Sweeping, jazzy and gloriously ambitious. Unfold the Future is the 2002 album by The Flower Kings: a lavish double album from the Swedish prog masters.

The short version

The 2002 seventh studio album by the Swedish band The Flower Kings, and one of their best-loved. Another sprawling double album, it leans further into jazz-fusion and cinematic ambition than before, blending the band’s symphonic grandeur with looser, jazzier explorations. It is anchored by ‘The Truth Will Set You Free’, a thirty-minute epic often ranked among the finest things the band has ever recorded. The album introduced dynamic new drummer Zoltan Csörsz, whose jazzy touch reshaped the band’s rhythmic feel, with guest vocals from Daniel Gildenlöw of Pain of Salvation. Rich, adventurous and superbly played, it is a high point of the band’s early-2000s run.

A jazzier new chapter

Undaunted by their relentless workload, The Flower Kings pressed straight on with Unfold the Future. The album introduced a new drummer, the young Hungarian talent Zoltan Csörsz, whose jazz-inflected playing gave the band a fresh rhythmic energy. He joined the settled core — Roine Stolt on guitars, vocals and keyboards, Hasse Fröberg on vocals, Tomas Bodin on keyboards and Jonas Reingold on bass — with guest vocals from Daniel Gildenlöw, frontman of fellow Swedish band Pain of Salvation, plus returning saxophonist Ulf Wallander and percussionist Hasse Bruniusson. With Csörsz and Reingold locking into a supple jazz-fusion groove, the band pushed their sound into looser, more adventurous territory.

The sound

Unfold the Future is sweeping, jazzy prog rock, symphonic and adventurous. It keeps the band’s trademark elements — soaring guitar, lush Mellotron and organ, warm harmonies and grand, multi-part epics — but folds in a stronger jazz-fusion streak, with looser, improvisational passages and a more cinematic sweep. The new rhythm section of Csörsz and Reingold swings with real fluency, while Wallander’s saxophone and guest trumpet add extra jazzy colour. The double-album format lets the band roam freely, from a towering half-hour epic to punchier songs, jazzy jams and delicate interludes. Rich, ambitious and superbly played, it is one of the band’s most rewarding and adventurous records.

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The songs

‘The Truth Will Set You Free’ is the album’s crowning epic, a thirty-minute journey through countless moods that ranks among the band’s very finest. ‘Genie in a Bottle’ is a rich, dynamic highlight, full of the band’s trademark variety. And ‘Grand Old World’ is a lovely, jazzy standout, coloured by vibraphone and saxophone.

Reception and legacy

Unfold the Future was warmly received, widely regarded as a strong return to form after the more divisive Rainmaker and one of the band’s finest and best-selling albums of the era. Reviewers praised its jazzier ambition, its cinematic scope and, above all, the epic ‘The Truth Will Set You Free’, which won admiring notices and awards. New drummer Zoltan Csörsz drew particular praise for the fresh energy he brought. Some still felt the band’s generosity could tip into excess — a perennial note — but most were swept up in the album’s craft and adventure. Today it is regarded as a high point of the band’s early-2000s output — a lavish, jazzy and richly rewarding album.

The verdict

Unfold the Future is The Flower Kings at their most adventurous: sweeping, jazzy prog rock built on soaring guitar, lush keyboards and a supple jazz-fusion groove. Come for the epic ‘The Truth Will Set You Free’ and the dynamic ‘Genie in a Bottle.’ Rich, ambitious and superbly played, it is essential listening for anyone who likes their progressive rock grand, jazzy and full of invention — and one of the finest albums from the prolific early-2000s run of one of the genre’s most enduring bands.

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