Flower Kings Official Thread

[darkshade]

I've never listened to Hasse's work, though I feel like I checked out one of his early albums way back when, and wasn't into it.

[The Letter M]

HERE IT IS…. OUR BRAND NEW VIDEO

TO THOSE WHO RULE THE WORLD

This is the first piece of music and visuals from our upcoming album We Are The Truth. Enjoy the video and feel free to share it and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

This is what Hasse says about the song:
The reason we chose to make a video to the song 'To Those Who Rule The World' is because it represents the album and showcases the band in a good way. The lyrics is almost written in a naive or maybe even childish tone. Still I think it reflects the way many of us are feeling today. This is 6 minutes of crazy, sometimes groovy, sometimes epic but always accessible music, here together with a catchy video. This is HFMC and 'To Those Who Rule The World'

Directed by: Sampo Axelsson and Johnny Taxén
Filmed by: Johnny Taxén
Editor: Sampo Axelsson
Produced by:  HFMC and Rockwater Productions
Record label: GlassVille Records
Album order: hfmc.bandcamp.com

https://youtu.be/QuIRbdQgzVw

Just posted less than 20 minutes ago. Not a bad song, but it leaves me wanting more. I noticed the runtime of the video is a bit shorter than the song's track length on the originally released track list so I wonder if it's an edit of some sort. Either way, only less than 2 months from the album's release!

-Marc.

[KevShmev]

Dang, I thought that was for a new TFK record, but it's just some Hasse project.  Darn it.

[Fritzinger]

I'm not that much into Hasse's voice (though it doesn't bother me in TFK), so this doesn't knock my socks of. But this song has a far better production and sound than the last two TFK albums. I'd love this sound for the band.

[darkshade]

Oh, not the new TFK album. Woops

Good news though, but I haven't felt inclined to listen to Hasse's work outside of TFK.

[The Letter M]

Dang, I thought that was for a new TFK record, but it's just some Hasse project.  Darn it.

 

Sorry to bump the thread to your disappointment. I take it you're not a fan of HFMC? I like Hasse's music well-enough. It's definitely interesting to hear him outside of TFK, and with his own band, but it's definitely not quite TFK music. It's more hard-rock and classic-rock inspired, though as time has gone on, I've gone back to his albums less and less with each successive release, so I'm hoping their fifth album will keep me coming back. The first album, 2010's Future Past, is still one of my favorites, and it helped fill in the gap between TFK albums during their first five-year hiatus (between 2007 and 2012).

-Marc.

[KevShmev]

I don't like Hasse's voice enough to bother with anything he does outside of TFK, to be honest.  I tolerate his voice more often than not with TFK.  Yes, he sings on a lot of TFK songs I like (although it seems like Roine sings most of my favorites), but it seems like most of the TFK songs I am not wild about are ones where he sings.

[darkshade]

I agree, his voice is good enough to add some color to the music, but a whole album of his vocals would get tiring for me.
Especially now, his vocals don't sound as good to me on more recent TFK albums.

[Zydar]

In a new interview with Hasse he says that the new TFK album will probably be released in March.

https://stargazed.net/interviews/spellbound-solid-blue-the-flower-kings-hasse-froberg-musical-companion-an-interview-with-hasse-froberg/

"I think the new album will be released in March. From a hifi-point of view it's probably our best sounding record ever. Hasse Bruniusson is back on percussion and we've all been very much invited into the creation process. Roine usually brings quite strict demo's to the table, but this time around they were more like shells, which we all participated in filling up".

[DTA]

Bruniussun is always a great addition, but I'm still patiently waiting for the return of Ulf. His sax on those early FK songs created such a cool, jazzy vibe. I'm excited, even though the last two albums kind of came and went. Maybe the next one will stick with me?

[darkshade]

Curious to see where they go on the new album. I feel like Islands was better than WFM which was a lot better than DR.

[HOF]

I listened to my one-disc edit of Islands the other day, and it is really quite enjoyable. The overall sound is still a bit disappointing a year out, but the songs are strong enough to be worth your while. I haven’t returned to the album a ton since the initial new release phase though.

[KevShmev]

Roine writing less and the others writing more makes me a bit nervous, since most of their best albums feature either Roine as the sole writer or writing with Tomas Bodin (who is no longer in the band) on probably 95% of the songs. 

[DTA]

Neal Morse brought on Eric and Bill and their writing contributions elevated NMB considerably, so it's possible the other guys' input will jolt Roine into really delivering some great stuff. Plus Ascending To The Stars was one of the highlights of WfM (for me at least) and I think the new keyboardist wrote that.

[Ben_Jamin]

"We Are The Truth is both musically and lyrically very much about the world today".

