Flower Kings Appreciation Thread

J-Man wrote: Roland113 wrote: The city averaged 22 or something like that.  It was apparently the fourth largest snowfall in Pittsburgh in recorded history.  Plus another plastering today . . . yay I was just about to say that! In Philly we got the second or third most snow in recorded history, and we're going to get 18-24 inches today At least I won't have school tomorrow

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lucky ? - Nah, I hate snow - cold nasty, wet stuff. I am planning to retire to a villa on a greek island where I can chill out to the Flokis whilst sipping an ice-cold mythos...

Lucky for me, I quite like the snow.  My walk to work today was a bit exhausting because of it though, but what the heck, I can certainly use the exercise.  Still, Greece does sounds quite nice.

Hey, don't know if I mentioned before, but you guys that like Heavy prog / prog metal (thought they are listed under Electic prog here at the archives for some strange reason) may want to check out Nemo.  You'll need to be able to tolerate vocals in French, but their music is pretty darn good to my ears, with a rather heavy leaning.  I'd recommend Prélude à la Ruine, as that is their most prog metalish album.  But most of the are quite good.  The most recent two have not done as much for me, though the most recent, Barbares, is pretty good.  Their other top albums would be Présages and Si Partie I, in my opinion.

The vocalist is actually pretty decent.  Though not the best feature of the band, he isn't bad at all, as long as lyrics all in French don't bother you.  He's also the guitarist, and extremely good at that.  The keyboardist is also very good, close to a Jordan Rudess in style, but less flashy most of the time (though it's obvious he can play leads on par with Rudess).  The rhythm section is excellent as well.  All in all, a very good band, worth checking out.  But much more towards the prog metal spectrum than TFK, though I wouldn't say they are a full fledged prog metal band.

well, then you'll REALLY like their earlier albums, as I think they are much better (though I do like Barbares, only the previous album ranks below it for me).  Si Partie I is probably the best place to go next  (Si Partie II is decent, but it's too much like the second disc of a double album.......which is really what it is..........just seems kind of weak compared to the previous one).  But really, all their albums are very good.

No, the snow has stopped.............for now.  Though there is none in the forecast for the next several days, so we may be okay for now.  It has actually been much worse father south, which is kind of strange.

Oh man, we got killed here in Maryland.  I didn't think the roads were so bad, even in a front-wheel-drive minivan, but the majority of the population differed and this town -shut town-.  Seems to be back on track now, but there are still snowbanks everywhere and several neighborhoods with icy roads.

Edited by Man Overboard - February 14 2010 at 16:00

Man Overboard wrote: Oh man, we got killed here in Maryland.  I didn't think the roads were so bad, even in a front-wheel-drive minivan, but the majority of the population differed and this town -shut town-.  Seems to be back on track now, but there are still snowbanks everywhere and several neighborhoods with icy roads. Not trying to be a jerk and re-rail the thread or anything (), but exactly how did the Flower Kings get the stigma of being derivative, among other things?  I mean, someone tell me what prog classic that Devil's Playground lifts its melodies and counterpoint from.  Sure, Stolt leans towards vintage equipment in his production, but he frequently makes use of sounds and textures from many eras of many genres.  His compositional style is all his own and tends to lean towards Zappa-esque levels of symphonic complexity and counterpoint rather than the straightforward harmonic structures that characterize classic prog, with a subtlety and sophistication that is easy to miss because it's so masterfully crafted. Meanwhile, certain 'untouchable' modern prog bands that generally disdain being lumped in with the genre are highly praised while they lift progressions and melodies wholesale and bury them under a pile of gimmicky effects.  What a world.

 

^^ welcome to the TFK thread, you will find nice people here, talking on various subjects, but have one in common , all share the love for TFK   

it's a looong interview so this extract was a important fact for me,they are alive and kicking,and maybe new album will be released this year   :

M27Barney wrote: However there could be several interpretations of the adjective - Derivative - the Flokis drift in and out of 70's style prog throughtout their entire output - they also prefer longer tracks - the epic and tracks with concepts - all these could be classed as "Derivative" of 70's prog. ANYWAY - Isn't it about time that the flokis or some similar band - put out an extended and better recorded version of "The Lamb......" ID BUY IT !!!!

Edited by Man Overboard - February 15 2010 at 13:29