Formation
In early 1993, guitarist and singer Roine Stolt had written material for his third solo album The Flower King and sought for musicians to perform it. He had wanted to release a progressive rock-style album for a while and felt the time was right to pursue the project. The album features Stolt on vocals, guitar, bass and keyboards, Jaime Salazar on drums, and Hasse Fröberg on vocals, and was recorded in Sweden between May 1993 and January 1994.
In preparation for Stolt's concert tour to support the album's release, Stolt, Salazar, and Fröberg were joined by Stolt's brother Michael on bass and Tomas Bodin on keyboards. The five performed their first gig on 20 August 1994 at an outdoor festival in Uppsala, Stolt's hometown and the city where The Flower King was recorded. After they decided to become a full time band, they officially adopted the name The Flower Kings, named after Stolt's album. Stolt had produced a list of potential titles for the record, one of which was "The Flower King", and chose it because of its positive meaning and its reference to the hippie era of the 1960s.
Activity
After performing a series of concerts through 1994, the band entered the studio in December 1994 to record their debut album, Back in the World of Adventures. The recording process was gradual, finishing in September 1995.
In 2000, Michael Stolt was replaced by Jonas Reingold. Two years later, Salazar was replaced by Zoltan Csörsz. Daniel Gildenlöw of Pain of Salvation joined the band the same year as a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist.
Other contributors have included Hasse Bruniusson (percussion) and Ulf Wallander (saxophone).
Stolt has written the vast majority of the material the band has recorded, with Bodin contributing most of the rest. The music is best described as symphonic progressive rock, bearing a strong resemblance to the music of Yes, King Crimson, Gentle Giant, and early Genesis, with jazz fusion and blues influences. The band's lyrics are almost uniformly positive and uplifting, affirming such values as love, peace, and spirituality, and furthering their association with Yes.
Their 1999 album Flower Power contains the eighteen-section, almost 60-minute "Garden of Dreams".
In June 2007, they released The Road Back Home, a compilation of remixed songs from 1994 to 2006, plus "Little Deceiver" (a previously unreleased track) and the full version of their cover of "The Cinema Show" by Genesis.
Zoltan Csörsz was replaced by new drummer Marcus Liliequist for one album, but returned for the 2007 album, The Sum of No Evil. He was subsequently replaced by Erik Hammarström in 2008.
In 2008, Ola Heden, previously of Reingold's side project Karmakanic, joined on guitar, vocals and keyboards.
In November 2008, the band were the opening act of the Ecco Prog Fest in Moscow.
After touring in 2008, The Flower Kings were inactive for four years. Stolt felt the band had varied levels of focus in their direction and had started to feel lost. They reunited in 2011 to work on new material after Stolt felt it was the right time and sensed eagerness from the other members to work together. This marked the arrival of German drummer Felix Lehrmann. Banks of Eden, the group's eleventh album, was released in June 2012 and was recorded with analogue recording techniques and styles reminiscent of the height of vinyl records. This was followed by Desolation Rose in October 2013.
The line up of Stolt, Bodin, Reingold, Fröberg and Lehrmann played together for the last time in 2015. 2016 and 2017 saw the bandmembers busy with other engagements.
In December 2017, the first part of a career-spanning box set titled A Kingdom of Colours was released. This first box, with 10 discs, covers the period from 1995 to 2002 and includes the studio albums from Back in the World of Adventures to Unfold the Future. The second box set, titled A Kingdom of Colours 2 and covering the albums Adam & Eve through to Desolation Rose, was released in June 2018.
In September 2018, Stolt announced a new album named Manifesto of an Alchemist. The album did not feature long-time keyboardist Tomas Bodin, and as such it is credited to "Roine Stolt's The Flower King" rather than "The Flower Kings"
In August the same year Roine Stolt presented a new band called "Roine Stolt and friends play The Flower Kings". The band featured Stolt, Fröberg and Reingold with new keyboard player Zach Kamins and new drummer Mirko De Maio. Roine Stolt stated that he was done being in a group and wanted to tour as a solo artist like Roger Waters or Steven Wilson. Tomas Bodin was not a part of this group and made his displeasure quite public. The band toured with Spock’s Beard in November and December 2018 and continued to do shows in 2019, this time under the name "The Flower Kings Revisited".
