The Flower Kings "Waiting For Miracles" - new double album - 8 November 2019

[miamiscot]

I think I'm in the minority here as I love every album from The Flower Kings! All 12, 13 or 14 of them (depending if you count The Flower King and/or Manifesto Of An Alchemist.)

Yeah there's some filler here and there but Roine's filler is better than most bands' best song.

[Poisoned Youth]

UtF is my second favorite by TFK. The scope is pretty ambitious, and I love the heavy jazz undercurrent throughout most of the two discs. I feel like it showed the band's true potential to push the envelope and create something different; it doesn't really sound quite like anything else I've ever heard.

^^ Agreed. As much as I don’t typically care for the “more is more” double album concepts, UtF and SWA remain my two favorites as they pretty much contain the complete spectrum for which TFK were capable of producing.

[progfan915]

I think I'm in the minority here as I love every album from The Flower Kings! All 12, 13 or 14 of them (depending if you count The Flower King and/or Manifesto Of An Alchemist.)

Yeah there's some filler here and there but Roine's filler is better than most bands' best song.

[infandous]

^^ Zoltan was my favorite as well, but was a big fan of the Jaime Salazar/Hasse Bruniusson combo.

Of course, Bruniusson is on every album that Zoltan is. Though he tended not to play a lot of live gigs with TFK's. I thought those two were really the best combo of percussion the band ever had, though I do love the Salazar/Bruniusson combo as well. I guess Bruniusson is gone for good now as well though.

[infandous]

I dunno. While my curiosity is piqued and I’ll buy the new album, The idea of “cool these guys are still making stuff” doesn’t do much for me. I want it to be good, not just an exercise. Neal Morse and some of these other proliferators have the same problem. I keep buying because they do have “hits” amongst the misses.

Sum of No Evil is my favorite TFK album post UtF, because I did feel it was successful in catering to both the “Church of Your Heart” crowd and the “Retropolis” crowd.

I agree with all this 100%. Though I would put Sum in my top 5 TFK albums, probably at 3 or 4, depending on my mood.

[infandous]

If I'm being truly honest, the last TFK album that I loved from the first listen was Space Revolver. The rest grew on me over time, but really after that one I had to spend more time with each one before deciding I really liked it. The only exception to that is Sum, which I also loved from the first spin. Utf took the longest, but I like it the most of all the stuff since Space Revolver. That was was just a lot to take in, so it took me a dozen or so listens to realize how great it as and to really get a handle on it. It's still not my favorite, but it's up there.

I don't really expect to love this new album, on the first or even the 12th listen. I hope I will, but I'm really not expecting it. I'm sure it will at least be good, but beyond that, I'm not having too many expectations (like I did with Banks of Eden, which I still don't like all that much).

[LeFrog]

I'm with those who doubt that the band still have anything significantly interesting to contribute but will check out the album anyway (I can hear the naysayers claiming they never actually contributed anything original to prog).
But then I could have said the same thing when their last album was released and yet Desolation Rose unexpectedly reached my top 3 TFK albums because I liked the rawer, darker sound and the live in the studio feel of that album, which seemed different enough from their past work to actually be interesting to my ears.
The fact that this album will apparently be a return to the happy, playful music of the 90s is not good news to me, as it is my least favorite aspect of their music.

[SRS]

Curious to see what the writing credits look like. If a Stolt / Kamins writing partnership has bloomed (this is my hope) we could be looking at a very different beast. If it is all Stolt than I will anticipate Manifesto 2 which already was somewhat of a return to the 90s style and sound.

[chalkpie]

How do the Agents of Mercy albums sit (squat) in relation to the newer FK albums? I really don't know much of the later FK albums (I think I jumped ship after 'Sum') or any of the AoM albums. Yeah Mike - Space Revolver was the FK album that hit the spot for me, then backwards to Flour Pour and Starbucks We Are. I still think the Live Meet the Flower Kings is one of the best things they've recorded.

[infandous]

How do the Agents of Mercy albums sit (squat) in relation to the newer FK albums? I really don't know much of the later FK albums (I think I jumped ship after 'Sum') or any of the AoM albums. Yeah Mike - Space Revolver was the FK album that hit the spot for me, then backwards to Flour Pour and Starbucks We Are. I still think the Live Meet the Flower Kings is one of the best things they've recorded.

Agreed Frank. For AOM, it really comes down to whether or not you like Nad Sylvan's vocals or not. The first album was very laid back and had an interesting early Genesis vibe. The second album was an interesting mix of heavier and lighter tunes, possibly their best. The third was more on the heavy prog side of things and had a great opening track, though the rest was kind of "more of the same" I guess. Haven't listened to any of those in a while so I'm going off my foggy memory. Not really a TFK vibe to any of their albums though, which I suppose is a good thing. Of course, with Roine doing the majority of the writing, there are obviously some similarities.

The last two TFK albums were not bad, but Banks I found the epic kind of dull and the rest of the tracks pretty decent, though not really great. It was kind of like a stripped down TFK's, and was missing the zaniness and diversity of the earlier albums. Desolation Rose WAS interesting in that it was created out of jamming with nothing composed before they went into the studio, which was obviously something very different for the Kings. It didn't blow me away, but I liked it better than Banks. As mentioned above by SRS it did have a live in the studio feel. I would have been interested to hear them continue in that vein, doing something different. However, it sounds like the new album is meant to be a "return to form" of the early days. While that is a little enticing to me, I can't see Roine being able to recapture that vibe and approach of those earlier albums. If he can, then I'm sure I'll like it, but I was interested in hearing a different approach at this point. I'll buy it without hesitation, but I'm not getting too excited or having any expectations.

