2018 no. 1: Phideaux

My Favourite Albums of 2018 - Number 1
Phideaux - Infernal

Where'd Phideaux go? It was an oft-repeated question for the last seven years. Whereas Phideaux Xavier and his band once released a new album every year (most of which are still very good), after 2011's acclaimed Snowtorch the man vanished off the face of the Earth. Well, music Earth, anyway. Turns out, he was busy winning Emmy awards for his work on General Hospital, or something. How dare he!

2018 no. 2: Roine Stolt

My Favourite Albums of 2018 - Number 2
Roine Stolt  - Manifesto Of An Alchemist
The Flower Kings - Manifesto Of An Alchemist
Roine Stolt's The Flower King - Manifesto Of An Alchemist

Hooray! It's a new Flower Kings album! Except not really. Except... maybe?

Roine Stolt doesn't really care what he works on, as long as he works. Which is how you get things like The Sea Within, a supergroup that probably wasn't as big a sensation as everyone had hoped. The Sea Within's eponymous album appreared pretty much dead in the water, doomed by the news that Daniël Gildenlöw, the most irreplacable man in prog, had already left the band; but even moreso by the news that Roine had got a new touring lineup together for The Flower Kings. And, suddenly, the world knew exactly what it wanted from Roine Stolt, and it wasn't some underachieving supergroup.

2018 no. 3: Rob Reed

My Favourite Albums of 2018 - Number 3
Robert Reed - Sanctuary III

"Things that try to look like things often do look more like things than things"
- Terry Pratchett

Speaking of gimmicks: Rob Reed's first Sanctuary album was a clever excersise in deliberate plagiarism and musical archaeology. With utmost precision, Reed reverse-engineered a full-blown early Mike Oldfield album into existence, and a good one, too. It was a neat party trick, but when the sequel was announced, I was skeptical. Do we really need another one? Isn't he stretching the point a bit? But, it turned out, the second one was even better than the first and ended up at my #2 spot of that year. I was ready for a third one.

2018 no. 4: Ghost

My Favourite Albums of 2018 - Number 4
Ghost - Prequelle

The game is up. The masquerade is over. Whether he dresses up as a pope or a cardinal: we know who is behind the once-mysterious phenomenon of Ghost, that lovable pretend-Satanic retro metal outfit. There's no more pretense that this band is anything but the gimmicky brainchild of one Tobias Foge and a host of replacable - and, indeed, replaced - ghouls. There's also no pretense that Ghost wants to be anything but a slightly louder version of ABBA, which is what I believe all Swedish bands secretly want to be in the first place.

2018 no. 5: Koenji Hyakkei

My Favourite Albums of 2018 - Number 5
Koenji Hyakkei - Dhorimvishka

Like Rob Reed's Sanctuary project, Koenji Hyakkei makes an entire career out of copying the style of only one artist. Only, in this case, that artist is Magma and the style is Zeuhl, hyperkinetic operatic free-jazz in gobbledigook, designed to sound like it came from another planet. It's the ultimate acquired taste, but there's a certain beauty to it. Magma's K.A. (2004) still frequently finds its way into my MP3 player.

2018 no. 6: Riccardo Romano Land

My Favourite Albums of 2018 - Number 6
Riccardo Romano Land - B612

Yes, even when there's no Marillion album on the horizon, I will find a way to get them into my top 10. Riccardo Romano is the keyboard player of both Italian proggers RanestRane and the Steve Rothery band, and he's got both of Marillion's Steves to play on his solo debut - a concept album about The Little Prince. You might recognize that as an idea Genesis once had for a concept album...

2018 no. 7: Tiger Moth Tales

My Favourite Albums of 2018 - Number 7
Tiger Moth Tales - Story Tellers Part Two

We don't deserve Peter Jones. He spent most of 2018 as Andy Latimer's hypercompetent sidekick at Camel, but he still made time to record a sequel to 2015's jaw-dropping Story Tellers Part 1. Jaw-dropping, not just because of how good it was, but how incredibly strange it was. I still can't quite believe it exists.

