Flower Kings Official Thread

[RoeDent]

Yep, and in the same week as the new Southern Empire album as well. Big week for us symphonic prog enjoyers!

[The Letter M]

Yep, and in the same week as the new Southern Empire album as well. Big week for us symphonic prog enjoyers!

There's a new Southern Empire album coming? In the same year as the new Unitopia? Well, I'll believe Unitopia's new album when I have it in my hands, as they haven't set a release date for it yet.

-Marc.

[KevShmev]

I don't get as jazzed for their new records as I did in years past, but a new TFK album is always on my list of things to check out. 

[Fritzinger]

Yep, and in the same week as the new Southern Empire album as well. Big week for us symphonic prog enjoyers!

There's a new Southern Empire album coming? In the same year as the new Unitopia? Well, I'll believe Unitopia's new album when I have it in my hands, as they haven't set a release date for it yet.

-Marc.

A friend and I are in contact with Mark Trueack, they have had some health-related and financial problems that keeps pushing the album back. We'll see if the autumn tour will really happen. But the album has been nearly done for a while now, it's in the final mixing stages. I'm not sure when it will come out eventually, but I think you can "believe" in it with good conscience

[MinistroRaven]

The video can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c23lFSB0Mfk
 
Pre-Order Look At You Now , out on Sept 8th, here: https://TheFlowerKings.lnk.to/LookAtYouNow

The Flower Kings comments on the new release: “Here’s news from veterans THE FLOWER KINGS - Album Nr. 16! Like a ghost ship sailing in from faraway places - a set of new songs leave their mark on 2023 - A year most of us will remember for the wars, the migration & refugees, the wildfires, the lost youth, the melting ice, the economic crisis, too many dead heroes, the political unrest. But also, a year that opens to possibilities, re-birth - new ways of thinking - We think this new album from The Kings of the North gives a bit of both.”

Look At You Now Tracklist:
 
1.Beginner's Eyes
2.The Dream
3.Hollow Man
4.Dr. Ribedeaux
5.Mother Earth
6.The Queen
7.The Light in Your Eyes
7.Seasons End
9.Scars
10.Stronghold
11.Father Sky
12.Day For Peace
13.Look At You Now

Ltd. CD 6-Panel Digipak
Ltd. Gatefold Black 2LP 180g Vinyl
Ltd. Gatefold Transp. Orange/Black Marbled 2LP 180g Vinyl – Limited to only 500 copies
Ltd. Gatefold Transp. Blue 2LP 180g Vinyl – Limited to only 300 copies
Ltd. Gatefold Transp. Sunflower Yellow 2LP 180g Vinyl – Limited to only 300 copies
Digital Album

Roine Stolt adds on the album release: “The first track out - and likewise the opening track - is “Beginner’s Eyes”. A song that has its origin in the very early 90's - a time before The Flower Kings were gathering - but now finally and finely developed and recorded properly. A happy tune with plenty of flowery sunny themes Roine & Hasse vocals united - and a good groove, cool Hammond and Moog blipping' and bloppin' sounds, over a solid beat from Mirko & Michael. There's no doubt that The Flower Kings plays no 'style' - or in no league - other that their own - a style they created and crafted carefully for more than 25 years strong. The album is a celebration of the imagination and craft of those who lead rather than follow. Artwork came in like magic from Joey Tessier - a world of magic and flowery creatures.”

Remember to catch The Flower Kings on their upcoming EU Autumn Tour:
 
13.07.2023 NO-Brönnöysund - Rootsfestival
16.09.2023 SWE-Uppsala - TFK Fan Day & Release Party
17.09.2023 SWE-Uppsala - TFK Fan Day & Release Party
04.10.2023 DK-Kopenhagen – Beta
05.10.2023 DE-Berlin – Frannz-Club
06.10.2023 PL- Poznań – 2Progi
07.10.2023 PL-Rzgów - GOK
08.10.2023 PL-Piekary Śląskie - OK Andaluzja
10.10.2023 CZ-Olomouc – Bounty Rock Café
11.10.2023 HU-Budapest – Analog Music Hall
12.10.2023 SLK-Bratislava – Majestic Music Club
14.10.2023 IT-Borgomanero – Teatro Rosmini
15.10.2023 DE-Regensburg – Evenhalle Airport
16.10.2023 DE-Augsburg - Spectrum
17.10.2023 CH-Pratteln – Z7
19.10.2023 UK-Southhampton - The 1865
20.10.2023 UK-London - Powerhaus
23.10.2023 BE-Verviers – Spirit Of 66
24.10.2023 DE-Aschaffenburg – Colos-Saal
25.10.2023 DE-Köln – Yard Club
26.10.2023 DE-Übach-Palenberg - Rockfabrik
27.10.2023 NL-Uden – De Pul
28.10.2023 NL-Zoetermeer - Boerderij
29.10.2023 DE-Hamburg – Logo
 
