ADAM & EVE

"Adam & Eve" is the 8th full-length studio album by Swedish progressive rock act The Flower Kings. The album was released through InsideOut Music in August 2004. The 7- piece lineup features Daniel Gildenlöw of Pain of Salvation as a permanent member of the band. Gildenlöw had made guest appearances on both "Unfold The Future (2002)" and the live album "Meet The Flower Kings (2003)".

As usual with a Flower Kings album, "Adam & Eve" is filled to the brim with music. 10 tracks distributed over a 79:15 minutes long playing time. This time around it´s only a one disc album though (The Flower Kings have released several double disc albums). The music style is symphonic progressive rock with strong 70s progressive rock and hard rock leanings (even jazz rock/fusion at times). As such no surprise considering that it´s the style the band have played since the beginning. It´s safe to say that "Adam & Eve" isn´t a revolution of the band´s signature sound. With The Flower Kings that is of less importance though, as they always deliver quality releases.

"Adam & Eve" opens with the 19:50 minutes long mastodont of a track "Love Supreme". A track featuring a very uplifting mood, and almost needless to say, a complex structure and many different sections. Vintage synths/keyboards, soaring guitar solos, harmony vocals and adventurous rythmic playing are some of the signature elements of the band´s music and all those are used on this album too. Some tracks are uplifting like "Love Supreme" while others like "A Vampires View" are slightly darker sounding.

Quality wise there´s little to put a finger on. The sound production is powerful, organic and detailed, the musicianship is excellent and the songwriting reeks of class. However I still don´t feel "Adam & Eve" is among the band´s strongest releases. Some of the tracks (including the 18:22 minutes long "Drivers Seat") are just too "standard" for The Flower Kings and some don´t leave enough impact. The three standout tracks to me are "Love Supreme", "A Vampires View" and the title track. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.