2018 no. 8: The Tangent

My Favourite Albums of 2018 - Number 8
The Tangent - Proxy

Hello again, Andy! Glad you're well. It's been... not very long. 2017's The Slow Rust Of Forgotten Machinery occupied last year's number two spot, and this year's Proxy is very much in the same vein. Andy is still Angry and we've got another collection of righteously vitriolic outbursts on our hands. This time, the "proxy wars" in the Middle-East, the rise of alternative facts and the commercialization of rock music are targets. It's not for everybody, but I sure feel this.

2018 no. 9: Haken

My Favourite Albums of 2018 - Number 9
Haken - Vector

Is there anywhere left to go for Haken, once the most exciting band in the world? They rose fast with their first two albums, peaked with 2013's The Mountain (my no. 1 album of that year) and are now everybody's second favourite prog metal outfit, but there hasn't been all that much musical growth since then. Things move fast in the world of heavier prog, and a young but top-class band like Haken needs to constantly re-affirm their notoiriety. They promised the new album would be "darker". They weren't kidding.

2018 no. 10: The Decemberists

My Favourite Albums of 2018 - Number 10
The Decemberists - I'll Be Your Girl

Portland's most insufferable bunch of hipsters deliver once again. The Decemberists accidentally went through a bit of a proggy phase in the 2000's, which was of course when I liked them best. The last few albums have been more poppy and straightforward and kind of bland, but I feel that I'll Be Your Girl has mostly put them back in my good graces. The reason? Ironic, post-meta eighties references!

The Flower Kings: A Kingdom of Colours

A Kingdom of Colours (2017)

Here we are: at the end. The Flower Kings played their last shows in 2015 and, while it's never impossible, a return seems unlikely. Roine Stolt certainly hasn't shown any interest in reviving the band – although he hasn't shut the idea down. A career-spanning solo tour might be in the works as soon as The Sea Within's tour ends, which should be interesting. Jonas Reingold has moved from Sweden to Austria, but he and Roine still collaborate frequently. Hasse Fröberg is happily fronting his own band. Tomas Bodin, meanwhile, has developed a rather severe case of tinnitus that left him unable to perform. As long as he doesn't recover (and it goes without saying that I really hope he does, regarldless of whether TFK will re-unite) it seems unlikely that we'll be hearing more from The Flower Kings any time soon.

The Flower Kings, Chapter 12: Desolation Rose

12) Desolation Rose (2013)

That's how the story ends...

So here it is, the last album by The Flower Kings. We've come a long way, haven't we? Don't bring out your handkerchiefs just yet, I'll do another one after this to wrap it all up. Today, we will focus on one of the strangest birds in the entire back catalog of The Flower Kings, an album that is so unlike all other TFK-albums that I have trouble believing it's even the same band.

The Flower Kings, Chapter 11: Banks of Eden

11) Banks of Eden (2012)

Do you think it is really over?

When Tour Kaputt hit the stores in 2011, I assumed it was going to be the last little hurrah for The Flower Kings. They had been on hiatus for years and were showing no sign of regrouping. They just needed to get that DVD out of the way. However, less than a year later, out of nowhere, the band announced their comeback; they were to release their eleventh album in early 2012 – another Year of the Dragon – in yet another new line-up.

The Flower Kings: Tour Kaputt!

Tour Kaputt! Official Bootleg Live @ De Boerderij, The Netherlands, November 2007 (2011)

Over the years, The Flower Kings have released a number of “official bootlegs” though Roine's (or Jonas's) own record label. There's 2002's Live in New York, 2008's Carpe Diem and 2004's amazingly-titled BetchaWannaDanceStoopid!, a collection of studio improvisations. Most of these had a pretty limited release and are hard to come by. Why haven't I talked about them? Because I don't have them, mainly.

The Flower Kings, Chapter 10: The Sum Of No Evil

10) The Sum of No Evil (2007)

It's like coming home, coming home again...

