Flower Kings Official Thread

[RoeDent]

The whole section from around 12m in on Love Supreme is one of my favourite TFK sections ever, and when Gildenlow's backing vocals come in on the second chorus, that is spectacular! I've finally gotten into Drivers Seat (no pun intended) in recent months too.

[HOF]

Just heard “The Bridge” off Waiting for Miracles for the first time. That’s a really great song.

[Fritzinger]

I'm on my 2nd spin thru this 92 minute monster of an album, and my only concern so far is an odd skip in "Hidden Angles" around 0:41. Anyone else with the album hear this, or did I get a bum disc?

-Marc.

Did they send out the album a week early? Awesome! 

I'm still sitting in a lecture, will check out the part you mentioned later.

Did you ever get around to checking "Hidden Angles"? I posted the question in the Flower Kings Facebook fan group and both Jonas and Mirkko both replied saying their copies were fine, so I guess I got a bum copy. It's really weird because, as far as I could tell, that was the only bad spot on the whole album for me, but I'll have to listen to it again to be sure. Now it's going to bug me....

-Marc.

Yeah, I hear that in my promo files, too. But I have to admit, I think I would have never noticed it if you hadn't mentioned it 
Let's hear if it's included on the vinyl LP's I ordered. They won't arrive for another few days though.

[darkshade]

Going through all these albums makes me wonder what TFK albums would be like if they were only single vinyl length, like in the 70s, with only the occasional "double" album roughly in the 80-90 minute range (as opposed to the almost 3 hours Unfold The Future.) I really do appreciate the less-is-more approach, and finishing an album wanting more. I wonder if they would be more highly regarded or more popular in the prog community.

[The Letter M]

I'm on my 2nd spin thru this 92 minute monster of an album, and my only concern so far is an odd skip in "Hidden Angles" around 0:41. Anyone else with the album hear this, or did I get a bum disc?

-Marc.

Did they send out the album a week early? Awesome! 

I'm still sitting in a lecture, will check out the part you mentioned later.

Did you ever get around to checking "Hidden Angles"? I posted the question in the Flower Kings Facebook fan group and both Jonas and Mirkko both replied saying their copies were fine, so I guess I got a bum copy. It's really weird because, as far as I could tell, that was the only bad spot on the whole album for me, but I'll have to listen to it again to be sure. Now it's going to bug me....

-Marc.

Yeah, I hear that in my promo files, too. But I have to admit, I think I would have never noticed it if you hadn't mentioned it 
Let's hear if it's included on the vinyl LP's I ordered. They won't arrive for another few days though.

Oh man, that's disheartening. Now I'm wondering if the folks in the TFK Facebook group who said they couldn't hear the skip just can't heart things like that in the music. I even posted a picture of the wave form with the odd clip in it, quite visible as well.

Sorry for making it more noticable, Fritz, and now you'll probably never be able to un-hear it. I do wonder if it was a matter of the original master audio having the defect in the track? Like, who could I even ask about that? Roine? Inside Out?

-Marc.

[RoeDent]

Going through all these albums makes me wonder what TFK albums would be like if they were only single vinyl length, like in the 70s, with only the occasional "double" album roughly in the 80-90 minute range (as opposed to the almost 3 hours Unfold The Future.) I really do appreciate the less-is-more approach, and finishing an album wanting more. I wonder if they would be more highly regarded or more popular in the prog community.

I thought they were one of the most highly regarded modern prog bands. Maybe not in terms of commercial sales, but they absolutely have a place in the pantheon as pioneers of the modern-day progressive rock revival.

Meanwhile, today I've done a double-whammy. Adam and Eve earlier, and I'm just finishing Paradox Hotel as I write this.

[darkshade]

Going through all these albums makes me wonder what TFK albums would be like if they were only single vinyl length, like in the 70s, with only the occasional "double" album roughly in the 80-90 minute range (as opposed to the almost 3 hours Unfold The Future.) I really do appreciate the less-is-more approach, and finishing an album wanting more. I wonder if they would be more highly regarded or more popular in the prog community.

I thought they were one of the most highly regarded modern prog bands. Maybe not in terms of commercial sales, but they absolutely have a place in the pantheon as pioneers of the modern-day progressive rock revival.

Meanwhile, today I've done a double-whammy. Adam and Eve earlier, and I'm just finishing Paradox Hotel as I write this.

