ADAM & EVE

The Flower Kings, a band wich tends to have a strange mixture of awfully awesome songs and poor filler material. At times brilliant and sometimes boring, no the Flower Kings are not easy. But because most of their tunes are very good and interesting I also bought their new release "Adam & Eve". And what can I say? Well, I was surprised, affirmatively surprised. Almost no boring filler material on this one, no double album. And the best thing about the new release, Daniel Gildenlöw, mastermind of "Pain of Salvation" seems to be a kind of official member now. That's what Jonas Reingold said to me in a chat. Furthermore Daniel is not listed as guest (He's listet among the other guys) and appears on the band photo in the booklet, evidence enough for me. If you read my review for Pain of Salvation's "Entropia" you will know what I think about him as a singer. I thnink Daniel has one of the best voices of the whole prog genre. And the fact that his voice is featured on this release is reason enough for me to buy this record.

The disc is clutched to it's maximum, 77 minutes of partly outstanding music. The opener "Love Supreme" is an almost 20 minutes epic featuring all three singers, Stolt, Gildenlöw and Frödberg. It's a typical Flower Kings epic containing awesome solos and some odd parts. But in general the jazzy parts wich could be heard on "Unfold the Future" are almost non-existent on "Adam & Eve", it seems as if you get more guitar solos and heavier parts instead. I liked the jazz-parts on the last output but I also like the new kind of sound and the solos wich are featured now. The second song "Cosmic Circus" is one of those songs I don't like this much. It's a short one and isn't really bad or beyond all bearing but it's the kind of Flower Kings sound I personally don't like. "Babylon" is a short instrumental written by Tomas Bodin. It is a short and nice one and builds up a kind of eagerness. Not without legal cause because the next song "A vampires View" really blew me away. It's one of the best songs I heard lately. Not very usual for the Flower Kings. Daniel Gildenlöw sings the whole song and what can I say? I simply love this voice, Daniel is a great singer and there's no better voice to represent the character of a vampire. The song creates a great atmosphere and if you close the eyes it might cause goose bumps. Jonas Reingold nails a great performance here as well as Daniel of course. In the end the whole song gets more odd with some awesome instrumental parts and solos, awesome indeed, maybe the best Flower Kings song since a long time, also due to Gildenlöw. "Days gone by" is a short piano solo by Tomas Bodin, it really reminds me of "The ballerina is not getting closer" from his solo release "Pinup Guru", nice one but rather short. The title track also seems to break new ground, at least in the beginning. The song is much heavier than earlier tunes. The singing seems different, Daniel again performs some great lines. After the long instrumental part wich again is typical for the Flower Kings it gets more mellow just to end like it started. An awesome song again with some Gildenlöw vocals, watch out for his screams, quite high for a male voice, cool. Ok, "Starlight Man", the second song I don't like. It's again one of those FK songs wich don't hurt but, I don't know, are rather boring. But again, just 3 minutes fortunately. "Timelines" is a typical Flower Kings song featuring some great atmosphere and beautiful guitar solos. The second 19 minute epic "Drivers Seat" is another highlight of the album. It's typical FK with Roines beautiful guitar solos. But it also features some Bodin-parts reminding me of his quite experimental solo album "Pinup Guru". Again, Gildenlöw's vocals assign a highlight of this song. I also think that the main melody-line is really nice. "The blade of cain" is a 5 minute instrumental and closes the album perfectly, nice guitar solos here, it reminds me of the "Unfold the Future" bonus track "too late for tomatoes" wich I really love. It features a short and muted vocal reprise but can still be described as an instrumental. One thing I have to mention is Zoltan Csörsz's drumming and Jonas Reingold's bass. The two friends seem to get better and better with every record, awesome performances. The percussion work is not as present as on "Unfold the Future" but still audible and still more than other bands have to offer.

So "Adam & Eve" is a bit different, mainly due to Daniel Gildenlöw and the missing jazzy parts but still remains typical. I think that this album is not as good as "Unfold the Future" but still one of the better ones. "A vampires view" is an awesome song with a terrific vocal performance and atmosphere, a true highlight. I think that it is no fault to purchase this record if you like other Flower Kings stuff. If you don't liked the Flower Kings because of the boring filler material this record may please you, almost no fillers this time. So "Adam & Eve" is another good album from this great band. The step to feature more of Daniel Gildenlöw was the best thing they could do, I hope I will see him live with the band in October now as he is an official member. 3.5 Stars