Confession time! When this album came out, I didn't like it very much. When I went to see the band on their subsequent tour, it was a very dissappointing experience. In fact, I retroactively started to like Adam & Eve and Paradox Hotel less and less and felt the band was on a downward curve. After all these disappointments, I was done with The Flower Kings for a while. And I wasn't the only one: it turns out The Flower Kings were done with The Flower Kings for a while – but more on that later. The Sum of No Evil was, relatively sepaking, a commercially succesful album. It got some extravagantly glowing reviews but some real stinkers as well. It remains one of TFK's more controversial releases.

The Flower Kings: The Road Back Home

The Road Back Home (2007)

After Paradox Hotel, Roine felt the time was right to release a new compilation album. There already was one, of course, but the intent was quite different this time around. This would be a compilation consisting almost exclusively of short, accessible, snappy, “normal” songs. The songs you could play at work, to your girlfriend, or to your family, without confusing the heck out of everybody. The album was not so much for attracting new fans as it was for helping existing fans introduce this band to their normal friends without making them look too crazy...

The Flower Kings: Instant Delivery

Instant Delivery (2007)

Of course, we need to edit that out for the video… It's gonna go “Roine, you're <<beep>> great.” And I'll say “You're <<beep>> great too!”

I became a Flower Kings fan around 2005, and the first opportunity I got to see them live was on the 2006 Paradox Hotel tour. Turns out I had hit the jackpot. The show at the 013 in Tilburg was the very last of the European leg of the tour. It was a fantastic show full of great moments, I was there with my best friend and we made it home safe. But the best part: the show was due to be recorded and filmed for a DVD release.

The Flower Kings, Chapter 9: Paradox Hotel

9) Paradox Hotel (2006)

The world is grooving to a brand new beat, the ground is swaying below our feet...

The fallout of Adam & Eve brought turmoil for The Flower Kings. First Zoltán Csörsz, then Daniel Gildenlöw said goodbye to the band in somewhat less-than-perfectly-cordial circumstances.

The Flower Kings: BrimStoned in Europe

Circus Brimstone Live: BrimStoned in Europe (2005)

2005 was another difficult year for The Flower Kings, and a more diffiult one still for TFK fans. There was no new album, but Roine Stolt did release a solo album: the bizarre, blues-inflicted Wall Street Voodoo, an album that divides fans to this day. Tomas Bodin, too, released an album with blues influences: the very ambitious I AM (both these albums featured one Marcus Liliequist on drums; more on him later). But what of the band?

The Flower Kings, Chapter 8: Adam & Eve

8) Adam & Eve (2004)

There's no man in the mirror, just me… and I hate what I see!

So, I've either kicked off a trend or the time is right for The Flower Kings (probably the latter), because I see more people talking about TFK's back catalog all around the progosphere. That's great! Now that the second chapter of the Kingdom of Colours box set has been announced, the time could not better to examine the album that kicks it off.

The Flower Kings: Meet The Flower Kings

Meet The Flower Kings (2003)

Like the album, the tour promoting Unfold The Future was a highly ambitious affair. The band elected to build the set around three monumentally long tracks: “The Truth Will Set You Free”, “Garden of Dreams” and “Stardust We Are”, each played (almost) in their entirety. Those three alone provide nearly two hours of material, but the band would also play additional songs each night that would switch around from show to show.

The Flower Kings, Chapter 7: Unfold The Future

 7) Unfold The Future (2002)

Now so much wiser, so much more in tune...

After the triumph of Space Revolver, an album that won the band many new fans including yours truly, The Rainmaker was a disappointment to many. Had the band's unforgiving one-album-a-year approach taken its toll? Were The Flower Kings already on their way out?

The Flower Kings, Chapter 6: The Rainmaker

6) The Rainmaker (2001)

The world is a cruel affair if you don't dance to the common beat...

Space Revolver came out in 2000, Unfold the Future two years later. These are my two favourite TFK albums, and The Rainmaker came out right in between. In theory, The Flower Kings were on top of their game.

The Flower Kings, Chapter 5: Space Revolver

5) Space Revolver (2000)

Now, I'm at the peak, never forget what I tell you...

This is the one. My gateway drug into The Flower Kings, my gateway drug into progressive rock as a whole and therefore a difficult album for me to look at objectively. When I was fifteen, it had a profound impact on me and I've never been quite the same since. Here's my account of that story. Now, I am intimately familiar with every note on this album. I think Space Revolver is really good, but then, of course I would think that, right?