5.    Yoko ( 6:36)

 

How does this relate to the world today. Is it due to Paul saying John caused the end of the beatles. 

[The Letter M]

https://www.musikenshus.se/flower-kings/

Someone in the TFK Facebook group shared this link - the band's 16th album will be titled By Royal Decree and sees the return of Michael Stolt. The accompanying band photo shows Michael and not Jonas so I wonder if something happened or if he just wasn't available for the album or what. The article states that the band is now 3/5ths the original line-up and so they suggest their tour next year could involve songs from those earlier TFK albums.

Guess we will have to wait and see...

Edit - never mind, found this link to a post by Michael Stolt - https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=4941080172597069&id=100000854068743

Basically, he and Jonas share bass duties on the album but he will be touring with them as the sole bassist, from what I can gather.

-Marc.

[Mladen]

I've always been intimidated by the band's enormous discography. So over the last decade, whenever a new album is coming out, I go back and check out one or two of the older albums. It's worked well so far, so I will be another step closer to the completed discography next year. 

[DTA]

Jonas seems firmly entrenched in Hackett's band which I'm sure is a much more lucrative venture overall for an aging prog musician. Nothing against Jonas at all, but I always felt his inclusion into the band is what pushed them into jazzier territory, and away from the bright, sunny prog-rock sound of the earlier albums (which is the sound of TFK I greatly prefer). Maybe this could be a good shakeup in their sound.

I'd love to see a tour where they get rid of all the usual suspect songs and go all out into rare-song territory.

[Fritzinger]

Jonas seems firmly entrenched in Hackett's band which I'm sure is a much more lucrative venture overall for an aging prog musician. Nothing against Jonas at all, but I always felt his inclusion into the band is what pushed them into jazzier territory, and away from the bright, sunny prog-rock sound of the earlier albums (which is the sound of TFK I greatly prefer). Maybe this could be a good shakeup in their sound.

I'd love to see a tour where they get rid of all the usual suspect songs and go all out into rare-song territory.

I feel the opposite way. I think Jonas' contribution is very important to the band's sound and his prominence on Unfold The Future made that album the greatest album in the TFK's discography. He and Zoltan were a beast of a rhythm section and they remain unmatched by any other combination of bassist and drummers in TFK. So, Jonas not being the main dude on bass disappoints me quite a bit and lowers my interest in this album a great deal.

[The Letter M]

I think it'll all boil down to the music itself. I remember that Michael and Jonas (along with Roine himself) all shared bass duties on Roine's Manifesto of An Alchemist album, and while I could tell the difference, it didn't matter who played on what song, only that the song itself was good, so it really depends on how the music sounds whether or not Jonas or Michael can fill the bass-shoes appropriately. Of course, the band's first four albums are highly revered and Michael was the bassist on those albums, so he's no slouch when it comes to bass guitar, but I do agree that Jonas did add a certain jazz-fusion flavor to the band that was infused into UTF and A&E.

Having both on the new album kind of excites me, TBH, and I'll be interested in hearing what they can do.

-Marc.

[KevShmev]

My initial reaction to the Jonas news was, "oh, crap," but then I remembered, "Oh wait, he wasn't on their first four albums," and I feel like those are four of their best, so I think it'll be okay.  Don't get me wrong, I'd rather he was there, but if the songs are really good, it won't matter a whole lot, honestly. 

[The Letter M]

My initial reaction to the Jonas news was, "oh, crap," but then I remembered, "Oh wait, he wasn't on their first four albums," and I feel like those are four of their best, so I think it'll be okay.  Don't get me wrong, I'd rather he was there, but if the songs are really good, it won't matter a whole lot, honestly.

This is how I feel as well. I think Roine knows what he's doing, and he'll probably give Jonas the songs with the bass parts that suit Jonas, and same for his brother. Roine has been steering the FloKis ship for over 25 years now and I trust he knows what he's doing with the band at this point, whether we like the music or not, but personally, I've enjoyed every album at least a little bit enough to keep getting their music.

-Marc.

[KevShmev]

Yep, I have no doubt that the album will be good.  They will always be an auto-buy for me, as they are one of my Big 7.

[darkshade]

Cool, interesting news. Isn't it rumored that Roine played the bass parts on the first 4 albums even though Michael is credited?

[Willthescout7]

New Flower Kings Album By Royal Decree out March 4th

[MinistroRaven]

New Flower Kings Album By Royal Decree out March 4th

Prog icons The Flower Kings are pleased to announce the release of their 15th studio album ‘By Royal Decree’, set for 4th March 2022. The band have also announced the first live dates in support of the album, taking place in Sweden beginning end of March 2022.

