Il
30 ottobre 2020 i progressive rocker
THE FLOWER KINGS pubblicheranno il nuovo doppio album
“Islands”, su
Inside Out Music, un anno dopo la release di “Waiting For Miracles”.
A causa della pandemia di Covid-19 l’album sarà pubblicato con leggero anticipo rispetto quanto pianificato dal mastermind Roine Stolt. Di seguito un suo commento:
“Dopo la cancellazione di tutti gli show e i festival abbiamo pensato che l’unico modo per fronteggiare questa pandemia sarebbe stato farlo a distanza. Un virus non potrà mai fermarci! Con membri sparsi per USA, Italia, Austria e Svezia l’unica maniera per realizzare questo album è stata sfruttare la ‘magia della rete’, inviandoci file e cercando di costruire quello che poi è diventato un mastodontico doppio album di 21 canzoni”.
“Islands” sarà disponibile in formato 3LP&2CD box set, Limited Edition 2CD Digipak e digitale. Il preorder sarà disponibile dall’11 settembre 2020.
L’artwork di “Islands” è stato curato dal leggendario Roger Dean (Yes, Asia, Gentle Giant, Greenslade, Uriah Heep), disponibile di seguito assieme alla tracklist:
Disc One (49:40)
1. Racing With Blinders On 4:24
2. From The Ground 4.02
3. Black Swan 5:53
4. Morning News 4:01
5. Broken 6:38
6. Goodbye Outrage 2:19
7. Journeyman 1:43
8. Tangerine 3:51
9. Solaris 9:10
10. Heart Of The Valley 4:18
11. Man In A Two Peace Suit 3:21
Disc Two (43:01)
1. All I Need Is Love 5:48
2. A New Species 5:45
3. Northern Lights 5:43
4. Hidden Angles 0:50
5. Serpentine 3:52
6. Looking For Answers 4:30
7. Telescope 4:41
8. Fool’s Gold 3:11
9. Between Hope & Fear 4:29
10. Islands 4:12
Stolt reveals the following about the concept of the record:
“The theme of the album is isolation – so the title ‘Islands’ 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 each one 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 Peppers’ 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 90min long ride.”
Line-Up:
Roine Stolt – Vocal, Ukulele, Guitars, Additional Keyboards
Hasse Fröberg – Vocal & Acoustic Guitar
Jonas Reingold – Bass, Acoustic Guitar
Zach Kamins – Pianos, Organ, Synthesizers, Mellotron, Orchestrations
Mirko DeMaio – Drums, Percussion
Guest: Rob Townsend – Soprano Saxophone
https://www.roinestolt.com/
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https://www.facebook.com/pale.rider.127
