DESOLATION ROSE

After a relatively fallow period artistically following "Space Revolver" (don't get me wrong, there is no such thing as a bad Flower Kings album, but some aren't as good as others), The Flower Kings came back in a huge way with "Banks of Eden". I thought that there was absolutely no way that they were going to top that album. They did do just that however with "Desolation Rose".

Unlike that aforementioned instant classic (or most of their other albums for that matter), "Desolation Rose" does not contain a song longer than 15 minutes..."Tower One" comes closest, clocking in at just over 13 minutes. Most of the songs on this album are very concise and do not succumb to what I feel is the band's one weakness. That weakness is that some of their songs meander to the point of becoming filler. That problem does not appear on this album. Every song is tightly performed and written. Not a single note is wasted.

There is not a single bad song here...the first time the band has pulled that off since "Back in the World of Adventure". It is also worth noting that the band has gone for a slightly darker and edgier feel than on previous albums. It works. This is a masterpiece. The Flower Kings have been going on for twenty years now. If this is what we can routinely expect from them, I pray that they go on for another twenty. All hail The Flower Kings!!!