The Flower Kings - Islands (Limited Edition) (2020)

Progressive rockers The Flower Kings will release their new double album "Islands" on InsideOutMusic, just a year after the band's much celebrated "Waiting For Miracles". Due to the Covid-19-pandemic, the album comes out quite a bit sooner than originally planned as the band's creative mastermind Roine Stolt explains: "All shows and festivals were cancelled and the future didn't really 'unfold' itself like we had hoped. To sit out the pandemic with no activities was not an option for us! We can't be stopped by an evil virus! So, with members living in the USA, Italy, Austria and Sweden, the only way to realize this album, was to use the magic of the internet, sending files around the globe and start building what now has become a mammoth-sized double album of 21 songs." The 92 minutes long album features artwork by legend Roger Dean (Yes, Asia, Gentle Giant, Greenslade, Uriah Heep) and all trademark sounds and melodies the band is renowned for. From vintage keys to epic guitar solos, from odd drum patterns to symphonic elements, The Flower Kings present a dynamic and complex record that is bold, bombastic and beautiful. Stolt reveals the following about the concept of the record: "The theme of the album is isolation - so the title felt like a most relevant title - as much of it circulates around isolation, loss and the fear of being disconnected. Having to face this unexpected pandemic will leave marks on everyone of us for a very long time and to lose loved ones forces us to soldier on, learning and growing a stronger version of ourselves in this fragile cycle of life. Musically the aim has been to create a bigger grand epic piece out of 21 songs, so they are all connected with themes that weave in and out, like the way Sgt. Pepper's or The Lamb were built on shorter songs, but yet linked. So view it as one mega song or as 21 separate pieces, it is all tailored to be listened to as one piece - like a cinematic 90 minutes long ride."