UNFOLD THE FUTURE

Let's face it, these guys are an extremely productive bunch of musicians! 140 minutes of music in a double album and this was not even the first time they did that! (Nor the last as a matter of fact!) You have to admire the Flower Kings only for their productivity if not anything else. But as we all know, quantity does not guarantee quality, so what's the deal with this one?

Here I think that the quantity of the music is a big factor that straightly affects the quality. I mean that any of the two discs would do for a very good album on its own, but the fact that there are two of them lessens the final effect they have on the listener.

The music of course is as always more than competent. The level of musisianship is top notch throughout the 141 minutes of the album, never failing to deliver. Strongly delved into 70s symphonic prog but with a somewhat modern approach especially on the rythm section and a lot of jazz moments thrown into the mix. Yes seems to be the most obvius point of reference, not only musically, but also in the logic of excess behind the way that this album was conceived and created.

As for the individual performances, the star that trully shines in my opinion is Jonas Reingold. His basslines were made to stand out from the rest of the orchestration without losing sense or cohesion. Listen to "Black and White' as a perfect example of this. Z. Csorsz and H. Bruniusson contribute greatly to the overall result adding some really well executed percussion as well. Tomas Bodin and R. Stolt are their usual selves, especially the former has some really imaginative moments. (see Silent Inferno).

As it frequently happens with TFK, the longer tracks are the more interesting of the bunch. It is where the band has a chance for a full out exposition of their musical and compositional skills. The lyrics, as usually again, is not their strong point, but nothing offensive either. All in all this is another album of what one might expect from TFK, only in... excess! I would give it 3,5 stars, but I shall give this extra half just for the accomplishment of making a more than 2 hours album without any real throwaway pieces. (Well, we could do without Soul Vortex, but you get the point!) So, 4 stars in total...