Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Flower Kings, The
Label: Inside Out Records
Release: 2012
Duration: 53:25
Rating: 4.5/5
Swedish prog rock revivalists The Flower Kings took the longest break of their career so far after wrapping up the tour for »The Sum Of No Evil« (2007), and boy, did they need it. According to the boss of this cult band, the superb guitarist and singer Roine Stolt, by 2008 they were chronically running out of fresh songwriting ideas, while total apathy about their main goals threatened to take over the band. During this TFK downtime, individual members threw themselves into solo careers and various side projects/bands like Karmakanic, Agents of Mercy and Transatlantic, and in 2012, just before the recording of »Banks Of Eden«, they introduced Felix Lehrmann as their new drummer, already the fifth one in their story so far.
On »Banks Of Eden« The Flower Kings stick to their habit of playing the album ‘live’ in the studio, with no sequencers or programmed drum machines, which is all too common among so many modern prog rock bands these days. Under the patronage of Stolt, a key figure of Swedish progressive rock, the Flower Kings of course continue to come from the ‘old school’ of prog rock, especially its symphonic branch, and swear by legendary bands like Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, Pink Floyd and so on. You can hear that again and again on »Banks Of Eden«, a classic TFK album from head to toe, with the Swedish prog masters keeping their sound totally recognizable. For once, the album doesn’t run a good eighty minutes, which was more the rule than the exception on most of their earlier studio efforts. This time the running time stays within the bounds of ‘normal’, so the whole thing doesn’t come off as too pretentious. For anyone who finds that too little music, the limited edition comes with a bonus disc holding another 22 minutes of goodies, well worth the attention of all the faithful.
Despite their complex nature, the individual songs on »Banks Of Eden« have a clear head and tail, along with the typical naive Stolt ‘new age’ blandness when it comes to the lyrics, while thankfully there are no one-minute slapstick gags thrown in, as used to happen in the past. »Banks Of Eden« is thus an album with a clear focus, where you can feel the whole time that every member of the band knew what they wanted to create in the end, which means it’s even one of their better studio efforts, period. Anyone can see that just by listening to the opening 25-plus-minute super epic »Numbers«, made in the genuine, highly complex TFK tradition, with a string of layered symphonic arrangements, unpredictable time changes and wild improvisations. The intro is already dripping with a hyper-dramatic mood, which only builds further thanks to the searing guitar passages and mighty drum combinations.
The Flower Kings, as so many times before in their career, once again make harmonious use of the vocal talents of both guitarists/singers. For the solemn, punchy and epic moments they usually call Hasse Föberg to the mic, while Stolt’s voice is mostly used for the pretty, ethereal bits, where he often ‘peddles’ his ‘new age’ lyrics. On »Numbers« the two singers/guitarists perfectly align their melodic vocal approaches and, riding a mighty, symphonic-flavored melody, crown it all with a gorgeous, soaring chorus. For most of the piece the epic atmosphere is optimistically colored, and only when the instrumental solo moments kick in do a few ‘dark thoughts’ break through. Of course there’s no shortage of juicy solo spots either, as you’d expect from such instrumental masters, but they’re unpretentious enough to keep the melodic structure of this ambitious super epic intact, which can be counted among their better achievements in this category. Considering how many epics over 20 minutes they’ve made in their career so far, that’s certainly no small feat. The lyrics on »Banks Of Eden« swing, as usual, somewhere between social criticism and ‘new age’ philosophy, along the lines of ‘the sun shines after every dusk’, which is why most people like to compare the Flower Kings to Yes more than to any other prog rock legend.
The remaining four tracks on the album also live up to the high TFK standards and are stylistically varied enough to please even the most demanding fans. »For The Love Of Gold« is another super melodic piece with a pleasant acoustic melody and chirping keyboard textures courtesy of Tomas Bodin, where the Föberg-Stolt vocal duo successfully creates a cheerful atmosphere. Stolt’s weeping guitar slides lean nicely on the rhythmic support of Föberg’s acoustic guitar and build up the epic mood in perfect harmony. After the super complex nature of the excellent opening epic, such a playful, cheerful ‘treat for the soul’, built on classic TFK unpredictable rhythmic standards, hits the spot.
»Pandemonium«, thanks to mighty symphonic arrangements, branching guitar phrases and the fun caprices of the Lehrmann-Jonas Rheingold rhythm duo, is a thoroughly dramatized effort, and they don’t skimp on the vocoder either. Once again there’s a distinctly melodic chorus, while robotic vocalizations pulled through the vocoder and backed by layered symphonic arrangements nicely keep the drama tense. Stolt’s solo guitar outpourings, as usual, are pure nirvana for all lovers of untamed guitar virtuosos. The solemn-melodramatic epic »For Those About To Drawn«, where the influence of Gabriel-era Genesis is plainly audible, is full of dramatic vocal exchanges between the two lead vocalists, backed by theatrical guitar passages and turbulent keyboard passages with plenty of ambient effects. The interplay between the individual members during the instrumental sections is once again stunning. The lyrics about a mysterious stranger offering salvation from a flood also strongly recall the lyrical mannerisms of classic Genesis.
The closing epic revelation »Rising The Imperial« reprises the central »Numbers« motif, which is a bit unusual given that this isn’t a concept album. The calm opening section features a gentle acoustic melody and a melancholic vocal performance, while guitar slides glide in the background and the atmosphere swells in harmony with layered orchestral arrangements. Rheingold’s melodic bass lines nicely ratchet up the drama, which peaks with a mouth-watering Stolt solo and a return of the epic »Numbers« chorus.
With »Banks Of Eden« the Flower Kings have made yet another cracking album with a clear focus, one that will thrill every longtime follower. Sure, it doesn’t bring anything earth-shattering to their musical vocabulary, but it’s consistently good and unpretentious from start to finish, which should shut up quite a few of the people who used to slam them for their overly stretched-out jams. With a flood of modern prog rock bands of dubious quality all trying desperately to sound different, yet leaning on digitized crutches and totally sterile production in the studio, it’s good that a few prog rock revivalists like the Flower Kings are around, successfully keeping the old-school tradition alive and with money nowhere near the main motive for crafting new work.
Lineup
Roine Stolt – vocals and guitar
Hasse Föberg – vocals and guitar
Jonas Reingold – bass guitar
Tomas Bodin – keyboards
Felix Lehrmann – drums and percussion
Production
Roine Stolt
Tracklist
1. Numbers (25:20)
2. For The Love Of Gold (7:30)
3. Pandemonium (6:05)
4. For Those About To Drown (6:30)
5. Rising The Imperial (7:40)
