THE FLOWER KINGS

A mere 1 hour and 15 minutes — practically an act of self-restraint. Without any sarcasm, these brilliant Swedes kept it to an hour and a quarter. Should I introduce the project or not? And is it even worth writing reviews about such albums? Once again I ask myself — perhaps I should just give a high score with no commentary? So then: five virtuoso musicians who have their own studios, release solo work, and compose only the music they themselves enjoy. Yet within this quintet, one must be singled out. THE FLOWER KINGS is above all ROINE STOLT. A glance at the booklet information is enough to understand this is truly the case: 70 of the album's 75 minutes of music were composed by him; he also recorded the main vocal and guitar parts, mixed all the material himself, and did the mastering. Even the ideas behind the booklet design were generated by him. Roine is one of the most prolific composers of our time. Over 13 years, he has composed and released more than 20 hours of music in total — 10 THE FLOWER KINGS albums and three solo discs. Well then, let us at least briefly go through the six new tracks gifted to us by one of the most interesting groups of our time. Though dividing the album up and discussing each song individually is hardly appropriate. Imagine floating downstream in a boat, and sitting next to you is a person who has absorbed infinite wisdom, extreme emotionality, and yet is an endless dreamer. He speaks of very simple things, but in a very complex and simultaneously beautiful language. The hymn-like and very luminous "One More Time" gives way to the dynamic, varied, and labyrinthine "Love Is The Only Answer" — a very contrasting piece with vocal and instrumental fluctuations and unforgettable solos. The longest composition is listened to in one breath, all 24 and a half minutes leaving you in anticipation of what comes next... The short (everything is relative — for THE FLOWER KINGS, six and a half minutes is indeed practically a fleeting track) "Trading My Soul" serves as a bridge in the middle of the album. Right after it comes the most cerebral "The Sum Of No Reason," the most difficult piece to digest on the album, with obvious influence from the blues Roine so loves (his last solo studio album was, after all, 2 hours of blues rock). The keyboard parts — now plaintive, now seemingly searching for something, sometimes background, sometimes soloing, varied in a word — Bodin's compositions are hard not to recognize. Just 5 minutes, apparently penance for his last solo album. The eeriest and darkest piece on the album is fully instrumental. Crowning the album is "Life In Motion" — light, unhurried, harmonious, and utterly serene. It is difficult to write much about such discs; one simply must listen to them. The words of a review cannot describe this album even a quarter of the way. In an era of an infinite number of bands copying each other, playing low-quality metalcore, one should remember that there are also such stunning projects in which true artists create, whose mastery is always at the highest level and whose inspiration never runs dry.