Is The Rainmaker, the sixth studio album from The Flower Kings, the one where they went “metal”? Is it the one where the shine is off the penny and, as many have written, the band starts to falter? I think it’s “no” for the first one – distortion doth not make one metal; sadly, it might be a “yes” for the latter. That doesn’t mean there isn’t good stuff to be had throughout the album, another single disc of largely compact tunes and interludes with three larger epics to frame out the album. It remains to be seen if I can remain compact in this review, so let’s cut to the jump and find out, together.

Mach II of the band is still intact, but I think the grueling schedule of churning out music might be getting to Stolt: from 1994 to 2001 he released The Flower King, six TFK albums (including this one), the first Transatlantic album (with the second arriving a month after The Rainmaker’s release) and was probably already setting up his return to Kaipa with Notes From The Past seeing release in April of 2002. Point being, that’s a LOT of music in a short amount of time especially when you have upwards of 25 minutes tracks. At this point the rest of the band must be tired as well – this is the last we’ll hear of Jaime Salazar (who still kills it) and Tomas Bodin has zero writing credits – everything is credited to Stolt. But the opening still works: “Last Minute On Earth” rocks a little harder than previous openers, and Hasse Fröberg’s lead vocals are a shining hight point. I like the fractured nature of the song: you get the heavy riffs, the opulent chorus, and then Bodin’s keys act like a breaking point, appearing alone and introducing a new theme for each solo. “World Without A Heart” is another Stolt ballad, a somber, reflective piece on losing your esteem and finding light in…faith, maybe? Lyrically it’s one of those ambiguous pieces Stolt loves to do, acting as the force to bring the skeptics and non-believers into a better way. Undoubtedly beautifully executed, but I think this is another example of sequencing not being the man’s stronger suit – after the opener you want something a little more energetic. This isn’t it, pretty as it may be.

“Road to Sanctuary” is the next big epic at 13 minutes, and it does manage to bring a little energy back to The Rainmaker. Really nice soling from Stolt that has some blues bends that – coming from him – is a refreshing change up. Fröberg jumps on the vocals and I appreciate his continued growth and utilization within the band. But really this is just another instrumental showcase for everyone, and it’s good, but aside from a few sparkling moments (Reingold’s insane bass run around the 10 minute mark), I’m left underwhelmed, not really hearing the transitions or the big breaks in the songs. The same goes for the title track, another somber instrumental that I had to play twice just to catch what was so different from the previous track.

There’s a bit of a Steely Dan vibe to “City of Angels” that’s a nice change of pace for the band, and coupled with Fröberg’s delivery make this a small highlight of the album. It’s a highlight for Bodin as well, who takes his break and runs with it, fencing with Reingold’s bass throughout. From there it’s a quick succession of shorter tracks that, like Space Revolver, switch the mood up and work better than the larger epics. “Elaine” is another Stolt ballad, but for my money works much better than “World Without A Heart” with some great fretless playing from Reingold. “Thru The Walls” plays with technology, and aging, and regret in a short, forlorn piece that sighs into “Sword of God” with its metal riffing coming across as trying a little too hard, Whitesnake without Coverdale’s gigantic ego to pull it off. That’s musically; lyrically this is as far as you can get from anything Coverdale would write, with a chorus about angels and righteous soldiers.

“Blessing Of A Smile” is a small, simple interlude, leaving little impression even at three minutes long, which is kind of funny when you consider “Red Alert” at just over a minute is much more effective and memorable. That leaves “Serious Dreamers” and I don’t know if it’s just the fact that it’s the last song, but for me this is what makes The Flower Kings a great band – everything comes together and it feels like what I want from Roine Stolt: uplifting, exciting, great small moments peppered in bigger pieces. But it still leaves The Rainmaker as a definite step back in the catalog – I’d put it about even with Retropolis as a record with plenty of good. moments but lackluster as a whole, something I wouldn’t turn off but would probably not turn to, especially when I have so many other great albums from the band already.