SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: JETHRO TULL – RÖKFLÖTE

Jethro Tull
RökFlöte
Inside Out Music/Sony Music

RökFlöte is Jethro Tull’s 23rd studio and their first album since 2022’s The Zealot Gene. Thankfully fans did not have to wait 20 years for the follow-up to that very successful album, as that had been the first Jethro Tull studio album in almost 20 years.

The lineup has not changed since The Zealot Gene, and on RökFlöte it does sound more like a band than ever before. This is a fantastic album, full of strong melodies, strong playing and great lyrics. To these ears, it stands with many of Jethro Tull’s classic albums. The band does an excellent job supporting Anderson, but in its own right provides some mighty fine playing.

The album explores the myths of Norse Paganism, while at the same time celebrating the use of the flute in rock music (it is really in the title of the album). Of course, Anderson made the flute a very cool rock instrument and his playing is iconic.

Anderson’s flute is front and centre. RökFlöte opens with the sound of heavy breathing to bring in “Voluspo”, which comes from a Norse poem and means ‘beauty from chaos’. There is no chaos here. Although the song is an unusual one, featuring narrative in Norse and some brilliant playing from Anderson and company, it is the best way to introduce the album. From this point on, it is a well structured and beautiful album full of folk/prog rock sounds, which is something Anderson has done extremely well in the past with several albums.

Give a listen to “Guardians Walk”, which starts off like an old English madrigal and quickly evolves into a strong rock song. Anderson’s vocals are stirring and the band comes in with force. It is one of the best moments on the album. “Hammer On Hammer” and “Wolf Unchained” are back to hard-driving songs, proving that this band has the talent to create hard-rocking yet melodic songs.

Anderson has always written strong melodies, and this is the case here with RökFlöte. He has written some songs here that sit comfortably with classic Jethro Tull songs. “The Navigators”, for example, is absolutely perfect. Anderson continues in his tradition of coming up with different yet distinctly Jethro Tull songs.

The music is a bit more darker on RökFlöte but that has a lot to do with the subject matter. It is a heavy album, both in music and lyrics, and yet it works perfectly.  Ian Anderson, with RökFlöte shows that The Zealot Gene was not a fluke but rather the beginning of a new era for the band. Furthermore, it may serve as a gateway into Norse mythology for many.

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