[bill g]

Agreed Frank. For AOM, it really comes down to whether or not you like Nad Sylvan's vocals or not. The first album was very laid back and had an interesting early Genesis vibe. The second album was an interesting mix of heavier and lighter tunes, possibly their best. The third was more on the heavy prog side of things and had a great opening track, though the rest was kind of "more of the same" I guess. Haven't listened to any of those in a while so I'm going off my foggy memory. Not really a TFK vibe to any of their albums though, which I suppose is a good thing. Of course, with Roine doing the majority of the writing, there are obviously some similarities.

The last two TFK albums were not bad, but Banks I found the epic kind of dull and the rest of the tracks pretty decent, though not really great. It was kind of like a stripped down TFK's, and was missing the zaniness and diversity of the earlier albums. Desolation Rose WAS interesting in that it was created out of jamming with nothing composed before they went into the studio, which was obviously something very different for the Kings. It didn't blow me away, but I liked it better than Banks. As mentioned above by SRS it did have a live in the studio feel. I would have been interested to hear them continue in that vein, doing something different. However, it sounds like the new album is meant to be a "return to form" of the early days. While that is a little enticing to me, I can't see Roine being able to recapture that vibe and approach of those earlier albums. If he can, then I'm sure I'll like it, but I was interested in hearing a different approach at this point. I'll buy it without hesitation, but I'm not getting too excited or having any expectations.

Agreed for the most part. I actually like the first AoM better than the next 2, and better than the last 2 FK albums. The more acoustic side there is pretty solid, and some songs are better than others, and I prefer Nad's voice in general, but it's nice that Roine breaks it up, and when he sings it's refreshing. Still, not in the category of earlier FK albums.

[aith01]

I love the Agents of Mercy albums. The second one, Dramarama, is my favorite. But the first one is only slightly behind it for me. Dramarama is an interesting mix of pop, psychedelia, and prog rock. Leans more towards psychedelic pop, which is a cool change from TFK. “Roger the Tailor” is such a lovely little tune.

Nad Sylvan is a cool guy. Seems like a good dude, from what I can tell. Love his voice, and his music.

That first AoM disc has a really cool vibe to it. Kind of an early Genesis feel at times. Much more emphasis on acoustic guitar, and a softer pastoral sound. But it does get energetic at times.

[thedunno]

Agents of Mercy is a lot more song orientated. I prefer FK but that first song of the first AoM album is one of the best things Roine ever wrote.

[bill g]

I love the Agents of Mercy albums. The second one, Dramarama, is my favorite. But the first one is only slightly behind it for me. Dramarama is an interesting mix of pop, psychedelia, and prog rock. Leans more towards psychedelic pop, which is a cool change from TFK. “Roger the Tailor” is such a lovely little tune.

Nad Sylvan is a cool guy. Seems like a good dude, from what I can tell. Love his voice, and his music.

That first AoM disc has a really cool vibe to it. Kind of an early Genesis feel at times. Much more emphasis on acoustic guitar, and a softer pastoral sound. But it does get energetic at times.

yep. I could prefer 'Dramarama' on some days. Those first two AoM albums are quite different from each other. Nad, from my limited knowledge, seems to be a genuine good guy. I only have his first solo album, but the 20-minute epic on that album is really excellent, and I like that one track even more than anything on the AoM albums.

[infandous]

yep. I could prefer 'Dramarama' on some days. Those first two AoM albums are quite different from each other. Nad, from my limited knowledge, seems to be a genuine good guy. I only have his first solo album, but the 20-minute epic on that album is really excellent, and I like that one track even more than anything on the AoM albums.

Not his first solo album. His fourth, actually (I assume you are referring to Courting the Widow, as it's the only one with a song over 20 minutes). Of course, I haven't heard the first 3 and I doubt many here have either. Still, I agree his solo albums are quite good. I have the follow up to Courting, and it's also quite good. Still need to pick up the newest one. Courting the Widow, The Bride Said No, and The Regal Bastard are actually a concept trilogy, according to Nad.

[LeFrog]

A new song Black Flag has just been released on several music services (Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer...).
It sounds like typical TFK, I guess fans are going to be all over this.
Me, I think I'll pass as all the typical bodinisms are there even though Bodin is not, which pretty much proves it had nothing to do with him. I guess I prefer TFK when they don't really sound like themselves.

[aith01]

I guess I prefer TFK when they don't really sound like themselves.

Makes sense.

[LeFrog]

Makes sense.

Thanks, I wasn't really sure

[Smörgåsbord]

I prefer when they do what they do best. And that is what they typically do in this new song.

[Dan Roth]

So what is the difference between “Flower Kings Revisited” and this current band calling themselves “Flower Kings”?

[LeFrog]

So what is the difference between “Flower Kings Revisited” and this current band calling themselves “Flower Kings”?

Same lineup, and judging by this new song, no major difference in the music.

[moecurlythanu]

So what is the difference between “Flower Kings Revisited” and this current band calling themselves “Flower Kings”?

The visit's over, and they all decided to move in.

[Dan Roth]

A new song Black Flag has just been released

[Plasmatopia]

Acoustic guitar! Seems we haven't seen so much of that on latter day TFK albums.

[Steve983]

It might grow on me but I don't think I can face another FK album, I've got bored with them I'm afraid, sorry.