Author Topic: Flower Kings Official Thread  (Read 230884 times)

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Offline darkshade

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1715 on: February 11, 2021, 04:07:10 PM »
Like The Tangent, I jumped off the Karmakanic ship a while back, but that second album is pretty dynamite for sure.  The debut is definitely pretty choppy, but the title track, Entering the Spectra, is freaking awesome.

I was unimpressed with In A Perfect World when it came out, which is partly why I never checked out DOT.
Interestingly, the drummer who replaced Zoltan in TFK is the same drummer who replaced him in Karmakanic, on IAPW.

Offline The Letter M

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1716 on: February 11, 2021, 11:47:16 PM »
As someone who has followed Karmakanic since before 2008's Who's The Boss In The Factory, I've gotta say that that album is probably my favorite of theirs. The opening epic is the quintessential Karmakanic sound, and the closing duo of "Eternally" tracks is really touching as well. Their first two albums are solid works, too, but I think WTBITF is where they really set themselves apart from being "just another TFK offshoot" and more of a Jonas Reingold-led outfit with some amazing players in their own right.

I think most Karmakanic fans would agree that IAPW is their weakest work out of the five studio albums, which is why I was excited when DOT came out in 2016 and being wowed by most of the material. I think I find myself going back to DOT and Boss more often than anything else in their catalog.

Of the other TFK off-shoots, I'd put The Tangent up top, especially since Roine left and the band became more of Andy's vehicle for his proggy output. I'm probably the biggest Tangent fan here on this board, or at least one of the biggest ones (as I've been directly supporting Andy and his ventures since 2009, where you may see my name among the fans who financially fund the making of his Tangent and solo albums), and every time Andy releases a new Tangent album, it's always a treat to hear how the band has evolved, especially lately now that there has been a consistent line-up for the last couple of albums! They've had their highs and lows, but overall, the Tangent is a fairly consistently good catalog for me, and a top 20 band in my book.

Then there's also Hasse Froberg & Musical Companion, with four albums in the last decade or so, and they've had some fairly great music so far! If you love Hasse's vocals and sound, this is definitely for you. I feel like he spun off into his own solo band because the Flower Kings kept going on hiatus, and Hasse had so much music to put out there, and so he did! I haven't listened to them in awhile, but I remember enjoying each album as they came out, and last I heard, he was working on a fifth album with his band, so I hope we see that come out sometime this year!

And of course, there was the solo career of Tomas Bodin, which is kind of hit-or-miss for me now, and while there are some epic moments (I AM being one of them), I have to be in a certain mood and mindset for his music, but I do enjoy his work for the most part. It's kind of sad that he hasn't really done anything in six years or so, and he's even had projects that have fallen to the wayside (like Crime Of The Century), but looking at his Soundcloud just now, it seems like he uploads every couple of months, so he's still writing and recording SOME music.

And on the subject of solo stuff, anyone else here love Wall Street Voodoo by Roine Stolt? Easily one of my favorite Roine Stolt-related albums, the vibe is completely different and I love his guitar work across the whole thing. Neal's contributions are also very fresh and vibrant. I kind of wish that Roine and Neal took a band out to tour on this album (with an encore of some Transatlantic material).

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Offline darkshade

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1717 on: February 12, 2021, 06:53:23 AM »
I think I checked out Hasse and Musical Companion's 2nd album once when it came out, but I don't remember anything about it.

Wallstreet Voodoo has been queued up for me for a while, never listened to it, but have had a digital copy of it for years. I don't know why I've never gotten around to it. Maybe this weekend.

I'm thinking I'm going to dive into The Tangent soon, as I haven't heard any of their newer albums, the last one I got was Le Sacre du Travail in 2013, and I see Karmakanic and The Tangent combined forces into Tangekanic on their most recent live album, so I'm curious about that. Of course, Jonas Reingold is on ALL of this music, as he's the bassist on most of The Tangent's albums.

