Sunday 6 September 2020

#20 - Top of 2019

The Flower Kings - Waiting for Miracles (Inside Out)



Another year, another excellent release from prog masters The Flower Kings. After Roine Stolt's "almost" personal album in 2018, he decided to return to a more collective take and reactive the full band, releasing a new album, called "Waiting For Miracles ". Here we find the "permanent" lineup of Hasse Froberg (vocals) and Jonas Reingold (bass), but not Tomas Bodin (keyboards) who has been newly replaced by Zach Kammins, along with Mirko DeMaio  on drums.
There are few musical differences  with its predecessors as is always the case with The Flower Kings. Even more so when the band leader himself mentions that he wanted to write a "pure prog rock" album, according to the teachings of Floyd, King Crimson and Yes. Thus, "Waiting For Miracles", is treading on familiar ground and does not disappoint.  There is a good, healthy amount of a traditional prog here, with many layers of keyboards, unconventional measures and extensive guitar solos, sometimes having a more symphonic and sometimes a more pop approach, but always remaining top quality. Among tracks found here, the 10 minute "Vertigo" with its  beautiful vocal melodies, "Ascending To The Stars" which is straight from a sci-fi soundtrack, the instrumental "The Rebel Circus" and the magical "Sleep With The Enemy" truly stand out. Overall the truth is that with "Waiting For Miracles" nothing changes radically either for the band or for its fans. It's not the best work of The Flower Kings, but it continues to be remarkably above almost anything else out this year and can serve as a starting point for exploring the wonderful musical world they have created over the years.


94.3/100

Below is the official audio for "Miracles in America".


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