Label: Inside Out

Tracks: Disc 1:

1. The Truth Will Set You Free (31:01)
2. Monkey Business (4:20)
3. Black And White (7:40)
4. Christianopel (8:30)
5. Silent Inferno (14:25)
6. The Navigator (3:39)
7. Vox Humana (4:44)

Disc 2:

1. Genie In A Bottle (8:10)
2. Fast Lane (6:35)
3. Grand Old World (5:26)
4. Soul Vortex (4:38)
5. Rollin The Dice (5:01)
6. The Devils Danceschool (5:08)
7. Man Overboard (3:45)
8. Solitary Shell (2:50)
9. Devils Playground (25:27)
10. (bonus track) No Time for Tomatoes (10:24)

Musicians:

• Roine Stolt - vocals, guitars, keyboards
• Hasse Froberg - vocals
• Jonas Reingold - Fender bass, fretless bass
• Zoltan Csorsz - drums
• Tomas Bodin - Grand piano, keyboards

Guest musicians:

• Hasse Bruniusson - percussion
• Ulf Wallander - soprano saxophone

The Flower Kings have returned with a double album, almost two hours and a half of music.

After the discrete "Space Revolver" and "The Rainmaker" (IMHO), I think that in

this "Unfold the Future" things don't get too much better, although some particular songs are very nice. The band continues without evolving too much in their style, and the album is again too long, with several tracks without enough level. As players, it is not possible to blame anything to them because the instrumentation is prodigious in every member, something that, to some extent compensates a bit the lack of freshness and ideas in the composition, featuring the work of new drummer Zoltan Csorsz, a perfect replacement for Salazar.

The tracks that stand out for my taste would be the short "Rollin' the Dice", a Tomas Bodin track with great vocal work by "Hasse Froberg", in fact the only vocal work really good of the entire album (we know already that the voices have never been the more emphasized point in the band) that it might work like a single. Also one of the two tracks that long around half an hour, "Devil's Playground" is very nice, whereas other one "The Truth Will Set you Free" is not so much. Since it has happened to them in other times, I think that it would be better if it were a bit shorter. After all "The Truth ..." and others don't contribute with too much innovations with regard to the previous albums, but well either, they really have very good moments. Also the happy "Black and White" and the rockish "Genie in a Bottle"vare very nice.

More mops look like to me the irregular "Silent Inferno", or the tracks "The Navigator", "Vox Humana" and "Grand Old World". The rest are not bad.

The innovation would come in three jazzy tracks more experimental signed, or for all the members, or for Reingold and Csorsz "Christianopel", "Soul Vortex" and "The Devil's Danceschool", which in my opinion, have not just fitted in the whole of the album.

Summarizing, just the same as the other FK albums, and they continue to low level comparing with its discs appeared in the 90's. Notable inspiration sometimes, and few in others, though the quality as instrumentalists saves the album. The second CD is much better than the first one.

Rating: 5.5/10

Ferran Lizana