 
The Flower Kings line-up:
Roine Stolt - Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards, Percussion
Hasse Fröberg - Vocals
Michael Stolt - Bass, Vocals, Keyboards (Track 5), Guitar (Track 5)
Mirko Demaio - Drums, Percussion, Keyboard (Track 12)
 
With:
Hasse Bruniusson - Percussion (Track 3)
Lalle Larsson - Synthesizers (Tracks 4,9)
Jannica Lund - Backing Vocal (Tracks 1,2,3,5,7,11,13)
Marjana Semkina - Vocal (Track 12)
Jörgen Sälde - Nylon Guitar (Track 6)
 

[HOF]

The video can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c23lFSB0Mfk
 

Sounds pretty good, even if it also seems a bit generic TFK ish.

[The Letter M]

The video can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c23lFSB0Mfk
 

Sounds pretty good, even if it also seems a bit generic TFK ish.

Yeah, it's alright. I listened to the track this morning before work since it was up on YouTube as an audio-only version before Noon EST, and it's got that TFK-vibe, but I just don't really feel "wow'ed" immediately by any TFK post-Desolation Rose. Maybe that's just a me-thing, or maybe I just miss Tomas Bodin, but perhaps the single will sound better in the context of the whole album.

Not counting bonus tracks, this is the band's shortest album since Desolation Rose, but if you count the bonus tracks released on DR and BOE, then this is their shortest collection of studio songs released as an album *ever*, beating Retropolis' 69:16 (and even that had two B-Sides that were cut from the album). Not saying album length has anything to do with album quality, but it's interesting that they've scaled back so much after three (barely) double albums. Hopefully this ends up being a nice, concise and "all killer no filler" album of 13 songs.

Here's the lasercd pre-order page for LAYN for anyone wanting to order it!

https://www.lasercd.com/search_results?fulltext=flower%20kings%20look%20at%20you%20now%20preorder

-Marc.

[KevShmev]

The song was okay, but I was dismayed to see that there is no regular keyboard player on this album.  Ugh.

[Fritzinger]

The song was okay, but I was dismayed to see that there is no regular keyboard player on this album.  Ugh.

And no Jonas Reingold. This is the least excited I have been for a TFK release in over 10 years, and that’s saying something.

[The Letter M]

The song was okay, but I was dismayed to see that there is no regular keyboard player on this album.  Ugh.

And no Jonas Reingold. This is the least excited I have been for a TFK release in over 10 years, and that’s saying something.

No Jonas and no dedicated keyboardist. It's like Roine went all the way back to the album The Flower King, assuming Roine handled the keys on LAYN.

-Marc.

[DTA]

I’d love to see some sort of longer epic but I guess Roine just isn’t into them anymore. I know it’s stupid to judge albums based on track times, but this is the 5th album in a row with all relatively shorter songs, and all of them have felt a bit samey because of that. I’m always optimistic they’ll release a latter day masterpiece so I’m hoping this is it

[RoeDent]

That said, the title track is by a few minutes the longest of the post-Bodin era.

[MinistroRaven]

Who wants to review this one?

[MinistroRaven]

“The Dream” their newest song can be listened to HERE.
 
The video, by 12InchMedia can be seen here:
https://youtu.be/JGeRCuFv3H8

[hefdaddy42]

“The Dream” their newest song can be listened to HERE.
 
The video, by 12InchMedia can be seen here:
https://youtu.be/JGeRCuFv3H8

I'm listening to the new single on Spotify.

It also has a radio edit of the song.  Who the fuck is that for?  What radio station is going to play the Flower Kings? 

[Orbert]

I think "radio edit" is getting to be a historical term.  Basically it's just a trimmed-down version of the song, a more digestible version for people who might want to check out the band without having to sit through an entire epic.

[The Letter M]

I think "radio edit" is getting to be a historical term.  Basically it's just a trimmed-down version of the song, a more digestible version for people who might want to check out the band without having to sit through an entire epic.

Cut to 3:29 down from 4:37, such an epic length.