They get a lot of criticism from older prog heads that think of them as Yes rip-offs, or wearing their 70s prog influences on their sleeve, check out old reviews of their albums on progarchives. Brutal...

They're definitely one of the more popular post-70s prog rock bands, them along with Spock's Beard and Dream Theater led the way for prog in the 90s.

I got a little burnt out going through all the albums, it's so much music, and I don't want to be burnt out when I get up to Islands, so I'm taking the day off. 

[The Letter M]

Going through all these albums makes me wonder what TFK albums would be like if they were only single vinyl length, like in the 70s, with only the occasional "double" album roughly in the 80-90 minute range (as opposed to the almost 3 hours Unfold The Future.) I really do appreciate the less-is-more approach, and finishing an album wanting more. I wonder if they would be more highly regarded or more popular in the prog community.

I thought they were one of the most highly regarded modern prog bands. Maybe not in terms of commercial sales, but they absolutely have a place in the pantheon as pioneers of the modern-day progressive rock revival.

Meanwhile, today I've done a double-whammy. Adam and Eve earlier, and I'm just finishing Paradox Hotel as I write this.

They get a lot of criticism from older prog heads that think of them as Yes rip-offs, or wearing their 70s prog influences on their sleeve, check out old reviews of their albums on progarchives. Brutal...

They're definitely one of the more popular post-70s prog rock bands, them along with Spock's Beard and Dream Theater led the way for prog in the 90s.

I got a little burnt out going through all the albums, it's so much music, and I don't want to be burnt out when I get up to Islands, so I'm taking the day off. 

Band Burnout is real, but for some reason, when a band I love is releasing a new album, I get REALLY into them again, so burnout is kind of difficult for me, and for The Flower Kings, their albums are so different from each other in some ways that I don't really get too burned out by them, especially if I listen to them in chronological order. It's a musical journey that I always enjoy going on when a band is releasing a new album, hearing their musical development through the years, and it has been quite a while since I've heard most of the TFK albums in full, so this has been a fun adventure for me.

Speaking of, I forgot to post about Paradox Hotel this morning, so I'm going through it again and, I'll admit, at first, I did NOT like this album at all. I had gotten into the band after Adam & Eve came out, and while that was OK at the time, I was looking forward to what they were doing next, so when they announced it was a double, I was pretty excited because I loved SWA and UTF, but when I got Paradox Hotel (which I think I ordered on Amazon, and funnily enough, the 3rd party seller I had gotten it from had sent me a promotional copy in a jewel case - I eventually got the digipak).... I just didn't like it. It didn't click with me. Even after The Sum Of No Evil came out I still struggled to really understand the album, but eventually, I came to love it, and rank it just as highly as SWA and UTF as some of their best work.

Some of my favorites are the often maligned opening epic "Monsters & Men" (which I enjoy, though I know many don't), "Pioneers Of Aviation", "End On A High Note", "Minor Giant Steps", and the final four song run of "The Way The Waters Are Moving"/"What If God Is Alone"/"Paradox Hotel"/"Blue Planet". If Paradox Hotel were on vinyl, those last four songs would be one of the best sides of TFK vinyl, IMO.

-Marc.

[RoeDent]

I (inadvertently) took the day off from TFK listening on Sunday, and I appreciated it. I won't actually be getting the album on the day; I have to wait a few days to order it, so I'm not going for a Friday deadline. I do definitely want to do WFM last though. My tradition, where I can, is to listen to a band's previous album the evening before I get the new one.

As for Paradox Hotel, I followed along with a blog post of someone doing a track-by-track analysis of the album, which certainly helped me get a grip on the album's concept. I really like Monsters and Men. I find Bavarian Skies a bit weird. Why would anyone sing from the pov of Hitler? And are we supposed to interpret the return of that same lowered voice in Paradox Hotel as Hitler getting a staff job at said hotel?

[The Letter M]

I (inadvertently) took the day off from TFK listening on Sunday, and I appreciated it. I won't actually be getting the album on the day; I have to wait a few days to order it, so I'm not going for a Friday deadline. I do definitely want to do WFM last though. My tradition, where I can, is to listen to a band's previous album the evening before I get the new one.

As for Paradox Hotel, I followed along with a blog post of someone doing a track-by-track analysis of the album, which certainly helped me get a grip on the album's concept. I really like Monsters and Men. I find Bavarian Skies a bit weird. Why would anyone sing from the pov of Hitler? And are we supposed to interpret the return of that same lowered voice in Paradox Hotel as Hitler getting a staff job at said hotel?

