How does it compare to the artist's other releases
Outstanding
Value for Money
Excellent
Advantages:
The quality of Flower Kings with a dark rock edge .
Disadvantages:
Only a single album ! ! We need more !
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Tracks on CD: 1. Love Supreme A 19:23 epic of true Prog proportions. The song bounces along through a field of daisies and dances you around the room. Roine Stolt really sings his heart out on this one. You can really feel the emotions in all of the singers voices. They really gave this one their all. 2. Cosmic Circus Cosmic Circus is another song that dances us around in a field of flowers but the vocals in this song are more melodic than powerful. Its got a lovely prog pop feel that hugs you and makes you feel good. 3. Babylon This song flows so effortlessly from Cosmic Circus you hardly notice that the song has changed. Its an instrumental that gives you exactly the same emotions as Cosmic Circus, but it feels like it's still building. 4. Vampires Veiw This song starts with a really moody Church bells and quiet guitar, you can hear the wind in the background. The song slowly creeps forward with the keyboards when Daniel Gildenlow starts to sing. The first verse feels really dark and Daniels strained voice gives you the impression that this song is going to erupt into something quite special in the chorus. The chorus feels like it's not quite peaked yet, with Daniels voice softening, and then returning to the whispery strained tones of the first verse. His breathyness adds an unexpected sexiness on a Flower Kings album that you do not see coming. At the end of the song he really let's himself go and it feels like the release you have waited for all through the song. This song is not heard but more thrust upon you. It's the perfect song to play if you want to seduce someone. They won't be able to resist you! 5 Days Gone By A dark and haunting piano instrumental track that creeps around you and makes you feel like your watching a stage show from the 50's. 6. Adam and Eve This song starts off like you yould imagine the start of the day would sound, your suddenly thrust into a really rocky track with Daniel Gildenlow singing in an almost bluesy way in some parts. The tempo of the song keeps up until halfway and moves into a short melodic guitar solo midway through the first hald of the song. Your then thrown back into the hard rocky verse and the song meanders through a much more proggy feel at the end of this verse. The rest of the song continues in a very prog way with more styles than Nicky Clarke, with some really funky vocals from Roine. 7. Starlight Man I have found that the songs that Roine Stolt sings the verse always make you feel really good, like your skipping through a field of tulips i the summer, and this one is no different. The chorus is harmonic and Hans really brings it together with his powerful voice. A prog pop song that has all the ingredients of a Flower Kings song but a bit on the short side. 8. Timelines Starts off hard and fast and goes on for one minute when the song takes on a totally different feel. Roine sings blues to an acoustic guitar. The chorus picks back up in a warm prog harmonious way. The rest of the song continues on this lovely mix of bluesy verse and prog rock chorus with awesome harmonies that stop you in your tracks! Don't miss the fab bluesy guitar solo's on this track. Until the final minute which mirrors the hard and fast beginning of the song leading into the final 30 seconds which has a very dark and brooding feel. 9. Drivers Seat Another epic at 18:21 long. Typical theatrical Flower Kings song. This one flows through all of the progressive genres and more. Most people would be wild eyed at the prospect of a song almost 20 minutes long but Flower Kings seem to be able to do it with ease. And what you would expect to be really difficult listening is in reality a rollercoaster ride for your senses. Highlights of this song are Hans Froberg's vocal's, his voice really packs a punch and has such personality and depth. 10. The Blade of Cain A real emotional track with awesome guitar from Roine Stolt. This one is an instrumental.
Artists who played on the album are: Roine Stolt: Vocals, electric & acoustic guitars Tomas Bodin: Keyboards Hans Fröberg: Vocals Daniel Gildenlöw: Vocals Jonas Reingold: Basses Zoltan Csörsz: Drumkit Hasse Bruniusson: Percussion
Daniel Gildenlow makes an appearance on quite a few previous Flower Kings albums, but his input into this one is much more than before. He is frontman of the Swedish progresive rock band Pain Of Salvation. And Pain of Salvation fans may enjoy this album moreso than other Flowerkings material due to his heavy influence. Daniel Gildenlow adds a real different flavour to the flower kings in this album giving it the best of both worlds. It has the immense quality that Flower Kings fans have come to expect, with a real dark rocky edge from the input of Daniel. Even though he did not contribute with the writing it is clear that he inspired Roine to explore the deeper dark areas of his ability for this album. Its got a lovely dark brooding sound to it in a few areas, but in other songs it's back to the light funloving flower power bouncy sound that is just as fantastic. Unfortunately Daniel Gildenlow was not able to feature on the subsequent album, but we can hope for more in the future!
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How does it rate alongside the competition
Outstanding
Cover / Inlay Design and Content
Good
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