But yeah, in the prog genre, I don't think many folks are going to share "radio edits" to prospective fans to get them into a genre that prides itself in long-form pieces over 4 minutes long. And I certainly don't think editing out a minute and eight seconds is going to make-or-break any new fans' opinions on a band like The Flower Kings. If anything, that's 1:08 they're missing out on!

-Marc.

[HOF]

Maybe there are some radio stations in Europe who might play it? But I’m sure it’s more of an alternate version just for the heck of it.

[Orbert]

I couldn't find anywhere that mentioned the actual length of the track.

[The Letter M]

Maybe there are some radio stations in Europe who might play it? But I’m sure it’s more of an alternate version just for the heck of it.

That's possible, and I'm sure there are online streaming podcasts or radio shows that would use the "edit" versions of prog songs for airplay.

As for the new single itself, after one listen, I was left wanting more. One of the comments on the video said "I can't wait to hear the other 20 minutes of this song!" and I had a good chuckle. Am I the only one who is sad that Roine hasn't put out a grandiose epic since 2012's Banks Of Eden and the song "Numbers"? I'm not counting the Anderson/Stolt stuff because I'm sure the epic length of those songs could be largely attributed to Jon and not Roine. That album always felt like an Anderson solo album with Stolt playing some part, at least to me anyway.

I guess we'll never get another "Stardust We Are", "The Truth Will Set You Free", "Love Is The Only Answer", or even "Numbers" from Roine Stolt ever again. I swear up and down that he's teased working on an epic length piece for future TFK albums for YEARS now but longest song since "Numbers" has been the opening track on the subsequent album, "Tower ONE" on Desolation Rose, clocking in at 13:39.

I know, I know, song length isn't EVERY thing, but I feel like with TFK, the sprawling epics held some of Roine's best writing and they helped make a name for the band, carrying on the kind of torch that Yes was known for in the 70s. Thankfully, I've discovered other bands in recent years that have developed lengthy epics on their own and they sort of fill that void in my musical heart, but I'll still miss the Roine Stolt epic.

I couldn't find anywhere that mentioned the actual length of the track.

I found the track lengths over at Prog Archives, and they seem legit as I remember seeing them before on pre-order pages at various websites when they went up. The longest track on the album is the title track, closing the album with 12:00 of music.


-Marc.

[gzarruk]

As for the new single itself, after one listen, I was left wanting more. One of the comments on the video said "I can't wait to hear the other 20 minutes of this song!" and I had a good chuckle. Am I the only one who is sad that Roine hasn't put out a grandiose epic since 2012's Banks Of Eden and the song "Numbers"? I'm not counting the Anderson/Stolt stuff because I'm sure the epic length of those songs could be largely attributed to Jon and not Roine. That album always felt like an Anderson solo album with Stolt playing some part, at least to me anyway.

I guess we'll never get another "Stardust We Are", "The Truth Will Set You Free", "Love Is The Only Answer", or even "Numbers" from Roine Stolt ever again. I swear up and down that he's teased working on an epic length piece for future TFK albums for YEARS now but longest song since "Numbers" has been the opening track on the subsequent album, "Tower ONE" on Desolation Rose, clocking in at 13:39.

I know, I know, song length isn't EVERY thing, but I feel like with TFK, the sprawling epics held some of Roine's best writing and they helped make a name for the band, carrying on the kind of torch that Yes was known for in the 70s. Thankfully, I've discovered other bands in recent years that have developed lengthy epics on their own and they sort of fill that void in my musical heart, but I'll still miss the Roine Stolt epic.

I guess TA's Kaleidoscope doesn't count?

[The Letter M]

As for the new single itself, after one listen, I was left wanting more. One of the comments on the video said "I can't wait to hear the other 20 minutes of this song!" and I had a good chuckle. Am I the only one who is sad that Roine hasn't put out a grandiose epic since 2012's Banks Of Eden and the song "Numbers"? I'm not counting the Anderson/Stolt stuff because I'm sure the epic length of those songs could be largely attributed to Jon and not Roine. That album always felt like an Anderson solo album with Stolt playing some part, at least to me anyway.

I guess we'll never get another "Stardust We Are", "The Truth Will Set You Free", "Love Is The Only Answer", or even "Numbers" from Roine Stolt ever again. I swear up and down that he's teased working on an epic length piece for future TFK albums for YEARS now but longest song since "Numbers" has been the opening track on the subsequent album, "Tower ONE" on Desolation Rose, clocking in at 13:39.

