The Flower Kings – By Royal Decree (Album Review)

When Roine Stolt’s The Flower King released “Manifesto of An Alchemist” in 2017, it was uncertain what that meant for the potential of a full Flower Kings reunion. Three albums later in a relatively short span of time, it’s apparent that Kings never die, they just rotate in and out of a revolving door from album to album. On “By Royal Decree” we see original bassist Michael Stolt finally reappearing through the door while Jonas Reingold is putting on his hat to exit for the time being while he further explores Steve Hackett’s domain. But wait – that looks like Hasse Bruniusson also making a return with his percussive kit in hand. By and large though, this album is made by the same band who re-booted the band’s existence two albums ago which includes the remarkable Zach Kamins on an extensive keyboard array and Mirko DeMaio on drums, both joining the ever-dependable Hasse Fröberg and, of course, Roine Stolt himself.

Having recently released two double albums with shorter material, what direction would “By Royal Decree” take? Previous release “Islands” was filled with exciting melodic ideas and some promising new directions which felt fresh and forward-thinking. Would The Flower Kings continue to explore new terrain or would they opt for the classic approach of an album-side epic? As it turned out, neither. They did go nostalgic for sure – including harvesting decades’ old ideas from Roine’s files – but once again they take the form of another double album of relatively short songs. No epics. Lots of material. Pour a drink and get ready to settle in, this is going to take some time to digest everything presented in these 94 minutes.

Much more-so than “Islands”, “By Royal Decree” carries the atmosphere of classic Flower Kings. Maybe it’s the return of Michael Stolt, maybe it’s the analog recording board used but most likely it’s that some of the source material is from years ago and that influenced the style of the new material, too. Roine has indicated that he’s enjoying revisiting the original sound of the band and their upcoming tour is rumored to feature plenty of material from old, beloved albums. So, although an originality factor takes a hit, the vibe will likely meet the preferences of many long-time fans and is apparently where the band themselves wants to go right now.

As with most Flower Kings material, there’s so much going on that repeat listenings are required to truly digest the song structures and fall under their spell. “World Gone Crazy” is crazy busy indeed especially in the percussion department, what with Bruniusson and DeMaio going at it, not to mention Michael’s insistent bass lines. “Blinded” continues the intensity, Roine’s guitar leads mixing with guest sax from Rob Townsend. It’s one of the album’s best, as well as the longest track at about 8 minutes. “The Soldier” particularly makes the most of Bruniusson’s presence with a generous heaping of added percussion.

“By Royal Decree” Album Artwork

Not all the pieces are complex, however. Referring to the beautiful single “A Million Stars”, the band themselves are quick to label it a “simple melody” and “The Flower Kings at their more accessible end”. That’s not the only “ballad” approach offered, either. “The Darkness In You” is a slow, mournful tune that starts off with “There’s a sadness in your eyes,” one of many that includes guest Jannica Lund on backing vocals. Disc 2 gets even better with “Silent Ways”, a gorgeous piece sung poignantly by Fröberg as his 12-string acoustic chimes in and Reingold makes a rare appearance on his warbly fretless bass. “Open Your Heart” is a classic mellow Kings anthem, bringing together all three voices (including Lund) in a satisfying blend. Towards the end it picks up speed and lets Roine take off with uplifting guitar phrases.

Not surprisingly, there’s a few quirky outliers sprinkled throughout, all of them relatively accessible. “We Can Make It Work” carries the fun, lighthearted approach of a psychedelic 60s pop carousel whereas “Letter” feels like a playful Roine love letter to the inner child in all of us. Kamins commands the orchestral spotlight on the entrancing “Moth” which offers Roine the platform to get more emotive with his vocals, and later the brief piano solo “Shrine” demonstrates how sensitive a writer Kamins is. And for those who love them some Roine guitar solos (and who doesn’t?), instrumental “Evolution” finally delivers in that regard. There’s also several classic Flower Kings symphonic pieces as always, standouts being “Time The Great Healer” and “The Big Funk”, both on Disc 2 which feels like the more consistent of the two discs.

Sometime these lengthier Flower Kings albums take heat for padding some filler. While there’s no stinker songs throughout the whole affair, it might have been possible to drop a few tracks and pare down “By Royal Decree” into one long disc. Instead, the band threw in all of the material to create a genuine double album – two discs with reasonable running times that can be enjoyed separately or together. While not revolutionary (despite a song with that title), this release carries the comfortable and familiar reassurance of an old friend in a new outfit. Michael Stolt does admirably well back in the bass seat and Zach Kamins continues to be one of the secret ingredients in making this present-day Flower Kings…well, flowery. We’ll have to wait to see where the Kings’ revolving door takes us from here.

Released by: Inside Out Music
Released on: March 4th, 2022
Genre: Progressive Rock

Musicians:

• Roine Stolt / Vocals, electric & acoustic 6- & 12-string guitars, ukulele, Portuguese 12-string guitar, nylon guitar, additional keyboards, orchestration
• Hasse Fröberg / Vocals, 12-string acoustic guitar
• Zach Kamins / Organ, pianos, synths, orchestration
• Michael Stolt / Bass, Moog Taurus, backing vocals
• Jonas Reingold / Fretted & fretless bass
• Mirkko DeMaio / Drums & percussion, additional orchestration
• Hasse Bruniusson / Acoustic & electronic percussion

With:

• Jonas Lindberg / Bass
• Rob Townsend / Saxophones
• Aliaksandr Yasinski / Accordion
• Jannica Lund / Backing vocals

“By Royal Decree” Track-Listing:

 1. The Great Pretender (6:55)
2. World Gone Crazy (5:04)
3. Blinded (7:45)
4. A Million Stars (7:11)
5. The Soldier (5:23)
6. The Darkness In You (5:13)
7. We Can Make It Work (2:48)
8. Peac**k On Parade (5:15)
9. Revolution (5:59)
10. Time The Great Healer (6:12)
11. Letter (2:25)
12. Evolution (4:47)
13. Silent Ways (5:01)
14. Moth (4:31)
15. The Big Funk (4:39)
16. Open Your Heart (5:17)
17. Shrine (1:08)
18. Funeral Pyres (7:14)

“By Royal Decree” will be available as Ltd. 2CD Digipak, as Ltd. 180g 3LP+2CD Box Set as well as Digital Album. Pre-order HERE.