WHEEL OF LIFE

Jonas has streamlined his band to a four piece, while many of those who were on the debut are now participating in a limited manner as guests. There are a lot of guests(11) helping out though. Reingold is on bass of course, Csorsz is back on drums along with Edman(vocals) and Jonzon(guitars). I must say that the lyrics really have THE FLOWER KINGS flavour to them as they are positive and encouraging.

'Masterplan Pt.1" opens with synths as a country flavoured guitar melody comes in followed by a full sound. It calms right down before some killer drumming comes in with fat bass lines. The contrast of mellow and heavy continues. Vocals 4 minutes in. Some nice guitar 5 1/2 minutes in as bass throbs. Check out the keyboard solo from guest Richard Anderson from TIME REQUIEM! I'm not a fan of the vocals and sound after 8 minutes. Too much sugar. A great instrumental section 11 minutes in. Vocals are back 12 1/2 minutes.

"Alex In Paradise" opens with some baby sounds(Jonas' son Alex) as strummed guitar comes in. A full sound comes quickly and vocals too. The bass is fantastic ! The song isn't. I have trouble enjoying his vocals. I like the jazzy section 3 minutes in. Spacey synths after 4 minutes. The last minute is catchy. "At The Speed Of Light" opens with a good instrumental section for a minute. Bodin on organ shines. Vocals and heavy bass follow. Again it's catchy but i'm not buying, too much sugar is not good for you. Nice guitar 4 minutes in with some cool percussion a minute later. "Do U Tango ?" is the first song that I really like from beginning to end. It opens with robotic female spoken words that say "Excuse me do you tango I want to dance".This line is used throughout at different times. I love the drumming and atmosphere to open. Check out the percussion as well. Other then the spoken words this is an instrumental. It's outstanding with lots of space to breathe. Some Spanish styled guitar too. Check out the bass solo before 6 minutes as drums pound. More heaviness follows. Nice.

"Where Earth Meets The Sky" opens with piano as a good solid sound comes and goes. This sounds great. A change after 3 minutes as vocals come in. It becomes more like a ballad. Lots of piano throughout. A jazzy section 7 minutes in is welcomed. Some atmosphere a minute later with female vocal melodies. A full sound returns 10 minutes in and check out the guitar a minute later. "Hinby" is another favourite of mine. I like the raw sounding guitar melodies, while the bass and drumming impress in this instrumental. "Wheel Of Life" is a catchy vocal track. It's ok I guess, with lots of flute. Roine's on guitar. "Masterplan Pt.2" features vocals that are almost spoken to start with. He does sing though and a full sound arrives 2 minutes in. Roine lets it rip on guitar.

So another good album but one I could live easily without.