The Flower Kings
| The Flower Kings | |
|---|---|
 Roine Stolt and Tomas Bodin in 2004. |
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Sweden |
| Genres | Progressive rock |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Labels | Century Media, InsideOut |
| Associated acts | Kaipa, Pain Of Salvation |
| Website | FlowerKings.se |
| Members | |
| Roine Stolt Hasse Fröberg Tomas Bodin Hasse Bruniusson Jonas Reingold Erik Hammarström Ola Heden |
|
| Past members | |
| Jaime Salazar Michael Stolt Zoltan Csörsz Daniel Gildenlöw Marcus Liliequist |
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The Flower Kings are a Swedish progressive rock group. Formed in August 1994 by veteran guitarist Roine Stolt as a touring band to support his solo album The Flower King,[1] the band stayed together after the tour and have gone on to become one of the most prolific studio recording units in rock music of their era. In ten years they have released nearly 18 hours of music. Their music is similar to early symphonic progressive rock groups such as Yes, marked by sharp dynamic changes, polyrhythmics, heavy bass, vocal harmonies, abstract and occasionally nonsensical lyrics, and extended song lengths.
Contents |
[edit] History
The Flower Kings have seen frequent personnel changes. The original line-up for Stolt's solo album consisted of Stolt (vocals, electric guitar, bass, and keyboards), Jaime Salazar (drums), and Hasse Fröberg (vocals). They later added Michael Stolt on bass and Tomas Bodin on keyboards for the supporting tour. Michael Stolt was replaced by Jonas Reingold in 2000,[1] and Jaime Salazar by Zoltan Csörsz in 2002. Daniel Gildenlöw of Pain of Salvation joined the band the same year as a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist. Zoltan Csörsz was replaced by new drummer Marcus Liliequist for one album, but returned for the 2007 album, The Sum of No Evil. He was subsequently replaced by Erik Hammarström in 2008.[2] In 2008, Ola Heden, previously of Reingold's side project Karmakanic, joined on guitar, vocals and keyboards.[2]
Other contributors have included Hasse Bruniusson (percussion) and Ulf Wallander (saxophone).
Roine Stolt has written the vast majority of the material the band has recorded, with Bodin contributing most of the rest. The music is best described as symphonic progressive rock, bearing a strong resemblance to the music of Yes, King Crimson, Gentle Giant, and early Genesis, with jazz fusion and blues influences. The band's lyrics are almost uniformly positive and uplifting, affirming such values as love, peace, and spirituality, and furthering their association with Yes.[1]
Their 1999 album Flower Power contains one of the longest progressive rock tracks ever recorded, the eighteen-section, nearly 60-minute "Garden of Dreams."
Roine Stolt recorded three albums with supergroup Transatlantic, with members of Dream Theater, Spock's Beard, and Marillion, in 2000, 2001, and 2009.[3][4]
In June 2007 they released The Road Back Home, a compilation of remixed songs from 1994 to 2006, plus "Little Deceiver" (a previously unreleased track) and the full version of their cover of Genesis' "The Cinema Show". [1]
In November 2008 the band were the opening act of the Ecco Prog Fest in Moscow.
[edit] Personnel
- Current members
- Roine Stolt - guitar, vocals, keyboards, bass guitar (1995–present)
- Hasse Fröberg - vocals, guitar (1995–present)
- Tomas Bodin - keyboards (1995–present)
- Hasse Bruniusson - percussion (1995–present)
- Jonas Reingold - bass guitar (1999–present)
- Erik Hammarström - drums (2008–present)
- Ola Heden - vocals, keyboards, guitar (2008–present)
[edit] Former members
- Jaime Salazar - drums (1995–2001)
- Michael Stolt - bass guitar (1995–1999)
- Zoltan Csörsz - drums (2001–2005; 2007)
- Daniel Gildenlöw - vocals, guitars, keyboards (2002–2004)
- Marcus Liliequist - drums (2005–2006)
- Guest musicians
- Pat Mastelotto - drums (2007)
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio Albums
| Year | Album |
|---|---|
| 1994 | The Flower King
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| 1995 | Back in the World of Adventures
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| 1996 | Retropolis
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| 1997 | Stardust We Are
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| 1999 | Flower Power
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| 2000 | Space Revolver
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| 2001 | The Rainmaker
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| 2002 | Unfold the Future
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| 2004 | Adam & Eve
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| 2006 | Paradox Hotel
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| 2007 | The Sum of No Evil
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[edit] Live albums
- Alive On Planet Earth (2000) (double live CD)
- Meet The Flower Kings (2003) (double live CD and DVD, available separately or together)
- Instant Delivery (2006) (double live DVD concert, limited edition includes double cd and booklet)
- Tour Kaputt (2011) (double live CD and DVD, available separately or together) TBA July 2011
[edit] Limited Edition Official Bootlegs
- Édition Limitée Québec (1998) (unreleased and live tracks)
- The Rainmaker Tour 2001 (downloadable from website, not commercially available)
- Live In New York - Official Bootleg (2002)
- BetchaWannaDanceStoopid!!! (2004)
- Carpe Diem - Live In USA 2006 (2008)
[edit] Fan Club albums
- Fan Club 2000 (2000)
- Fan Club 2002 (2002)
- Fan Club 2004 (2004)
- Fan Club 2005 / Harvest (2005)
[edit] Compilations
- Scanning the Greenhouse (1998)
- Progressive Rock Anthems (various artists) (2001)
- The Road Back Home (2007)
[edit] References
- ^ a b c François Couture. "The Flower Kings on Allmusic.com". http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p306066/biography. Retrieved 2009-08-24.
- ^ a b "The Flower Kings on MySpace". http://www.myspace.com/cosmiclodge. Retrieved 2009-08-21.
- ^ "Transatlantic Reunite for New Studio Album!". Mike Portnoy's forum. http://www.mikeportnoy.com/forum/tm.aspx?high=&m=2293968&mpage=1#2294001. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
- ^ "Transatlantic Flies Again!!!". The Flower Kings official website. http://flowerkings.se/?s=news. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
[edit] External links
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