Newcomers to the realms of Swedish prog rock veterans The Flower Kings may be surprised to discover the band’s new album, Banks Of Eden, opens with a 25 minute epic entitled ‘Numbers’. Folks that have followed the band since their 1995 introduction on Back In The World Of Adventures – or came on board somewhere between then and now – will consider it business-as-usual for one of the genre’s highly respected favourites.

Banks Of Eden is not, however, the same old same old from a band stuck in a creative rut. On the contrary, for all the familiar elements contained within the five song opus (‘For The Love Of Gold’) there are several unexpected twists and turns (‘Pandemonium’). It’s an impressive way to announce the band’s return after five long years of silence. The song ‘Numbers’ in particular represents both what’s new in the band and what the fans are expecting from The Flower Kings.

“We’re five individuals coming from five different backgrounds,” says Stolt of the music that inspired the songs on Banks Of Eden, and has inspired The Flower Kings since the beginning regardless of line-up changes along the way. “Some of the background is similar, of course, but some of the guys have more of a jazz background and some have a heavy metal background. I guess what you hear on Banks Of Eden and probably on some of the previous ones is a mix of all our influences. Frank Zappa, The Beatles, Igor Stravinsky, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Yes, Genesis, there’s bits of that in our music.”

The Flower Kings have often been described as symphonic progressive rock with jazz and blues influences, something that remains true on Banks Of Eden. The music isn’t in a hurry, but it never stands still or becomes tedious, and it’s invariably positive in nature; another trademark The Flower Kings wear proudly.

Asked if the band had a specific goal in creating Banks Of Eden, Stolt admits they didn’t have any huge cosmic expectations as the music played out.

“We just wanted to go out and play music that was fun, and music that’s fun for us is music that’s a bit more demanding than three chords and three minutes and a great hook. Personally, I like bands like Coldplay and The Foo Fighters, we may even nick a few bars from them, but it’s not really our forte. The Flower Kings, as a band, simply sounds better and more true, playing symphonic grand scale music that’s a bit more demanding and music that gives us more space and allows us to be inventive, experimental and to stretch out.”

The Flower Kings avoid being tagged as a “typical” prog rock band on Banks Of Eden by doing away with the concept album stereotype so prevalent on the scene. Stolt penned the lyrics for the album and considers it to be a personal work this time out rather than grand storytelling.

“The album is a reflection of my thoughts on the world of today, I would say. I think this is where Roine Stolt as a person stands today. There are elements of both politics and religion, but I try to write lyrics without lecturing the fans. Still I always try to put something of a true wisdom of life or poetic beauty into the lyrics that hopefully stays with them.”

In the end, Banks Of Eden is a prog rock album in the true sense of the word “progressive.” It was created on the band’s terms with nobody looking over their shoulders offering suggestions or giving orders with regards to composing. For Stolt, it’s the creative freedom that he treasures the most being in a band like The Flower Kings.

“Playing progressive music to me means that you have the chance to break the rules if you want to, and if you want to stay within the rules, that’s fine too.”

Which is Banks Of Eden in a nutshell.