THE SUM OF NO EVIL

This package of "The Sum of No Evil" CD came to me altogether with David Gilmour's latest DVD "Remember That Night" and I decided to enjoy the CD first, because it's simpler: just play and listen; no need to watch. The Flower Kings is probably the most productive progressive band in the world who regularly releases an album every year - sometimes in a double CD format like their previous album "Paradox Hotel". In fact, when this album was ready for "pre-order" I was not aware at all until my colleague prog head reminded me. My initial reaction was: "Ha? Another album again?" Yes, I felt like the band releasing "Paradox Hotel" just couple of months ago and now another album is released.

Just before I spun the CD, I thought that the music would be harder than "Paradox Hotel" in terms of accessibility to my ears. It was not, really, because this album is as accessible as "Unfold The Future", "Retropolis" or "The Rainmaker" and it's not as hard as when I experienced with "Paradox Hotel". As usual, the music composed and delivered by The Flower Kings is complex, unpredictable, tight, dynamics, but it lacks "catchy" melody. Enjoying this CD is quite a challenge for me but I have accumulated experience in dealing with the music of The Flower Kings. So what I did in my adventure to comprehend the music, I tried to enjoy segment by segment arrangement especially on how all instruments build together nice and tight composition irrespective of the melody line. With this kind of attitude, I can digest this music faster so that I finally can enjoy - in its entirety - the whole album. Of course, it's not as easy as digesting Genesis' "Firth of Fifth" or "Fly on A Windshield" but I did survive with my adventure. The more I sun the CD, the more I wanted to repeat the CD starting back from the opening track.

One thing that made me really happy just before I spun the CD for the first time was knowing the fact that Zoltan Csórsz's back to The Flower Kings. Of course, I do not have any major issue with the "Paradox Hotel" drummer but the return of Zoltan does mean a lot to me. He is one of the best prog rock drummers I have known so far. The album kicks off wonderfully with "One More Time" (13:10) in relatively complex arrangement where guitar, keyboard and bass guitar work in excellent harmonies, supported by dynamic drumming by Zoltan. The keyboard sometimes sounds like a mellotron. Through this song I can sense a perfect combination of singing style between Hasse Fröberg and Roine Stolt.

"Love Is The Answer" (25:50) is the longest track and it combines many mood and style as the music unfolds. The guitar and keyboard solo are performed intertwiningly during the passages of the music and they have successfully made the music is quite densed in arrangements. Jonas Reingold plays excellent bass guitar work, while Hasse Fröberg and Roine Stolt contribute to build an excellent vocal line. There are parts where the vocal line reaches high register notes - like Robert Plant's voice and style. "Trading My Soul" (7:25) is mellow in nature and it has catchier melody line even though it's not as melodic as most people expect, I believe. In a way, this song reminds me to the first solo album by Roine Stolt.

"The Sum Of No Reason" (13:25) brings the music back into uplifting mode with high energy. In some segments the music is slowing down for taking a breath. It's really an excellent track. "Flight 999 (Brimstone Air)" (5:00) - is this track somehow related to "Circus Brimstone" track of Unfold The future album. This track is reserved for Zoltan to demonstrate his skills in drumming because it has relatively long "excellent" drumwork. "Life In Motion" (13:30) concludes the album beautifully.

Overall, this is a "true" progressive rock album that you should not miss. The return of Zoltan has made the music much more dynamic, especially when it's combined with Jonas Reingold's bass guitar work. Highly Recommended. Keep on progging' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

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