ADAM & EVE

3.5 stars. In the liner notes Roine says "A special gratitude goes to Joni Mitchell and her masterpiece "Travelogue" that inspired me tremendously during late sleepless morning hours during this recording, no music has touched me so profoundly in 30 years!!! ". There is also a picture in the liner notes of the ocean with the words "We are stardust, we are golden and we got to get ourselves back to garden Joni Mitchell 1969" on it. Hasse is given a greater role vocally on this one and Daniel Gildenlow who debut on "Unfold The Future" is also given a greater vocal role singing lead on two tracks.This is an album that for me is easy to like. It's accessible with lots of mellotron and organ. And tszirmay's favourite bass player is huge on this one. I mean he's all over it with major deep bass grooves. Certainly this is far, far less jazzy than their previous one but they also throw some curves with "A Vampires View" and "Adam & Eve" both of which I find difficult to get into. So a mixed bag here.

"Love Supreme" has a unique sounding intro before Jonas delivers some heavy bass lines the rest of the way. Cool sounding guitar 4 minutes in followed by mellotron. A nice uplifting section 7 minutes in and the drum / guitar section 9 minutes in is outstanding. Roine sings after 12 minutes and then delivers some soaring and scorching guitar melodies after 16 minues. Fantastic tune ! "Cosmic Circus" is about uplifting as a FLOWER KING song can get. The bass and drums simply shine. The mellotron is a nice touch. "Babylon" is a GENESIS-flavoured instrumental thanks mainly to Bodin. The synths, mellotron and Roine's Hackett inspired opening guitar is priceless. One of my favourite tracks. "A Vampires View" features Gildenow on vocals and he gets quite theatrical on this one. Almost speaking the words. A full sound arrives 2 minutes in as Daniel sings bringing PAIN OF SALVATION to mind right away. The contrast continues. It gets nice and heavy after 7 minutes as organ and drums dominate as the bass throbs. "Days Gone By" is a very short piano driven tune with an outburst of crazy vocals. "Adam & Eve" again features Gildenow on vocals. This is the heaviest song on here. It opens with mellotron and piano before it becomes bombastic quickly including heavy slabs of bass. The vocals are great. Scorching guitar comes and goes. Organ before 3 minutes as an incredible instrumental section follows. Amazing passage that ends with a calm. A great finish to this one as well.

"Starlight Man" features Roine on vocals and it opens with guitar as light drums and bass lead the way. "Timelines" is another favourite of mine. It opens much like an ANEKDOTEN song with plenty of bass and drums. Very aggressive before it settles down a minute in when the vocals and strummed guitar arrive. The mellotron is very ANEKDOTEN-like as well and it sounds awesome. It comes and goes. A nice long, relaxing instrumental section ends 5 minutes in as vocals return. It takes off again 6 1/2 minutes in. "Drivers Seat" is classic FLOWER KINGS. A feel good track that lasts almost 19 minutes. I love the bass as the guitar plays on. Vocals 2 1/2 minutes in. It then gets jazzy before some sizzling guitar takes the spotlight. Roine's on voclas 6 minutes in. Odd-metered drumming and some ripping guitar after 8 minutes that goes on and on. Nice. The song stops 11 minutes in and then rebuilds to a full sound 12 1/2 minutes in. A wondrous section 2 minutes later followed a minute after that by the guitar / bass melody from earlier. What a ride ! "The Blade Of Cain" might be my favourite song of all. It has this uplifting, heavenly sound that is quite spacey. The guitar that follows is so beautiful. The waves of sound really bring IONA to mind. I just get lost in this wonderful track. Words are sung and shouted with emotion and passion late, like "love supreme the master's hand and love !" The perfect way to end this very inspiring album.

A better album than it's given credit for but not quite 4 stars. The two big negatives are "A Vampires View" and the length of this album at over 79 minutes.