The Flower Kings are a progressive band originating in Sweden, and who have truly sincere comparisons to ‘70s progressive bands like Yes, Starcastle, and early Genesis.  Spun from a solo album entitled The Flower King in 1993, the revolving door band has since delivered a string of well-received albums including this latest one, The Sum of No Evil.

The Sum of No Evil is the band’s tenth release, 11 if you count the solo effort of principle member, Roine Stolt.  It contains 6 songs, several past the 10-minute mark with one clocking in at 24:30m.  All of this serves to remind of the works of bands like Yes, who, in the past, have been no stranger to massive compositions with mass acceptance.  While that mainstream acceptance has largely disappeared, there are still factions of devout fans that revere a great work from a well-produced progressive band.

The Flower Kings have had many albums to refine their work and all of that is reflected in The Sum of No Evil.  Strains of Yes come immediately to mind although Starcastle springs up more readily as an apt comparison on the album’s first track, the 13m+ “One More Time.”

The greatest success of Yes came in their single edits, expertly crafted from their longer songs.  I don’t hear any hidden edits that stand out in any of the songs here, which keeps The Flower Kings firmly in the AOR sector.  But even Yes lived in that realm successfully with albums like Close to the Edge, which could not yield a satisfactory edit, although the attempt was still a lovely piece (it only lost continuity with the rest of the album).  Other following albums like Tales From Topographic Oceans WOULD not yield a single, nor did Relayer produce one without losing continuity (although Atlantic Records tried). 

Starcastle, a band from central IL, crafted wonderful efforts that The Flower Kings reminds me of from their own song productions.  If you like your progressive music with a smorgasbord of instrumentation and smart-sounding songs, then The Flower Kings have a ride scheduled for you.