The band are back at their most creative, flowery and playful – mirroring the 70’s melting pot of folk, symphonic, electronic, jazz, blues, funk & prog. On the new album they have looked for more organic and vintage sounds, still centered around the foundation of drums, bass, guitars and the iconic Hammond, grand piano, mellotron & Moog synthesizers.

The album also sees the return of founding member Michael Stolt, who takes up bass guitar and vocals, alongside the line-up of Mirko DeMaio on drums, Zach Kamins on keyboards, Hasse Fröberg on vocal & guitar and Roine Stolt on vocal & guitars. The band convened in the middle of 2021 at Fenix Studios in Sweden to record through the fully analogue Rupert Neve mixing desk. The album also features beautiful cover art, once again created by Denver-based artist Kevin Sloan.

Next years tour will also see the band revisiting their early years, performing tracks from ‘Retropolis’, ‘Stardust We Are’, ‘Flower Power’, ‘Space Revolver’ and ‘Back In The World Of Adventures’. This will coincide with the release of newly remastered editions of The Flower Kings albums on CD & Vinyl later in 2022. The first confirmed live dates are as follows:

30th March 2022 – Katalin, Uppsala, Sweden
31st March 2022 – Musikens Hus, Gothenburg, Sweden
1st April 2022 - Södra Teatern, Stockholm, Sweden

Look out for more information on the new album, pre-orders and the first single on the 10th December.

[The Letter M]

Very nice, although it releases the same day at the new Marillion album! What a week for my birthday!

So I Googled the cover art by Kevin Sloan and found that it's been around since at least 2018, if not longer. I guess they were cool with using pre-existing artwork for their album again as the elephant art by Sloan used for WFM was painted in 2011. Still, the new cover is quite nice.



-Marc.

[KevShmev]

I like the release date, with it being right before spring.  TFK is very much a spring and summer band for me, so with any luck this will be really good and dominate my listening time next spring and summer. 

[The Letter M]

I like the release date, with it being right before spring.  TFK is very much a spring and summer band for me, so with any luck this will be really good and dominate my listening time next spring and summer. 

I'm a bit miffed that new TFK and new Marillion are out on the same day, and not long after my birthday too. Too much new music in one week! Well, hopefully I find time to listen to both in equal turn, though if the new TFK is a double, it might take precedence since it'll take longer to digest, especially since Roine has teased a new epic!

-Marc.

[Fritzinger]

With no or little Reingold-input on this album, this is actually the most exciting news for me:

This will coincide with the release of newly remastered editions of The Flower Kings albums on CD & Vinyl later in 2022.

 

Albums like Flower-Power and (hopefully) Sum Of No Evil deserve to be pressed on vinyl.

[RoeDent]

I can't help but wonder with the cover art if the new album is a sequel to Waiting for Miracles. A lot of similar elements. Animals, the watch, similar colour background, same band logo.

[The Letter M]

I can't help but wonder with the cover art if the new album is a sequel to Waiting for Miracles. A lot of similar elements. Animals, the watch, similar colour background, same band logo.

I think it's just a matter of them using Kevin Sloan's art again, and both times the art wasn't even made for the band/newly painted. The album art for WFM has been around for many years, and from what I could find for the new album's art, that has been around since at least 2018. I think Roine just likes the style, and probably has no meaning or bearing on the album much, so I doubt BRD is related to anything on WFM.

-Marc.

[darkshade]

With the exception of Retropolis and Space Revolver, TFK's album covers always feature humans or human faces, humanoid characters, and/or animals.

[Revenge319]

With a new album by The Flower Kings coming out in the not too distant future, I figured now is as good a time as any to get back to my first-time TFK marathon.

I've just finished listening to The Sum of No Evil, and like pretty much all of their albums, this one left a good impression on me. The first song, "One More Time", didn't particularly stand out for the most part, but the instrumental section at the end was cool. "Love Is the Only Answer" has a lot of good moments; one of the best parts was around 2:25, where it gets kind of intense. It reminds me a little bit of the "Lay Down Your Life" movement from The Whirlwind. "Trading My Soul" was alright, though I think it could grow on me. "The Sum of No Reason" is my favorite song on the album. It has some odd lyrics here and there, but everything else is great from start to finish. "Flight 999 (Brimstone Air)" is a nice instrumental, and "Life in Motion" is a good closing track that feels adventurous.

Ten albums thus far in my marathon, and all of them are at least good! It'll be great to really get to know these albums, because I know for some of them, I'll probably end up loving them a lot.

[DTA]

Sum Of No Evil is their equivalent of Black Clouds & Silver Linings to me. The songs have lots of good ideas but are just too damn bloated and stretched beyond what feels natural. Sum Of No Reason is probably my favorite on there too (especially that heavy riff), and the epic has some really cool stuff going on but the other songs are just kinda there. Banks of Eden was a huge improvement so they maybe they just needed the extended break