Flower Kings Official Thread

[RoeDent]

Yes, it does.

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

Yes, it does.

hell yeah!

[The Letter M]

does it come out friday?

The release date is tomorrow. My CD from LaserCD should be arriving tomorrow, so I have my weekend listening sorted! I'm only mildly excited for this. I liked WFM, loved Islands, but was only lukewarm on BRD, so I haven't had much anticipation for LAYN, especially b without Kamins or Reingold. Maybe it'll surprise me, especially given its shorter-than-usual length for a TFK album.

-Marc.

[RoeDent]

Better first reaction than BRD here.

[HOF]

Expecting my copy in the mail today. Listening to my TFK discography on shuffle this morning to get in the mood. Don't think I've ever done something like this before, but it's amazing how well everything flows together even from the most recent and oldest albums.

[SwedishGoose]

Listened to it once..... very nice
Got goosebumps at 0:27 in "Day For Peace" when the beautiful voice of Marjana Semkina came in.

Think that is my favorite so far and not only because of Marjana (might be a bit biased as I'm one of her Patreons).

[RoeDent]

What do people think of that shock callback right at the end of the album?

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

not a bad album! i think it's better than their last couple

[HOF]

Only two songs in, but really like how the album sounds. A fuller sound than the last few albums I think.

But I'm gonna gripe (briefly) about these cheap digipacks which might push me to digital only after all. This is the second one I've gotten this year that has a very thin strip of cardboard holding the booklet, and on both of them the strip ripped away the first time I took out the booklet. I am sympathetic to environmental concerns with plastic, but the old jewel cases were so much nicer and more dependable than all this cardboard packaging we get now.

[HOF]

After a few spins, I really like the first two songs and the last song, but the middle is all a bit muddled. Also, I assume that’s Michael Stolt singing on Mother Earth which isn’t great.

[RoeDent]

Such a good album! They got their mojo back after losing their way a bit on BRD. Michael sounds great on Mother Earth! Roine and Hasse are dependable as ever on vocals; consistency.

Look at that ending though! That's the massive news from this whole thing. The callback of Welcome back to the world from the first song on their first album!!! This story ENDS where it began. Is this the end for the mighty Flower Kings? Time will tell. Yes there have been callbacks on other albums to previous albums but never the first thing we ever heard from them.

[HOF]

Such a good album! They got their mojo back after losing their way a bit on BRD. Michael sounds great on Mother Earth! Roine and Hasse are dependable as ever on vocals; consistency.

Look at that ending though! That's the massive news from this whole thing. The callback of Welcome back to the world from the first song on their first album!!! This story ENDS where it began. Is this the end for the mighty Flower Kings? Time will tell. Yes there have been callbacks on other albums to previous albums but never the first thing we ever heard from them.

Yesterday BRD played next after I finished the new one, and that first disc is still really strong in my opinion (and some of the second). I feel like this one is a little more uneven in the middle.

But speaking of call backs I noticed for the first time yesterday that one of the songs on Paradox Hotel starts out with a clip from The Flower King, which supports my opinion that that is the first The Flower Kings album.

Edit: I listened to too much TFK yesterday. The song with the call back to The Flower King is “Letter” from By Royal Decree.

[The Letter M]

So like the last few TFK albums, there's apparently a digital version with longer track lengths because the songs aren't crossfaded. That version adds up to 68:40 (seven seconds longer than the packaging says), while the CD version clocks in at 67:26 due to all the crossfading.

-Marc.

[Orbert]

Interesting.  To be honest, I think I'd prefer the non-crossfaded version.  When songs on an album segue, I always feel compelled to keep them as a single track because they were "meant" to be played that way.  Having them all run together makes for a nice continuous listening experience I suppose, but I also like the option of shuffling or just listening to individual tracks.  And if they exist as individual track, then the crossfading was introduced later, artificially, and the songs don't truly segue.

[Mladen]

Look at that ending though! That's the massive news from this whole thing. The callback of Welcome back to the world from the first song on their first album!!! This story ENDS where it began. Is this the end for the mighty Flower Kings? Time will tell. Yes there have been callbacks on other albums to previous albums but never the first thing we ever heard from them.

On their last studio album, Deep Purple put the instrumental at the very end that was a new recording of the first song on their debut way back in 1967. I thought that was a hint of an end. However, they're apparently considering yet another album. So who knows.

[Zydar]

I got chills at the very ending during the callback to World Of Adventures - my favourite TFK song.

[RoeDent]

So like the last few TFK albums, there's apparently a digital version with longer track lengths because the songs aren't crossfaded. That version adds up to 68:40 (seven seconds longer than the packaging says), while the CD version clocks in at 67:26 due to all the crossfading.

-Marc.

The crossfades are there on Spotify, for the songs that have them.

Edit: I listened to too much TFK yesterday. The song with the call back to The Flower King is “Letter” from By Royal Decree.

I did spot that, yes. Cut and spliced a bit but it's there. Another cross-album callback I spotted a while back is on Life in Motion, during one of the quiet ambient bits there's a callback to the loop in Mommy Leave the Light On.

[hefdaddy42]

Only listened once, so hard to rank or anything, but I really liked this album.

[HOF]

It starts out super strong with the first two tracks, but then you really have to wade through the rest of it to find the bright spots. They are there, but I’ve been giving it a good bit of time and having a hard time remembering much between tracks 1-2 and the final track. Which is fine, at this point I take TFK as a “if I get good vibes and nostalgia from a new album I’m happy” type band. Still, over the last 3 releases I think there are probably 3 strong single discs worth of music spread over 5.

