Green Carnation

No matter what stylistic path they take, Green Carnation have never shied away from grand, gloomy statements. Founded in the early ‘90s by Emperor’s former bassist Tchort, the Norwegians quickly amassed a cult following thanks to one of the most ambitious epics in metal history. Even before going on hiatus during the mid-2000s, the ever-evolving auteurs still flashed a flare for the dramatic by performing their acoustic verses underneath a mountain dam. However, there was one tale — or three, to be exact — that continued to elude them. Until now. With A Dark Poem, Green Carnation have finally finished their masterpiece. The idea for an album trilogy stems from Green Carnation’s earliest yesteryears, but the first part of A Dark Poem cites various passages from across their illustrious cannon. Lead single “In Your Paradise” reaches newfound peaks of heaviness, swept out to sea by sublime riffs and somber symphonic flourishes. While navigated with the band’s familiar mastery, the view from The Shores of Melancholia is far from heavenly. Judgement day appears around every corner, steering them from the title track’s scarlet clouds of war toward Floydian whirlpools drenched in paranoia before being shipwrecked by second wave black metal. On A Dark Poem, Green Carnation set sail on an epic journey into a dark night of the soul.