In July 2019, "Revisited" was removed from the band name, making it clear that this line up was now "The Flower Kings". The band went on to release the double albums Waiting for Miracles in 2019 and Islands in 2020, the latter having been recorded entirely remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On 24 March 2021, Roine Stolt announced two big projects. The Flower Kings are working on a brand new album "in the same innocence" of Stardust We Are. On 19 April 2021, Roine officially teases that Stardust We Are is getting a brand new vinyl remaster.
On April 8th 2022, InsideOut and Roine Stolt announced that Back in the World of Adventures and Retropolis were getting "remastered and partly remixed". The release date for both was placed on May 27th 2022. Also Stardust We Are and Flower Power are getting remixes and remastered in June.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flower_Kings
Studio albums
The Flower King (1994)
Back in the World of Adventures (1995)
Retropolis (1996)
Stardust We Are (1997)
Flower Power (1999)
Space Revolver (2000)
The Rainmaker (2001)
Unfold the Future (2002)
Adam & Eve (2004)
Paradox Hotel (2006)
The Sum of No Evil (2007)
Banks of Eden (2012)
Desolation Rose (2013)
Manifesto of an Alchemist (2018)
Waiting for Miracles (2019)
Islands (2020)
By Royal Decree (2022)
Compassion
The Flower Kings Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
For the nameless, fallen stars
For the ones who built this land
For the ones with a gun in hand
Compassion
For the fearless, nameless stunts
Compassion
Compassion
For the homeless refugees
Compassion
For the scattered families
World of yours too small, history recall
Better not forget to look in both directions
Warrior, king or slave, freedom is your trade
CyberCain still screaming for connection
Compassion
For the ones who lost their faith
Compassion
Give it up and give in to hate
Compassion
Where hell is their self made heaven
Compassion
Can't forgive seventy, nor 7
Compassion
Is it us against the others?
Compassion
For the sister & her twisted brother
Compassion
With your face against the wall
Compassion
For the human after all
The Flower Kings's song, "Compassion," is a call for empathy and understanding toward those who are struggling and marginalized. The lyrics mention individuals who have been wounded, fallen, and who may feel lost or lonely. The song emphasizes that these people deserve our compassion, regardless of any differences that may exist between us. The song references "warrior, king or slave" and emphasizes that our "world is too small" and that it is important for us to look at history "in both directions."
The lyrics encourage the listener to empathize with those who may have lost faith, those who have felt the need to turn to violence or hatred, and those who may feel like their lives are a living hell. The song suggests that showing compassion is a personal responsibility and that even one person can make a difference in the world.
Line by Line Meaning
For the weak, wounded hearts
Compassion for those whose hearts are fragile and damaged
For the nameless, fallen stars
Compassion for those who have lost their identity and fallen from grace
For the ones who built this land
Compassion for the hardworking individuals who helped construct society
For the ones with a gun in hand
Compassion for those who resort to violence as their last resort
Compassion
A plea for empathy and understanding
For the fearless, nameless stunts
Compassion for those who take on daring challenges without recognition
For the lost and lonely ones
Compassion for those who feel isolated and alone
For the homeless refugees
Compassion for those who are displaced and seeking shelter
For the scattered families
Compassion for those who have been separated from their loved ones
World of yours too small, history recall
Acknowledge that one's personal experiences do not define the entirety of the world and its history
Better not forget to look in both directions
Encouragement to remain open-minded and consider all sides before making judgments
Warrior, king or slave, freedom is your trade
Regardless of status, the pursuit of personal liberty is valuable
CyberCain still screaming for connection
Modern technology has not soothed human desire for connection and relationships
Compassion
Repeat of the plea for empathy and understanding
For the ones who lost their faith
Compassion for those who have lost hope in something once significant to them
Give it up and give in to hate
Cynical suggestion that it is easier to succumb to negativity instead of pursuing positivity
Where hell is their self made heaven
Recognize that some individuals pursue harmful behaviors and find solace in them
Can't forgive seventy, nor 7
Unwilling or unable to forgive either a small or large offense
Is it us against the others?
Referencing problems with political and social divisions
For the sister & her twisted brother
Compassion for those who are related yet hold differing beliefs or attitudes
With your face against the wall
Feeling trapped or cornered without clear solutions
For the human after all
Reminder that despite differences, everyone shares a common humanity
Contributed by Riley T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.