If you ever find out what that blog post was going over PH track-by-track, I'd love to read it some time!

I forgot to mention that this was the only proper TFK studio album to feature Marcus Lillequist, and while he isn't as jazzy and flashy as Zoltan, he suited the music very properly. He also worked on a few of of the band members' solo albums and side projects, like a couple of Tomas Bodin albums (I AM, and Eggs & Dogs' YOU ARE), Karmakanic (In A Perfect World), and Roine Stolt (Wall Street Voodoo, a personal favorite of mine). So while he didn't record any more studio albums with TFK proper, his band mates definitely put him to good use on other albums (which was also the case for both Jamie and Zoltan at other points in time as well).

But speaking of Zoltan, I'll be going over TSONE tomorrow at some point, which features the return of Zoltan behind the drums, but just for one more album (and not even on the subsequent tour), but it was definitely a great performance from what I recall - but more on that tomorrow!

-Marc.

[RoeDent]

https://theprogmind.com/2018/02/23/album-spotlight-the-flower-kings-paradox-hotel/

I should have done that. There we go.

Carried on with BITWOA earlier this morning.

[The Letter M]

https://theprogmind.com/2018/02/23/album-spotlight-the-flower-kings-paradox-hotel/

I should have done that. There we go.

Carried on with BITWOA earlier this morning.

Thanks for sharing that, it was very informative! I remember when PH finally clicked with me, the concept behind the album made sense and it became all the more enjoyable for me, and it still is to this day.

And now on The Sum Of No Evil, which I have listened to in my own personal expanded track list for over a decade now, which begins with the epic "Love Is The Only Answer", set as the opener in the prog tradition of opening albums with a side-length epic. It also creates a book-end effect with my LP1/CD1, which closes with "The River", where the epic's title lyrics are repeated at the end. I'd say LITOA is one of the band's better epics, definitely a step above "Monsters & Men", and it features some great drumming by Zoltan.  I love the little nods to "The Flower King" in there as well.

Following the epic, I had the four short tracks, "Trading My Soul"/"Regal Divers"/"Turn The Stone"/"The River", which creates a nice run of songs that are all quite different from the epic, but have a nice flow to them. Of those four, I'd say the stand-out track is "Turn The Stone", featuring some great vocals by Hasse.

My second LP/CD cut of TSONE starts with the original tracklisting's opener, "One More Time", which is one of the band's better songs in the 10-15 minute range, and features one fun middle section that has a very classic TFK feel to it. Following that is "The Sum Of No Reason", the sort-of title track to the album, and is probably the heaviest and darkest track on the album with its driving guitar riffs. It also features the return of some motifs from LITOA, and I always do enjoy when they do that on their albums.

Next is a quirky instrumental, which every TFK always seems to have at least one of, and then the final track, "Life In Motion", which goes through quite a few moods in its 12:34 run time, but it is a suitable closer. Is it just me or is there a faint vocal quote from "Mommy Leave A Light On" around 7:58-8:00?

Also, somewhere on the album, and I can't immediately recall where, there is a keyboard quote of "There Is More To This World". Given how much closer they were to bringing back their classic TFK sound, it didn't surprise me that they'd sneak in nods to those older songs in there, but I didn't think it would be their last album for five years before going on hiatus, especially with lyrics closing the album like "It's like coming home again". It seemed like the band were on a run, releasing two albums in two consecutive years. Imagine my heartbreak when it would happen again in 2012/2013, which is why I am hoping the current line-up can stick it out past 2020.

Over-all, TSONE is one of my upper-middle-tier albums. Not full of greatness, but definitely worth listening to. I remember instantly liking it when it came out, but back then, I was also kind of let down by Paradox Hotel, so for me, it was a return to form for the band, but even after coming around on PH, TSONE still holds up for me. I know some folks don't like it as much, but for me, it's a top-half TFK album - where I place it exactly? We'll find out once I get through this discography listen, and maybe a few weeks after I let Islands sink in.

-Marc.

[The Letter M]

After a five year hiatus (in which Roine rejoined with Transatlantic and formed Agents Of Mercy, and the other TFK members doing other projects), the band re-united and released Banks Of Eden. When it was announced, I was definitely excited for their return, but as the years have gone on, I've never found myself particularly enamored by BOE as a whole. The opening epic is alright, though probably one of my least favorite side-length epics by the band. I actually find myself enjoying some of the bonus disc songs more than the ones on the album proper, like "Fireghosts" and "Going Up".

