Roine Stolt

From the 1970s onward, Hasse (also spelled Hans at times) Bruniusson has been one of the most influential drummers in Sweden. A member of the seminal progressive rock band Samla Mammas Manna, he later became a member of the Flower Kings while keeping active in experimental, free, and avant-prog territories. A figure of high originality, a respected musician, and a stage clown, Bruniusson helped Sweden's music scene get recognition on an international level…

In 2014, original Kaipa members Roine Stolt, Ingemar Bergman (drums) and Tomas Eriksson (Bass) re-grouped under the name Kaipa Da Capo to play the old music from the first three albums as well as brand new music. To complete the team they called Mikael Stolt (vocals, guitar), brother of Roine, and Max Lorentz (keyboards). After a series of concerts in 2015 the group started the recording of a new album in June 2016.
Each track has its own idiosyncrasies, each its own classic prog band reference point - so the influence of Yes, Caravan, King Crimson, Genesis and Camel can be heard at various points…

Adele Schmidt and Jose Zegarra Holder have released a 95 minutes documentary that features several prog rock bands and label/studio owners. This is not so much a story of current progressive rock, as it a small survey of several bands and the USA North East coast fests…

With the shortest track clocking at over eleven minutes, be ready for extremely long pieces of music from TFK. Musically, the band's reliance on melody and harmony to carry forth their edgier musical explorations is a real blessing; they welcome the listener inside their sound world and make them a part of their sprawling musical narratives. One listen to the monolithic opener, "The Truth Will Set You Free," (clocking in at over 31 minutes), or Disc Two's 26-minute-plus closer, "Stardust We Are," proves that good music has no expiration date, and that inspiration is a deep well that knows no prejudices. This is the real stuff: brave, elegant, ambitious and yes, soulful.

Roine Stolt's voice is strong, full, passionate, and delightfully accented. The Flower Kings' lyrics are heady, compelling, and hook city. The guitar work is extremely melodic and rates right up there with anything Brian May or David Gilmour has offered. Stolt is expertly meshed in this band with brother Michael on bass and voice. Tomas Bodin excels on Hammond organ, Mellotron, piano, and flute…

For this project, members of the Flower Kings (guitarist Roine Stolt, bassist Jonas Reingold, and drummer Zoltan Csorsz) and one ex-member of Van der Graaf Generator (sax player David Jackson) team with the core of Parallel or 90 Degrees (singer/keyboardist Andy Tillison, guitarist Guy Manning, and keyboardist Sam Baine), hence the name of the group. Parallel, tangent – take a few seconds to figure it out. Stolt and Tillison share an undisputable love for old-school symphonic prog rock and epic songs. They indulge in both here. "In Darkest Dreams" is the main course, an eight-part, 20-minute suite that adds some of the Flower Kings' bright colors to Po90s usually darker (VDGG-esque) delivery.

Musically, Agents Of Mercy falls under the song oriented symphonic progressive rock genre, which is very similar to Roine and Nad’s respected bands. They do have a unique identity. The uniqueness comes partially due to Nad’s vocals, as it takes a while to get used to. A brief description is a mix of classic Yes (Roine’s guitar playing) & mostly Lamb-era Genesis (Nad‘s vocals).

The Sea Within – a new art-rock group formed by Roine Stolt (Transatlantic, The Flower Kings), Daniel Gildenlöw (Pain of Salvation), Jonas Reingold (The Flower Kings, Karmakanic, The Tangent), Tom Brislin (Renaissance, Spiraling, Yes Symphonic, Deborah Harry) & Marco Minnemann (The Aristocrats, Steven Wilson, UK, Joe Satriani) – have announced they will release their as-yet-untitled debut album in Summer 2018.