[Mladen]

I've been spining the new album for a week now. I thought this one had potential, given that it is a single disc that isn't overloaded with material, but unfortunately, it's not sticking with me. There are ocassional pretty verses and guitar lines here and there (Scars, Mother Earth, Seasons end, Beginner's eyes), but overall, it's kind of bland and unmemorable. It will probably end up near the bottom of the pile for me.

[The Letter M]

Roine just posted this on Facebook a few hours ago:

U got Any interest in a LIVE TFK record from 2023 ? -  Interested or not  - we're going to offer a  bit of old school plastic for you to play - later this spring.  Out of a few shows recorded, one of them came out sounding surprisingly well - Pale dude - In the mixing process right now - I like what I hear - so start saving your coins.  More info  soon. 🎯😉🤑 - Be sure to catch us at the Cruise To The Edge in a few weeks - Night of the Prog Festival - Loreley Amphitheater - Crescendo festival  - and ART mania festival transylvania  - this summer. And save a few bucks for  TFK weekend 2024 !  -

Seems like he's working on a new live album from the shows they did last year!

-Marc.

[The Letter M]

Tomas Bodin, former Flower King, has just dropped a new album on Bandcamp!

https://tomasbodin.bandcamp.com/album/ambient-cooking-the-album

Haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, but looking at the credits, I see Jonas Reingold is on there, which is exciting! Happy to see Tomas still working with other members of TFK.

-Marc.

[The Letter M]

We're now just weeks away from going official about our sixth studio album. In the meantime you can always visit our official homepage or our bandcamp site to see if you feel like expanding your collection. We can also reveal that we have other news coming up soon so stay tuned. A fine week to all!

https://www.facebook.com/share/pFuv9hSBmm9TgwMe/?mibextid=oFDknk

Looks like the Musical Companion are gearing up for their next album release soon!

-Marc.

[The Letter M]

Our new album ‘Eternal Snapshots’ is now open for preorder on our Bandcamp website. It’s actually a concept album that deals with why we become who we are. Is everything predetermined? Or does everything happen just by coincidence? Hasse is celebrating forty years as a record releasing artist, so what could be better than releasing a new album. For preordering the album, click on the link below.🌻

https://hfmc.bandcamp.com/album/eternal-snapshots?fbclid=IwAR23lPV2t3aworCeaqrhsnQQL8XevIar2mnEPNWzgbp71UvusihOEuJ8ONs

New album from Hasse Froberg & Musical Companion coming on June 6th!

-Marc.

[The Letter M]

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=994844768668371&set=a.296836575135864

BIG NEWS !- ( More coming - this year will see a bundle of RoineStolt/TFK related music ) We are so happy to announce the absolute Genesis of 'The Flower King' by Roine Stolt, The start of the incredible journey - Available here for the first time on vinyl. Remastered 24bit/96kHz. Presented in a gatefold sleeve pressed in gorgeous double red splatter vinyl -
https://gep.co.uk/

Roine's The Flower King album is getting a remaster re-release! I wonder if he'll also do Hydrophonia and Wall Street Voodoo? I don't collect vinyl and I haven't bought in to all the TFK remasters/remixes, but if he does WSV on vinyl, I might get that. Absolute killer album with great guest appearances from Neal Morse and more.

-Marc.

[HOF]

Big fan of The Flower King. I like it better than Back in the World of Adventures and still think of it as the real TFK debut.

[The Letter M]

New live album is up for preorder!

From Roine's FB page:

The only time you'll ever enjoy the smell of electronics & plastic is when your computer starts heating up to the point  of exploding because you just posted secretly or freestyling 50/50 aiming at perhaps selling a few copies of that new LIVE CD that is still in the plant pressing and pressing further with your flowery friends knowing how they're playing so well and with open ears and hearts just like angels of progressive music in general ignoring what other humanoids of that ilk may or may not do to get further up the ladder of  idolimuz and wealth just to find out wealth didn't take you anywhere  - So without further ado - I present to you; officially;  THE BEST RECORD EVER MADE !  -  At your own risk feel free to Ignore this chance of a lifetime, if you just wanna go on with your boring fractured life - void of any florishing coloration or pomp and excess.  In wastelands of endless riffing and searching for that chord that NEVER materialize - you may start thinking  "oumm - maybe I should go buy that new Flower Kings LIVE album after all - it'll definitely be better spent than a night at the pub - or those shredded crazy expensive jeans that I never liked anyway. That live album may be the new standard - the epic - the modern Peter Framton 'LIVE' - or Genesis 'Seconds Out'  - or Beatles at Rooftop explosion  -  and what if I missed it ? '  -  Don't tell your friends; we won't tell  - it's 1001% safe - No Bank ID needed - No club you need to join - just go take a look - and maybe take a chance.  -  Release in a few weeks.   -   X        www.roinestolt.com  -  or at your favo mailorder or shop - if they don't have it - go tell them to get real or close shop !               Best LIVE album ever made ....according to  Yoshi - the dog and his friend, the dying bumblebee.... X

Order here - https://www.roinestolt.com/product/the-flower-kings-live-in-europe-2023-cd-digipac-preorder-new-/101?cp=true&sa=true&sbp=false&q=false

-Marc.

[RoeDent]

Roine's weird