. The sax is superb. A sign of things to come on Unfold The Future.

Theme For A Hero - Another instrumental, but my, what an instrumental. In my view this is pretty much as good as symphonic prog gets. Great themes, superb solos, and an amazing closing sequence. For me this is goosebump city throughout. An all-time TFK fave of mine.

Temple Of The Snakes - A nice keyboard instrumental, that's all I'm afraid!

My Cosmic Lover - One that splits the fans, it's usually a bit love or hate. A dance influenced poppy number, but quite hypnotic, and whilst I have to be in the mood to really enjoy this I certainly don't dislike it.

The Wonder Wheel - Another instrumental, another really good one too. Very atmospheric, and a great prelude to...

Big Puzzle - Another fantastic mini-epic to conclude. This starts slowly but soon picks up pace. The themes are great, the guitar work (as usual) is great and there's even a nice neo prog-influenced keyboard sequence towards the end too. A great finish to this fantastic debut.

There's six or seven tracks here that I would describe as absolutely top-notch and nothing that I dislike. A truly great debut album, and whilst it's not my favourite by the band, it's not far away. This is a criminally overlooked album, and how a disc of this quality has an average rating of less than 4 stars on PA simply beggars belief. In my view it is a masterpiece. This is a 5 star album without any doubt and is one that all symphonic prog fans simply must have.