I'm not sure if I ever posted it here, but I also did a re-working of the BOE tracklist that re-inserts the bonus disc songs into the album, which made it a bit better IMO.
Numbers
Illuminati
For The Love Of Gold
LoLines
Pandemonium
Fireghosts
For Those About To Drown
Going Up
Rising The Imperial

I do enjoy the reprise at the end of the album of similar musical and lyrical themes from Numbers, so that's kinda neat. But between BOE and Desolation Rose, I think I prefer the latter, though more on that tomorrow.

-Marc.

[kirksnosehair]

Honestly, The Flower Kings haven't released an album that blew my mind since Unfold The Future, which I think was their creative zenith. 


I kind of feel the same way about Banks of Eden and even more so about Desolation Rose - they're both good albums but I wouldn't call them essential. 


It's still way too early to know where this latest album will fall on the spectrum, but after two listens I think it's relatively on par with BOE and DR. 


It's a good album, but nothing mind-blowing. 

[425]

For The Love Of Old

A song about Roine's dalliances in Swedish retirement homes?

[The Letter M]

For The Love Of Old

A song about Roine's dalliances in Swedish retirement homes?

LOL  oops...fixed it now!

-Marc.

[425]

Well, either way, you inspired me to listen to the Banks of Eden bonus tracks for the first time (I only got this album a few months ago), and I'm quite enjoying them. I especially liked Fireghosts.

[DTA]

Well, either way, you inspired me to listen to the Banks of Eden bonus tracks for the first time (I only got this album a few months ago), and I'm quite enjoying them. I especially liked Fireghosts.

The bonus songs on that album were all really cool. I like Going Up especially but Fireghosts is great too

[RoeDent]

I fell in love with Numbers almost immediately; it is definitely one of my favourite TFK epics. The rest of the album is not quite as memorable imo. My favourite of the other tracks is probably For Those About to Drown.

[The Letter M]

Like I said in my post yesterday, I enjoy Desolation Rose quite a bit more than Banks Of Eden. All bonus tracks included, it's only 16 minutes longer than BOE, but I feel like it's a more cohesive album, with a lot of lyrical and musical themes spread throughout that make it feel like a complete package and less like a just a collection of songs. "Tower ONE" is a fantastic opener, and songs like "Dark Fascist Skies", the title track, "The Resurrected Judas", and "Silent Masses" are easily the highlights of the album, but as a whole, it's thoroughly enjoyable to my ears, especially in my remixed track list that re-inserts all the bonus disc tracks, to give it a more classic-TFK feel with all the instrumentals and smaller pieces mixed in-between the other songs.

I think another reason I really like it is because I spun it quite a lot since it was their last new album for over six years, so it's gotten a lot of playtime for me, and is probably the reason I've grown to like it more than BOE (which had a year to sit with me before DR came out). After this album, Roine would go back to Transatlantic for a couple of years, then do the Anderson/Stolt album, as well as The Sea Within, and it seemed like each venture had diminishing returns as far as the sound I was craving from Roine. His return to TFK-style music with Manifesto Of An Alchemist was a welcome return, but it wasn't quite TFK as I knew it, but then a year after that, Waiting For Miracles would come, but more on that tomorrow.

By next week, I'll probably get into Islands enough to decide where it might initially rank in my TFK album rankings. I've been digging it so far, but I definitely need more listens.

-Marc.

[Fritzinger]

Banks Of Eden and Desolation Rose have been getting a lot of shit since they've been released and I think that's not quite fair. Still, while I'm usually an album listener, I have always been a "I like this song especially, while this one doesn't do too much for me"-guy when it came to The Flower Kings. And I think, Tower ONE is one of their very best songs!

[Fritzinger]

Also, I'd like to add that I think that Felix Lehrmann is an absolutely amazing drummer. Zoltan is still my personal favourite in The Flower Kings, but Felix is just as good.

He plays in a session band with my former teacher Martin Miller:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhJEcRx6CXc&t=1452s

By the way, this is how drums should sound in my opinion.

[romdrums]

Also, I'd like to add that I think that Felix Lehrmann is an absolutely amazing drummer. Zoltan is still my personal favourite in The Flower Kings, but Felix is just as good.

He plays in a session band with my former teacher Martin Miller:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhJEcRx6CXc&t=1452s

By the way, this is how drums should sound in my opinion.

