Artist: THE FLOWER KINGS
Album: "THE SUM OF NO EVIL (CD)"

Year: 2007
EAN/UPS: 5052205042922
Media type: CD

First a brief note on the album title and its slightly unusual history, because initially, the new Flower Kings opus was to be entitled simply ‘Love’. Main composer and producer Roine Stolt says… “I intended to call the recording just ‘Love’ until I read with a surprise that The Beatles were releasing a new album with that title, so I guess the universe wasn't big for that much ґlove` in one year. So by twisting the idea a bit, I came up with the alternative title The Sum Of No Evil, which sort of equals ‘Love’. It also gave us a great platform for using some of Ed Unitsky`s surreal art for the cover, that ґfish-bus` is funny and in tune with the hippie and flower power vibe but yet a bit of surreal Monty Python style too. There are way too many dark serious melodramatic bands out there, we wanted to be the colourful, friendly alternative.”

Their latest album, The Sum Of No Evil, is a perfect example of a timeless prog rock release that easily lives up to classics such as Lamb Lies Down On Broadway or Yessongs. Stolt refers to the album as “Flower Kings to the max”, explaining: “We wanted to make a real hardcore symphonic rock and prog album. We took away all the pop, the jazz and the experimental or ambient stuff and concentrated on the pure prog that we do best.” An apt description of the almost 75 (!) minutes of playing time and the six expansive tracks. “To make all this a real trip for the prog rock fan we have worked in a studio that specializes on 60's &70's vintage recording equipment, plus we used lots of real vintage analogue keyboards, Hammond organ, Wurlitzer, Rhodes and grand pianos plus lots of Mini Moog and old tube amplifiers for the guitars,” says Stolt.

“Any fan of early 70’s prog up until the first UK album should love this album,” The Flower Kings mastermind reckons of the effective depth of The Sum Of No Evil. “The trademarks are the melodies, the mix of intricate, busy prog-fusion and grand symphonic pieces. The album has some hints of Stardust We Are and Retropolis perhaps, but also has a lot in common with the two Transatlantic studio albums.” The consistency with which The Flower Kings have translated their vision of atmospheric and multi-faceted rock music is unmistakeable. More than ever before, the musicians have relied on their self-imposed “purity law”, concentrating entirely on the symphonic and classic prog rock ideas. “I suppose the way I write is the trademark,” says Stolt. “I mean, you cannot get away from yourself, I cannot change that much. As usual I had way too much material. I also invited the rest of the band to contribute their songs, but this time they didn’t come up with much, they just seemed all very happy working mainly on what I had written, as it was sort of just what we were aiming for, it had all the elements that take us to Flower Kings to the max.”

Roine is referring to epic numbers such as the multi-layered ‘One More Time’ or the accessible, atmospherically dense ‘Trading My Soul’. At the centre of the album is the almost 25-minute ‘Love Is The Only Answer’, an eventful journey through the history of this musical genre, with contemporary arrangements and topical themes with both Stolt and Hasse Frцberg contributing vocals. “As always, my lyrics try to be uplifting, but they also try to understand every angle of human behaviour and portray us as we are: earthbound, yet divine.” On the other hand, there’s the unusual ‘Flight 999 Brimstone Air’, an instrumental track contributed by keyboardist Tomas Bodin. “It has quite a weird middle section, where our drummer Zoltan really shines in a sort of solo free-tempo thing, while bassist Jonas Reingold plays an ostinato in a mean atonal kind of Zappa/Crimson style and percussionist Hasse Bruniusson adds all his audio weirdness. Not easy to play, not easy to dance to but we wanna keep the audience on their toes, because that's the spirit of progressive rock.”

The discussion about the pure doctrine of prog rock is as old as the genre itself. Starting with King Crimson through Camel to Marillion, it has always been debatable exactly how progressive prog rock should be to deserve its name. For Roine Stolt, guitarist, vocalist and composer with Swedish band, The Flower Kings, all these considerations are unnecessary. Over the years, Stolt has developed his own, unmistakeable songwriting style, a unique signature that leaves no doubt and has found countless fans all over the world. Although the contemporary scene may be developing into a tougher direction, the media demanding innovation and new impulses, The Flower Kings are always at their best when they don’t give a damn about supposedly new trends but simply continue to do what they do best, grand vintage style symphonic prog rock and this album proves it, they indeed are the Kings of prog 2007, by a good margin.

TRACKLIST CD1 :

01. One More Time
02. Love Is The Only Answer
03. Trading My Soul
04. The Sum Of No Reason
05. Flight 999 Brimstone Air
06. Life In Motion

LINE-UP:

Roine Stolt (guitar, vocals)
Tomas Bodin (keyboards)
Jonas Reingold (bass)
Hasse Froberg (guitar, vocals)
Zoltan Csуrsz (drums)

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