Flower Kings, The: The Sum of No Evil

Every new album from The Flower Kings may be misleading at first, as Roine Stolt always writes songs that reveal themselves upon repeat listenings. The Sum of No Evil proceeds in a similar style, exhibiting detailed arrangements that one may not notice right away. With the great Zoltan Csorsz back on drums, the unit's unbreakable rhythm battery is as strong as ever. Not that the previous album Paradox Hotel was a failure or anything, but it's a given that most Flower Kings fans would prefer Csorsz over most drummers.

Stolt has explained that this album would be a return-to-the-roots effort, as they had removed themselves from jazz and pop as much as possible. This is true to a certain extent; The Sum of No Evil contains fewer pop parts, but with the inclusion of Csorsz who has always been associated with the norms of jazzy playing, it would be unthinkable for the band to delve into some fusion-laden sections. This is particularly audible on the monster track "Love is the Only Answer" which sharply contrasts the opener "One More Time", a vintage prog rock piece filled with a strong rhythmic angle, warm guitar melodies, and Retropolis-like synth patches. The analogue vibe is more effective than before, which could be attributed to the fact that they recorded the album on 70's vintage recording equipment.

"Love is the Only Answer", on the other hand, is just shy of the 25-minute mark. This one contains lots of theatrical vocals by Roine Stolt, where he moves from laidback soft sung parts to more aggressive sections in order to portray the necessary mood. The heavier passages are often underpinned by squealing keyboards and tense instrumental breaks; this is also where the transition into a jazzier space becomes inevitable. Thanks to Reingold's fretless bass guitar, Bodin's spacey synth fizzles, and Csorsz' eloquent rhythm punctuation, the band put their ear for delicate improvisation on display. Bodin's solo where he extrapolates all kinds of synth tones is simply fascinating and forms the precursor to the two guitarists' wonderful guitar cascades.

Though not a lengthy piece, the album's standout song for me is "Trading My Soul", which somewhat belies Stolt's argument that The Sum of No Evil is a pure prog rock statement. The darkness factor that comes to the fore on this ballad is right up there with the Gildenlow-sung Adam & Eve material, or the much-overlooked "Bavarian Skies" off of the previous album. It is rather interesting to hear all these "Flower Kings never experiment much" arguments, and when they do, putting out material in the vein of "Trading My Soul", their core fan base gets annoyed. Complete with lots of Hammond and Moog sounds, some manipulated vocal arrangements, and exquisite synth flights, the dynamic quality of the song is achieved through plenty of rhythmic variations. It's an excellent track with a dark, menacing atmosphere and a rousing chorus. The guitar work on the title track is the best on CD, dominated by bluesy voicings and almost shred-instensive expression.

The instrumental "Flight 999 Brimstone Air" is a bit in the style of "Trading My Soul", featuring Tomas Bodin's Zappa-meets-Crimson style, bringing in elements of avant-garde fusion. This is a very intense track, and one of the best Flower Kings instrumentals. There is a great drum solo by Zoltan Csorsz which is a big plus given his quite restraint playing through the course of most of the album.

The special edition of the album contains some bonus tracks and a making-of video, so be sure to check it out if you're a big fan of the band. So far, this is one of the most essential prog rock releases of the year.

Track Listing

1. One More Time
2. Love is the Only Answer
3. Trading My Soul
4. The Sum of No Reason
5. Flight 999 Brimstone Air
6. Life in Motion

Added: September 27th 2007
Reviewer: Murat Batmaz
Score:
Related Link: The Flower Kings website
Hits: 5348
Language: english

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