I'm also thinking about diving back into 2000s and 2010s Kaipa, as I was going through their 70s and 80s albums recently, but took a break after that.

Offline HOF

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1718 on: February 12, 2021, 08:58:40 AM »
Well, talking about TFK in the TA thread got me to revisit Space Revolver this morning. What a wonderful album. Chicken Farmer Song for the win.

Offline HOF

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1719 on: February 12, 2021, 09:05:35 AM »
Well, talking about TFK in the TA thread got me to revisit Space Revolver this morning. What a wonderful album. Chicken Farmer Song for the win.

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Offline RoeDent

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1720 on: February 12, 2021, 09:13:59 AM »
I mean, the entire discography of Agents of Mercy comes from within the 2007-2012 hiatus, so even Roine was making music during that time.

Offline darkshade

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1721 on: February 12, 2021, 09:26:37 AM »
Who's The Boss In The Factory is an interesting title for an prog rock album. This really where the band came into it's own, in my opinion. The opening epic Send a Message From The Heart is up there with the best symphonic epics by TFK, Transatlantic, or Neal Morse. Just fantastic composition. I can't say enough good things about it. Love when the main theme comes back towards at the end in a different key with that guitar solo. I sometimes feel like the opening theme is a little cheesy but then when it returns at the end I'm always like, yea that's the stuff. Weird how that happens. Then the final coda just brings it home.

I always liked Let In Hollywood a lot, a really fun heavy rocker. Doesn't get talked about enough. The 7/8 time throughout is cool, (this album is littered with odd time signatures) the chorus even brings it up. Love that riff about 2 1/2 minutes in, especially when the synths come in. The title track is another cool number, this time a slow build, but the song contains some really interesting material and some soaring melodies, and some heavy riffage here and there. Very strong tune. I can't applaud the great synth, keyboard, and piano work there is on this one enough. I forgot how epic this song is, and done in half the time as the opener. Love the sax on Two Blocks From The Edge. Eternally is nice and ballady, but as my least favorite I would liked it if the album didn't end with this. Probably the only big flaw I can point out with this album.

There is fantastic playing all around. Lalle Larsson is an incredible keyboardist. I feel like he's basically unknown though. Krister Jonsson is a fine guitarist as well. Jonas is on fire as usual, and this is one my favorite performances with Zoltan on drums. This is Goran's best performance on vocals (I haven't heard DOT) as well. I don't know what it is, but his voice fits very well in this music.

I forgot that Roine Stolt, Tomas Bodin, Andy Tillison, and Theo Travis all make appearances on Who's The Boss In The Factory. Also of note is the album does not have a question mark at the end of the title on the actual album, even though Wikipedia lists it as so, as it's the end of the statement made in the chorus of the title track.

Offline darkshade

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1722 on: February 12, 2021, 09:28:25 AM »
I mean, the entire discography of Agents of Mercy comes from within the 2007-2012 hiatus, so even Roine was making music during that time.

Roine is always creating music. Since 2007, if it's not TFK, it's AoM, Kaipa DeCapo, Transatlantic, The Sea Within, the occasional solo album, or working with Jon Anderson.
« Last Edit: February 12, 2021, 09:37:22 AM by darkshade »

Offline darkshade

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1723 on: February 12, 2021, 10:31:24 AM »
In A Perfect World is the first Karmakanic with no outside guests or Roine Stolt, but unfortunately Zoltan has left! However, he was replaced by Marcus Lilliquist, who also replaced him in The Flower Kings on Paradox Hotel (though Zoltan would go on to replace ML in TFK on the next album) The album starts out promising with "1969" but the rest of the album is just all over the place. There's highlights for sure. 1969 as mentioned, while great, doesn't quite reach the highs that previous 10+ minute Karmakanic songs have, but solid piece nonetheless. Kind of like a lost song from the Who's The Boss sessions...