Yes.  That's why I bought a DW Purpleheart kit when I had the chance.  Amazing sounding drums!!

[The Letter M]

After another long hiatus, The Flower Kings returned in 2019 with a new double album, the 84-minute Waiting For Miracles. For me, this felt like a solid return to form for the band, and for Roine, who had done plenty of side-projects in the years between.

This was definitely the start of a new era for the band as they had replaced long-time keyboardist Tomas Bodin with Zach Kamins, who's track "House Of Cards" opens the album. The cynical part of me thinks they opened the album with this short piece to kind of say "hey, here's our new keyboard player, isn't he good?" Zach also wrote the film-score-ish "Ascending To The Stars", which doesn't sound too out of place on a TFK album, given Roine's love for symphonic elements. Two of the highlights here are definitely the two longest tracks, "Miracles For America" and "Vertigo", but I also enjoy "The Rebel Circus", co-penned by Roine and new drummer Mirko DeMaio, who is as adequate of a drummer as any in TFK history. "We Were Always Here" sounds like the band reaffirming its place in prog to their fans, and reminding us that, while they hadn't put out any new albums for 6 years, they were still around (doing other things). It's a very classic-sounding TFK track with the typical uplifting and positive vibes, but then it's followed by the oddly unique "Busking At Brobank", which closes the album in a short-track manner the same as it opened.

Over-all, WFM has been an enjoyable album to revisit over the last year since its release, and it's hard to believe Islands has come out less than a year after WFM. I think, if you enjoyed WFM, Islands will be right up your alley, though my preliminary thoughts on Islands leads me to believe it might have some better material. I'll try to give further thoughts on Islands throughout the weekend, possibly write up a track-by-track review if I'm feeling up for it. It's definitely contender for AOTY for me already!

-Marc.

[HOF]

Just realized it’s release day. We’ll see if the mail comes through today. Not very hopeful the way mail is going in the US, even though it did ship already.

[The Letter M]

Just realized it’s release day. We’ll see if the mail comes through today. Not very hopeful the way mail is going in the US, even though it did ship already.

Where did you order from? I was surprised how fast mine came from Roine's web store, even without shipment notifications, as I got mine only a day or two after others in the US had started getting theirs in the TFK Facebook group I'm in.

-Marc.

[HOF]

Just realized it’s release day. We’ll see if the mail comes through today. Not very hopeful the way mail is going in the US, even though it did ship already.

Where did you order from? I was surprised how fast mine came from Roine's web store, even without shipment notifications, as I got mine only a day or two after others in the US had started getting theirs in the TFK Facebook group I'm in.

-Marc.

Like a not very good fan, from Amazon. They usually come through pretty quick with shipment, and it appears to have gone out on time.

[The Letter M]

Just realized it’s release day. We’ll see if the mail comes through today. Not very hopeful the way mail is going in the US, even though it did ship already.

Where did you order from? I was surprised how fast mine came from Roine's web store, even without shipment notifications, as I got mine only a day or two after others in the US had started getting theirs in the TFK Facebook group I'm in.

-Marc.

Like a not very good fan, from Amazon. They usually come through pretty quick with shipment, and it appears to have gone out on time.

Ahh okay, well hopefully you get your album quickly and safely! Did your order include an Auto-Rip from Amazon as well? If you're dying to listen to the album today, I think it's up on YouTube already anyway. I went there earlier this morning to check "Hidden Angles" and sure enough, the track has the same skip/glitch at 0:41 that my CD has, so it's definitely an issue with the original audio file they used for producing the discs, which is unfortunate. I wonder if the vinyl has the same issue...

-Marc.

[darkshade]

I fell a little behind, I'm finishing up Paradox Hotel now. Like many, I wasn't into this album at first. It definitely grew on me over time, to the point where I do enjoy it all the way through. The best tunes have been my favorites since I first heard it, like End on a High Note, Minor Giant Steps, even Monsters and Men I liked right away, but it definitely is a grower. I do like the vibe on the album, has a bit of a dark, melancholic feel on most tunes. This is my rainy day Flower Kings album, whereas I usually enjoy their music on nice sunny days. I like the reversed track list feel as well, like the last song should have been first, M&M last. Out side of those songs, I don't usually put on any other individual songs, I think they all work best in the context of the album.

