TWENTY FLYING KINGS

The above quote from the CD booklet pretty much defines the essence of the band - a synthesis of disparate styles that relies heavily on the free use of woodwinds and acoustic string things. Oboe, recorders and mandolin bring eastern, medieval and folk atmospheres to the proceedings of 'Twenty Flying Kings' respectively, but fit together naturally.

Those readers familiar with the band will recognise from the track list that 'Twenty Flying Kings' is a collection of old tracks, culled from their first two albums and from the Colossus 'Inferno' project (I must check that out, the storm and stress of 'Anastasius' Epitaph' is counterpointed beautifully by the aching electric guitar riff of 'The Great Bear Rising'), although they have all been re-recorded. There's nothing new in that idea of course, Le Orme did something similar with 'Amico di Ieri' but I think Court pull it off better. The question for me is: How do they manage to give inspiration to old material?

Well, the album was recorded between 2007-2012 but is the product of a project begun in 2006. It was originally conceived as part of a 2-CD release; one disc was to have consisted of new material and another disc of acoustic versions of old songs. The project was abandoned as being over-ambitious although it saw the release of 'Frost of Watermelon' and the recording of some of the acoustic stuff here.

The band's intention was to better articulate the mood of the songs, so for example on the opening track 'Cries' there are no longer any sampled sounds of a victorious army marching home and there is no extended intro of garageland guitars. We're thrown straight into the thick of the action with rabble-rousing cries of 'Tell me! Tell Me! Where the soldiers have gone to die... Wasted! Wasted! Wasted the lands behind them / Now the king is satisfied.' This 'in the middle of things' device enlivens the track and combines with the battle of wills between acoustic and electric guitars to convey the anti-war strife.

The album also gives Court the chance to really stretch out and expand some tracks, giving more space to explore their musical vision. The album's symphonic centrepiece 'Sumptuous Moment' is their reading of the poetry of Emily Dickinson and concerns man's exploitation of nature. It has been greatly extended from its original version so I won't try to trace the disorienting trajectory of its 22-minutes but it conveys a sense of wandering lost in a perilous forest. If Court's original plan for this album was overly ambitious, there's certainly no poverty of ambition here either.

The album is broadly themed around encounters with kings and it also represents a chance for listeners to meet new vocalist Marco Pedrini; all vocals are in English, which is of course something of a mixed blessing but given the importance of the narratives it's a good thing overall. For instance, the epic 'Alviss' Revenge' is based on eddaic poetry and concerns the story of Alviss and his two brothers, their valkyrie brides, stolen rings, the envious king Garm etc., and google translate simply wouldn't have cut the mustard.

This year's new prog releases have set the bar pretty high but don't overlook 'Twenty Flying Kings' - it's a fine album and should be of equal interest to Court newcomers as well as fans looking for new material hewn out of old.

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