The rest of the songs on the album, as I said earlier, are all over the place, and the writing is simpler than previous albums. There's a lot of repetitiveness, or attempts at writing catchy singles for radio consumption, but with glimpses of greatness sprinkled in.

The exception besides 1969, is Can't Take It With You which is the most interesting track on here. A cool, Latin inflected heavy song with some Zappa sounding influence. I wish more of this album was like this song.

Offline Zydar

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1724 on: February 12, 2021, 11:21:04 AM »
Well, talking about TFK in the TA thread got me to revisit Space Revolver this morning. What a wonderful album. Chicken Farmer Song for the win.

Oh, that was one of the first songs I really loved when I got into the band. It's still a favourite.
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Offline DTA

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1725 on: February 12, 2021, 12:29:18 PM »
Tomas Bodin's first solo album "An Ordinary Night..." is really worth hearing for the full band tracks. Total old-school FK vibe and lots of really beautiful melodies. Roine's solo in Three Stories is one of his best and there's also a song that might be familiar to FK fans

Offline KevShmev

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1726 on: February 12, 2021, 06:51:24 PM »
Well, talking about TFK in the TA thread got me to revisit Space Revolver this morning. What a wonderful album. Chicken Farmer Song for the win.

“A full 18 inches of delicious pizza!”

“How could you possibly fit all that in your mouth?”

Well, that's in Underdog, not Chicken Farmer Song, but great moment.  Love both of those songs.

Space Revolver has always been a favorite of mine.  I Am the Sun is in the conversation for best thing Roine Stolt ever wrote. :hefdaddy :hefdaddy

Offline darkshade

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1727 on: February 15, 2021, 07:58:02 AM »
I didn't care much for DOT on first listen, I don't think I'm into these later Karmakanic albums.

Tomas Bodin's first solo album "An Ordinary Night..." is really worth hearing for the full band tracks. Total old-school FK vibe and lots of really beautiful melodies. Roine's solo in Three Stories is one of his best and there's also a song that might be familiar to FK fans

I have 2 Tomas Bodin albums, Sonic Boulevard, and I AM, and while I don't dislike them, I'm never inclined to go back to them, and have not sought out any more of his albums. Although I've wanted a copy of Pinup Guru, just because Zoltan and Jonas are on it.
« Last Edit: February 15, 2021, 08:13:22 AM by darkshade »

Offline KevShmev

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1728 on: February 16, 2021, 05:42:55 PM »
I gave both A Spark in the Aether and The Slow Rust of Forgotten Machinery, both by The Tangent, a few whirls this week, and hot damn that is some good stuff.  I will get some mileage out both of those.  Yay for being stuck at home cause of the snow and having too much free time.  :hat :hat

Offline DTA

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1729 on: February 17, 2021, 02:44:01 AM »
I didn't care much for DOT on first listen, I don't think I'm into these later Karmakanic albums.

Tomas Bodin's first solo album "An Ordinary Night..." is really worth hearing for the full band tracks. Total old-school FK vibe and lots of really beautiful melodies. Roine's solo in Three Stories is one of his best and there's also a song that might be familiar to FK fans

I have 2 Tomas Bodin albums, Sonic Boulevard, and I AM, and while I don't dislike them, I'm never inclined to go back to them, and have not sought out any more of his albums. Although I've wanted a copy of Pinup Guru, just because Zoltan and Jonas are on it.

I’m not too big a fan of those other Bodin albums though Sonic Boulevard has some decent tracks. An Ordinary Night sounds quite different in that the full band tracks it sound a lot like early FK material. Definitely worth hearing for those songs if you love that era of TFK.

Offline kirksnosehair

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1730 on: February 17, 2021, 01:24:30 PM »
I gave both A Spark in the Aether and The Slow Rust of Forgotten Machinery, both by The Tangent, a few whirls this week, and hot damn that is some good stuff.  I will get some mileage out both of those.  Yay for being stuck at home cause of the snow and having too much free time.  :hat :hat


Nice  :tup

Offline darkshade

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1731 on: February 17, 2021, 03:41:13 PM »
The Tangent's first album is very good, I used to regard it higher when I first got it, but it's still good. Sounds like TFK with Andy Tillison on keys sharing vocals with Roine. Andy brings the Canturbury angle to the music, which I always liked about The Tangent.

Offline KevShmev

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1732 on: February 17, 2021, 06:04:29 PM »
I gave that first album a fresh listen this week and still love it.  In Darkest Dreams is a really tasty "sidelong" epic, and Up-Hill from Here still has one of Roine's most rocking and bad ass solos.  And the awesomeness of The Canterbury Sequence goes without saying.  Title track is also very nice.  Great stuff.

Offline Zydar

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1733 on: February 18, 2021, 03:44:37 AM »
A new music video has been released, this is for All I Need Is Love.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA01Sqj8pbI
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Offline Mladen

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1734 on: February 18, 2021, 06:48:37 AM »
That's one of my favorite tunes on Islands.  :tup

Offline darkshade

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1735 on: February 18, 2021, 08:23:05 AM »
I think it's time to revisit the recent TFK albums; Islands, Waiting For Miracles, and Manifesto of an Alchemist (it's a TFK album to me)

Offline darkshade

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1736 on: February 18, 2021, 01:03:58 PM »
I'm liking DOT a little more on 2nd listen, but I'm still not ga-ga over it.

Offline The Letter M

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1737 on: February 18, 2021, 02:08:24 PM »
A new music video has been released, this is for All I Need Is Love.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA01Sqj8pbI

What a nice video for one of the better songs on Islands! Happy to see the band still promoting this album - it definitely deserves more attention! I'm also excited to continue hearing news about the next TFK album and that the band, prompted by Kamins, are working towards writing an epic piece!

-Marc.
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Offline KevShmev

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1738 on: February 21, 2021, 09:14:48 AM »
A new music video has been released, this is for All I Need Is Love.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA01Sqj8pbI

I think the band needs to stick to the music and not worry about videos.  :lol :lol

Okay, it wasn't that bad, but it wasn't good either.  Amazing how some bands can be so good and creative with the music and so bad with videos.

Offline Ben_Jamin

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1739 on: February 21, 2021, 09:22:38 AM »
A new music video has been released, this is for All I Need Is Love.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA01Sqj8pbI

I think the band needs to stick to the music and not worry about videos.  :lol :lol

Okay, it wasn't that bad, but it wasn't good either.  Amazing how some bands can be so good and creative with the music and so bad with videos.

I blame Inside Out. Has the Transatlantic video style as well.

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Offline HOF

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1740 on: February 21, 2021, 09:33:55 AM »
A new music video has been released, this is for All I Need Is Love.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA01Sqj8pbI

I think the band needs to stick to the music and not worry about videos.  :lol :lol

Okay, it wasn't that bad, but it wasn't good either.  Amazing how some bands can be so good and creative with the music and so bad with videos.

I blame Inside Out. Has the Transatlantic video style as well.

Yeah, I doubt the band has much input into creating the videos. I’m guessing Inside Out hires someone to produce these and the band just plays along.

Offline Ben_Jamin

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1741 on: February 21, 2021, 09:36:33 AM »
A new music video has been released, this is for All I Need Is Love.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA01Sqj8pbI

I think the band needs to stick to the music and not worry about videos.  :lol :lol

Okay, it wasn't that bad, but it wasn't good either.  Amazing how some bands can be so good and creative with the music and so bad with videos.

I blame Inside Out. Has the Transatlantic video style as well.

Yeah, I doubt the band has much input into creating the videos. I’m guessing Inside Out hires someone to produce these and the band just plays along.