I know, I know, song length isn't EVERY thing, but I feel like with TFK, the sprawling epics held some of Roine's best writing and they helped make a name for the band, carrying on the kind of torch that Yes was known for in the 70s. Thankfully, I've discovered other bands in recent years that have developed lengthy epics on their own and they sort of fill that void in my musical heart, but I'll still miss the Roine Stolt epic.

I guess TA's Kaleidoscope doesn't count?

The album or the song? The song has parts that are definitely written by Stolt, like "Black Gold", but not the whole song. If you listen to Neal's Kaleidoscope Demos and watch the making-of documentary, you can get an idea of how much material Roine presented to the band and ended up using on the final album, and it's about as much as BAF. All of the TA epics have been collaborative efforts anyway, whereas the TFK epics all seem credited to Stolt alone: "Stardust We Are", "I Am The Sun", "The Truth Will Set You Free", "Love Supreme", "Driver's Seat", "Monsters And Men", "Love Is The Only Answer", and "Numbers".

-Marc.

[RoeDent]

Thankfully, I've discovered other bands in recent years that have developed lengthy epics on their own and they sort of fill that void in my musical heart

Any examples?

[Mladen]

I've finally checked out Unfold the future after years of being intimidated by its length. There's some really good stuff in here. Is it controversial that I find Devil's playground better than The Truth will set you free? I feel like people talk about The Truth will set you free more than they talk about the album closer.

[The Letter M]

Thankfully, I've discovered other bands in recent years that have developed lengthy epics on their own and they sort of fill that void in my musical heart

Any examples?

My recent discovery of Mystery has given me some epics to enjoy. They remind me a bit of Genesis and Transatlantic, even a bit of Dream Theater, so they're not quite TFK-ish/Stolt-y in nature, but as far as new (to me) music with epics, they satisfy. Most of their albums have at least one epic in the 10-20 minute range, and seven of them are over 15 minutes long, so lots of epic-y goodness. I've been on a big binge of them all summer (as noted in the Mystery thread I began a couple weeks ago).

-Marc.

[HOF]

For the record, I enjoyed the new TFK song.

[DTA]

I've finally checked out Unfold the future after years of being intimidated by its length. There's some really good stuff in here. Is it controversial that I find Devil's playground better than The Truth will set you free? I feel like people talk about The Truth will set you free more than they talk about the album closer.

I greatly prefer The Devil's Playground. More interesting overall, and oddly enough, The Truth is a bit overplayed for me.

[MinistroRaven]

I couldn't find anywhere that mentioned the actual length of the track.

I found the track lengths over at Prog Archives, and they seem legit as I remember seeing them before on pre-order pages at various websites when they went up. The longest track on the album is the title track, closing the album with 12:00 of music.


-Marc.

Here's the actual track lengths as shown on my promo of the album:



Prog Archives:


Almost accurate what they have on their website.

[The Letter M]

This happens all the time. The press releases tend to get early info on track times, or they use the vinyl master and sometimes those are longer/shorter than the CD/Digital track lengths, and sometimes the final mix/master just ends up being different than the press release.

I remember for TFK's Islands, the CD had shorter track times because the songs all crossfaded, but on some digital versions, the songs didn't crossfade, so the tracks were technically longer by several seconds on both ends. I've seen this happen with other studio albums too, where I guess the digital version was sent out before the CD was mastered and so they have songs that aren't crossfaded, but on the CD (and presumably the vinyl), they blend into each other.

-Marc.

[RoeDent]

I noticed that on By Royal Decree as well. The songs crossfaded into each other on the CD version but on Spotify they don't.

[RoeDent]

Cool little details I've spotted on the 2022 remaster of Unfold the Future. The little preview of the opening motif of Devil's Playground in the first few minutes of Christianopel, and spotted today: in the song Devil's Playground, during the long instrumental break in the middle, is a callback to "The truth will find its way..." section of The Truth Will Set You Free.

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

so glad there's a flower kings thread here! huge fan. can't wait for the new album to drop soon

[MinistroRaven]

Yep, and in the same week as the new Southern Empire album as well. Big week for us symphonic prog enjoyers!

There's a new Southern Empire album coming? In the same year as the new Unitopia? Well, I'll believe Unitopia's new album when I have it in my hands, as they haven't set a release date for it yet.

-Marc.

Our review of SE's album:
https://lotsofmuzik.com/album-review-another-world-by-southern-empire/

[MinistroRaven]

Our review of the FK's album:

https://lotsofmuzik.com/flourishing-in-full-bloom-the-flower-kings-look-at-you-now-review/

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

does it come out friday?