Band Burnout is real, but for some reason, when a band I love is releasing a new album, I get REALLY into them again, so burnout is kind of difficult for me, and for The Flower Kings, their albums are so different from each other in some ways that I don't really get too burned out by them, especially if I listen to them in chronological order. It's a musical journey that I always enjoy going on when a band is releasing a new album, hearing their musical development through the years, and it has been quite a while since I've heard most of the TFK albums in full, so this has been a fun adventure for me.

-Marc.

It was also being a little busy and caught up in RL stuff last weekend, combined with wanting a day off as well. TFK is very intense music and listening to full albums requires my full attention with no distractions.

[RoeDent]

That glitch is on Spotify as well, but it's not enough for it to annoy me, especially if I stop reading about how annoying it is on here.

Something annoying is how Amazon (don't tell me how to live my life) doesn't have the disc like it normally would now it's released. I'm put off getting it now cos it might not be normal prime thing, so it won't come next day like stuff should

[HOF]

That glitch is on Spotify as well, but it's not enough for it to annoy me, especially if I stop reading about how annoying it is on here.

Something annoying is how Amazon (don't tell me how to live my life) doesn't have the disc like it normally would now it's released. I'm put off getting it now cos it might not be normal prime thing, so it won't come next day like stuff should

Huh, I’m seeing it still in stock with Prime and free delivery.

Also, I do have the download, but Amazon has somehow made it really hard to download it now. There used to be a “download now” option on your order, and it’s gone. Only way I see to download it is to go through Amazon Music and download the individual tracks. Mine is out for delivery today, so I think I’ll just wait (I could stream it anyway if I wanted).

[RoeDent]

When I checked earlier, the main version they highlighted was a second-hand or marketplace one with pnp. Their own version was under "used and new".

[kirksnosehair]

So anyway, the album Islands officially drops today and I've had a chance to listen to it about half a dozen times since I got it last week.  I have to be honest, I don't dislike it, but I don't find it to be particularly interesting or engaging.  It's kind of boring in several places.  And is it just me or is this the mellowest album they've ever released?  Where are the riffs?  I'm thinking back over their catalog and there's just nothing on this album that compares to albums like, say, Retropolis or Space Revolver.  There are some good songs here, but overall I find the album a bit disappointing.  Very little energy here and the guitars have taken a back seat for the most part. 

[darkshade]

For me, the band lost something after TSoNE with that first hiatus. I did like the last album based on one album though. Excited to listen to Islands soon.

[The Letter M]

So anyway, the album Islands officially drops today and I've had a chance to listen to it about half a dozen times since I got it last week.  I have to be honest, I don't dislike it, but I don't find it to be particularly interesting or engaging.  It's kind of boring in several places.  And is it just me or is this the mellowest album they've ever released?  Where are the riffs?  I'm thinking back over their catalog and there's just nothing on this album that compares to albums like, say, Retropolis or Space Revolver.  There are some good songs here, but overall I find the album a bit disappointing.  Very little energy here and the guitars have taken a back seat for the most part.

I will agree that it is a fairly mellow album, less heavy and guitar driven than previous ones, not a lot of guitar riffs. I do enjoy a lot of the melodic parts from Kamins and Stolt, and there are some great grooves from Reingold/DeMaio throughout the album, but yeah, it's pretty mellow over-all, but I don't hate it for that.

I've writte my first draft of a song-by-song review, and there are definitely pieces that I have more to say than others, simply because some of the songs are just kind of there, while others stand out a bit more, but I think everything kind of works better listened to as a whole, as Roine says. No, it's not "Garden Of Dreams" levels of listen-as-a-whole-epic, but there are definitely smatterings of repeated melodies and musical/lyrical themes throughout, and it seems every time I listen through the whole album, I pick up on something new, but it'll take a long while for me to really dig into every piece and get a feel for the whole album.

I definitely want to listen to it more over the weekend when I can, and then I'll probably post my review here on Monday. I wlll say, though, as I have been listening to it this afternoon with the booklet in hand, I've noticed that there are a LOT of Kamins pieces on the album, either written by himself or with Stolt. I almost feel like Roine is still trying to push Zach as being an integral part of the band since Tomas was let go. That isn't to say Zach doesn't deserve his time in the spot light, and he really does add a lot to the band's sound, especially on this new album. I think he and Roine have a good chemistry going, and his arrangements really give some of the songs some good oomph. Between Kamins and DeMaio, I think the former has been the better newcomer to the band, but DeMaio definitely serves the songs very well, he just isn't as flashy as Zoltan was with the band.

-Marc.