THE RAINMAKER (LIMITED EDITION)

I was quite late acquiring this album because at first I got the CD on loan basis from my prog mate Hardiansyah Rizal who always updated with recent release of prog album. As it was on loan basis, at that time I had also stacks of nec prog CDs so I didn't listen to it quite seriously. But I was so sure that it got to be a great album by the band. With that assumption finally I bought the CD myself. No surprise in terms of musical quality. As expected, The Flower Kings always delivers excellent stream of music packed with textures around its tracks.

"Last Minute On Earth" (11:40) is an excellent album and it has relatively straightforward composition. The song starts off with some man's gurgling which brings the music into heavy riffs. The unique Hasse's voice enters the music and it makes the composition complete. "World Without a Heart" (4:29) was composed - I think - for commercial reason - sorry Mr. Stolt, I might be wrong. You know it better. The chorus is nice but the structure is too rigid. "Road To Santuary" (13:50) is likeable for most people, probably. It's amazing how emotional this song is and it's beautifully composed. You might want to enjoy it yourself as it also contains nice lyrical parts. The song is kicking from start to end. "The Rainmaker" (6:02) is a good instrumental piece with a kind of marching beat.

"City Of Angels" (12:04) is an excellent an epic song. I find the choruses have good harmony. I like how the music flows using bass lines and keyboard as rhythm bed and it moves up and down with vocal line and guitar rhythm / fills. "Elaine" (4:55) is a nice ballad with acoustic guitar and bass lines that accompany vocal. The keyboard plays its role at background. Not that sweet in terms of melody but it's a nice one.

"Thru The Walls" (4:31) becomes my favorite even though it's short in The Flower Kings book. I like the electric guitar solo played intertwiningly with the mellotron sounds. "Sword Of God" (6:00) is a rocker and it's different as compared to the rest of the tracks. It has an excellent break and powerful, stunning guitar work. "Blessing Of A Smile" (3:12) is an instrumental piece which does not favor me even though composition-wise it's not a bad one. "Red Alert" (1:10) probably serve as a musical bridge with jazz-driven rhythm to connect with concluding track "Serious Dreamers" (8:59). It's an excellent track that closes the album. It's not a complex composition but it has good lyrics.

By all means this is an excellent album by The Flower Kings - the band who has been consistently making excellent prog music. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW