And here we are, at end of the Flower Kings road, despite there being a new mediocre album in 2023 and a stunning live album from earlier this year. Maybe I’ll return if I get more physical copies, but I admit I’m slightly tired from all the intense listening, and ready to put this series to bed with By Royal Decree, the 2022 album that sees the return of Michael Stolt on bass and the slow departure of Jonas Reingold who plays on a few select tracks here. Other than that the lineup is consistent from Islands, as is the direction: shorter, more concise songs that run about 94 minutes in total. But I think there are nuances to that approach that – for me at least – bear a little more fruit than the previous album. Let’s jump in and discuss it.

Eighteen years. That’s how far we’re skipping into the future for the next review of The Flower Kings. Get your gasps out now: not only will we not see entries for The Sum of No Evil or even Waiting For Miracles, which was my first exposure to the band, but I don’t believe I’ve ever heard the other albums, at least in their entirety. I’m sure I’ll get to them eventually, but for now I want to talk about Islands, the band’s COVID album, recorded remotely and stitched together by Roine Stolt in his enforced downtime. So marvel at the Roger Dean cover (it’s a beaut) and let’s take a stroll through the band’s latest (in this series) approach to its unique blend of progressive rock.

You would think after the somewhat muddled response to The Rainmaker and the first real significant loss of a band member (Jaime Salazar departs the drum kit), Roine Stolt would put a pause on The Flower Kings and regroup. Nope: here we are a year later with new drummer Zoltan Csörsz, an expanded lineup that includes returning sidemen Ulf Wallender and Hasse Brunisson and Pain of Salvation’s frontman Daniel Gildenlöw contributing backing and lead vocals. It’s also back to epic album lengths, with Unfold The Future clocking in at just over 140 minutes. Gone are the overt “let’s get metal” moments, replaced with more cinematic ambition and jazzier, loose explorations. Does it all work? Well, much better than The Rainmaker, yes. But for more you need to dive in after the jump.