Reviewed by Bob Keeley
The Flower Kings returned in 2025 with their 17th studio album titled Love. Now, the band releases Live in Stockholm 2025, commemorating the first show of the EU tour in which the Flower Kings shared the bill with Neal Morse and the Resonance. Clocking in at 54 minutes, the live set focuses mostly on material from their latest album.
One of the things that makes Live in Stockholm 2025 (and their previous live album, Live in Europe 2023) such a good album and has kept the older album in high rotation for me for over a year and a half, is that the songs are not just recreated studio versions but they have something extra, a presence that isn’t always in the studio. The players, as always, are top-notch. This edition of the Flower Kings is still fronted by guitarists and singers Roine Stolt and Hasse Fröberg, and ably supported by Michael Stolt on bass, Mirko DeMaio on drums and Lalle Larsson on keys. The band delivers each of the songs with power and precision, featuring standout moments from just about every member of the band.
Roine Stolt’s guitar playing is once again often front and center, reminding us that many of the most memorable melodies in Flower Kings music comes in the instrumental sections of their songs. Stolt is an incredibly sensitive player, more interested in moving us with his playing than impressing us with his chops. Similarly, Larsson’s keys are impressive in much the same way. Fröberg’s voice and Stolt’s voice are similar enough that when they trade vocals, it is sometimes hard to be sure who is singing, but whichever one is, it is consistently excellent. This is a band that is in a good place right now, with a large catalog of music to draw from and new music that stands up well next to their classic material.
The album opens with wind chimes and bells before the snap of drums and the heavy unison riff that opened the Love album. Larsson’s chromatic keys solo near the end is one of many highlights in this song. It is a high-energy opening that gives all members of the band a chance to be noticed. This is followed by the beautiful “How Can You Leave Us Now” featuring Michael Stolt’s fretless bass, which ushers in the verse sung by his brother Roine, later joined by Fröberg. The whole thing is sensitively and beautifully played and sung, a wonderful contrast to the fiery opener.
Next up, another Love song, one of the few that is not a Roine Stolt composition, a shortened version of “Considerations.” Not only did bassist Michael Stolt co-write the song but he also sings part of the verse. Then, the longest track on the album, another song from Love, “The Elder,” a sprawling track that has a deceptively simple central musical motif, a six-note pattern that shows up again and again as the track weaves through all 12 minutes. Roine Stolt plays with religious imagery in this song. It is the middle track of the album and, in many ways, lies at the heart of the album as well, especially as he sings, “there’s nothing greater than the love we save.”
The Flower Kings reach back in their huge catalog to play ”Last Minute on Earth,” the opening track from their 2001 album, The Rainmaker, and the only track on the album older than two years. The track features a riff that starts out harmonically simple (a jump to the fifth and then the octave) before it gets chromatic giving the central riff both a grounded and other-worldly sound. It also features a spectacular keyboard solo from Larsson (starting just before the six-minute mark) followed by an equally amazing guitar solo from Roine Stolt. This section is one of the highlights of the album and ushers in the stirring conclusion to the track, which segues directly into the beautiful, sparse instrumental keyboard solo, the aptly named “Desolate.”
For their finale, the band pulls out a song from the recent album Look at You Now, “The Dream,” a song that was also featured, in pretty much the same arrangement, on Live in Europe 2023. But the song includes another great solo from Larsson and ends with one of those big strong melodies that Stolt writes so well, as well as the kind of uplifting lyrics that are at the heart of what the Flower Kings sing about. It makes for a fine and fitting conclusion to their set and the album. This album captures The Flower Kings as the brilliant live band they are.
The Flower Kings set list:
1. We Claim the Moon
2. How Can You Leave Us Now!?
3. Considerations
4. The Elder
5. Last Minute on Earth
6. Desolate
7. The Dream