The Flower Kings: Scanning the Greenhouse & Alive on Planet Earth

Scanning the Greenhouse (1998) & Alive on Planet Earth (2000)

Two albums this week! I want to talk about the live album, but we haven't discussed the compilation album yet. I'll do that one real quick.

The Flower Kings, Chapter 4: Flower Power

4) Flower Power (1999)

I'll conduct a circus out of nowhere, I'll create a kingdom out of dust...

1998 marked the first year since the formation of the band that The Flower Kings didn't release any new material, but it was anything but a lost year for the band. The success of Stardust We Are opened some new international doors for the band, and 1998 saw the band – minus Tomas Bodin, who fell ill – embark on their first American tour (we'll talk more about that next time). Roine Stolt also released a solo album that year, the instrumental and very TFK-esque Hydrophonia. Amidst all this excitement, the band worked on a worthy successor for Stardust, and if you think they'd go small for this one, you haven't been paying attention.

The Flower Kings, Chapter 3: Stardust We Are

3) Stardust We Are (1997)

!siht gid annog uoy wonk I

Stardust We Are. The Flower Kings' third album (fourth if you count The Flower King, which I do). This is the one where The Flower Kings shoot for the stars. The first double album under The Flower King's banner – not the last. Home of some of the band's truly legendary tracks, and consistently voted one of their best albums, if not the best. So – do I agree?

The Flower Kings, Chapter 2: Retropolis

2) Retropolis (1996)

...And after all, it's so good to be alive!

It's 1996 and The Flower Kings are beginning to get into their comfort zone. Since The Flower King, Roine has made one album each year in that vein, and this is going to continue for some time. The result will be a mighty streak of albums, all in more or less the same style. Newcomers may find it daunting, naysayers might say that all of them are interchangable. There's a point there, somewhere. From day one, The Flower Kings found a style and stuck with it. If you dislike one TFK album, it's unlikely that another will change your mind.

The Flower Kings, Chapter 1: Back In The World Of Adventures

1) Back In The World Of Adventures (1995)

Prepare to fly!

Back In The World Of Adventures is considered to be the first album by The Flower Kings, which is technically true, but in many ways, this album feels like the second part of a duology with The Flower King. That's why we're “back”. The crowned figure from the cover art returns, underlining the continuity between the two. Also, Back feels much more like a “second effort” after the unexpected succes of the true debut.

The Flower Kings, Chapter 0: The Flower King

0) The Flower King (1994)

Falling out of the sky, falling into a dream...

So here's album number zero, a disk called The Flower King by an artist called Roine Stolt. It was written and recorded mostly in 1993 and saw the light of day in 1994.

Do not be fooled by the fact that this album does not bear the “Flower Kings” (plural) stamp. Do not be fooled by the absence many of the players we associate with The Flower Kings today (notably Tomas Bodin and Jonas Reingold, the latter of whom wouldn't join the band until 1999). It looks, walks and quacks like a duck. This is already very much a Flower Kings album, in every sense of the word.

NIELS's KOMPLIET EN DIEFINITIF GAAID TOE THE FLOWER KINGS

Preface

The Flower Kings. They are the iconic progressive rock band from Uppsala, Sweden, who have been active from 1994 until 2015. Formed by Roine Stolt, who spent most of the seventies playing guitar in pioneering Swedish prog group Kaipa, The Flower Kings were a way for him to celebrate his love for the progressive rock glory days of old. It was a highly unfashionable thing to do in the early nineties, but against all odds, the band grew and grew in stature and is now considered one of the greatest modern purveyors of the genre. In a little over twenty years (actually fewer, as there was a five-year hiatus in the middle) they made thirteen studio albums and a whole lot of other miscellaneous material. Most of the band members were also involved in plenty of other bands, progressive or otherwise, and remain so until this day.

The current (last?) line-up of The Flower Kings: Roine Stolt, Hasse Fröberg, Tomas Bodin, Jonas Reingold, Felix Lehrmann. Source: InsideOut