Probably just tell the band to show up for a video shoot. And then they do the rest and show them the final product. Unless they let their manager give the final say. That is if Roine really cares about the video as well..
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Offline darkshade

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1742 on: March 10, 2021, 06:18:01 AM »
Islands is moving up in my TFK ranking. I now consider it their best album since the hiatus. The first disc is great, I do feel like the 2nd disc is not as strong, and they maybe could have cut the material down to all fit on one killer CD, but TFK music is also dense and requires more listens to appreciate, so who knows. I will say, some of the individual songs are becoming my favorites, Morning News, Tangerine, Solaris, All I Need Is Love, Serpentine, Between Hope and Fear, the title track, those all stick out off the top of my head. The rest still need more time to sink in. Also listening to Manifesto of an Alchemist right now, and I like this one a lot as well, I don't see many ranking this one high, but I like it, it sounds like a band refreshed (even if it's not technically TFK, but it basically is if we're calling the last 2 albums TFK)

Offline RoeDent

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1743 on: March 10, 2021, 06:47:44 AM »
I'm trying to think what I would cut to make Islands a single disc. Tracklist:

1. Black Swan
2. Morning News
3. Broken
4. Tangerine
5. Solaris
6. Heart of the Valley
7. All I Need Is Love
8. A New Species
9. Northern Lights
10. Hidden Angles
11. Islands

Offline darkshade

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1744 on: March 10, 2021, 07:18:36 AM »
I wouldn't have minded a single disc, with a bonus disc featuring all the songs cut from the main album.
1st disc is so strong.

MoAA is really strong. I liked it when it came out, even if I wasn't in a TFK mood at the time. It really has some of that old school TFK feel, and has some great melodies. Roine's guitar is very solid, playing some gorgeous lines. Roine should sing for an entire album (or 95% of it) more often, I always preferred his vocals, and preferred Hasse as an occasional singer to add some color. Daniel as full time lead singer would have been awesome, too bad that didn't work out. Between his vocals on UtF, A&E, and on Kaleidoscope, he presents the strongest vocal performance between all the albums between TFK, Roine, TA, and Neal Morse.

Offline darkshade

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1745 on: March 10, 2021, 07:47:24 AM »
Waiting For Miracles is a really strong album as well. In total, these 3 albums are a return to glory for TFK. The music is fun, up beat, diverse, and there's many strong melodies and arrangements. This is something I felt was lacking on Desolation Rose, my least favorite TFK album. I only wish they'd release another epic on the next album. Numbers was great, possibly the best song between the last 4-5 albums, definitely since the reunion in 2012, and I enjoy all their epics.

Offline KevShmev

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1746 on: March 10, 2021, 08:05:06 AM »
I think Waiting for Miracles is a little better than Islands, which could have lost a few songs from Disc 2, but I still like both a lot.  Both are major upgrades over the last album that came before it (Desolation Rose).  I am still a big fan of Banks of Eden.

Offline darkshade

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1747 on: March 10, 2021, 08:26:38 AM »
I think Waiting for Miracles is a little better than Islands, which could have lost a few songs from Disc 2, but I still like both a lot.  Both are major upgrades over the last album that came before it (Desolation Rose).  I am still a big fan of Banks of Eden.

Same, BoE is a good album, though something about BoE and DR feels off, not sure what it is.

Offline bluefox4000

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1748 on: March 10, 2021, 08:31:34 AM »
It's been a bit.  have to say Islands does little for me.  i haven't really liked the past few albums.

as noted i think the last Flower kings album to hit any sweet spot for me and stick was BoE.  what a great listen that is.

Offline Zydar

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Re: Flower Kings Official Thread - v. Islands, Oct. 30
« Reply #1749 on: March 10, 2021, 08:37:02 AM »
I must be in the minority of those who actually likes Desolation Rose. Lots of great tracks there - Tower One, White Tuxedos, Silent Masses, Last Carnivore, and Runaway Train (from the bonus CD).
Zydar is my new hero.  I just laughed so hard I nearly shat.