Green Carnation – A Dark Poem Part 1 Review Written By Kevin McSweeney
Update Sept 12: Green Carnation are also featured in our ongoing Deep Cuts: Metal’s Hidden Gems. Read how “My Dark Reflections of Life and Death” connects to their latest chapter.
This Green Carnation review of A Dark Poem Part 1: The Shores of Melancholia out now on Season of Mist explores how the band blend progressive beauty with ferocity in the first chapter of their ambitious trilogy.
I love a good trilogy. Whether it was the Star Wars movies I watched to death as a child, or the Back To The Future films I subjected to similar abuse only slightly later in life, or indeed the holy Lord of The Rings trinity that dominated my viewing pleasure in early adulthood, I’ve always been tremendously excited by things that come in packets of three. So, when it was announced that the legendary Norwegian masters of metal Green Carnation would be releasing a triumvirate of tuneage in the form of the A Dark Poem trilogy of albums, my interest was naturally piqued to put it mildly. To say that the first prong of the pitchfork, The Shores of Melancholia, has not disappointed would also be to put it mildly.
Green Carnation’s A Dark Poem, Part 1: The Shores of Melancholia is out now via Season of Mist. You can check out the full album release details, formats, and merch bundles in our album release feature.
They’ve come a long way since their initial death/doom sound of the early 2000s, now customarily weaving ornate sonic tapestries on a loom made of solid metal. The songs are still long, though nothing compared to the leviathan-sized compositions of their early career. Their second album, 2001’s Light of Day, Day of Darkness, was essentially one song lasting over an hour, after all. Now, they are very much a bastion of progressive metal in Europe, but they eschew all the esoteric ostentatiousness that such a mantle would ordinarily imply in favour of simply making good music. I love the contrast between the simplicity of the bluesy opening riff backed by quarter beats on an open hi-hat, and the grandiose synths that emerge when the first song kicks in properly, for example. It’s a fine way to open an album.
As Silence Took You overwhelmed me with emotion, as it might do to anyone who knows the pain of having lost a parent, and who knows the frustration of no longer being able to express gratitude to them, nor contrition for, as WB Yeats put it in Among School Children: “…the pang of his birth/nor the uncertainty of his setting forth.” It’s a keen sting indeed. Musically, it sets the pace for much, but not all, of the album to come, with its slow and stately progress being a hallmark of this band in their latter career. It is music with an understated power and almost regal elegance: pageantry minus the pomposity.
The muscular mid-paced riff that opens In Your Paradise offers a different tone altogether. You’d scarcely believe it was the gateway to a seven minute-plus epic, and in all honesty, it doesn’t seem as though the songs are that kind of duration. They are masters at operating at this kind of length without making the songs sound repetitive, forced or in any way tedious, which is not easy. The vocal melody in the verse reminds me of something, and it’s irking me that I can’t think what it might be. It’s probably from a musical: It has that dramatic air to it.
We stray almost into War of The Worlds territory on Me, My Enemy with its languid bass intro against a backdrop of otherworldly synths, one can almost imagine the red weed enveloping the studio or stage in the two minutes before the vocals commence. Thereafter, it’s like Pink Floyd at their most plaintive and serene. Lyrically, it’s harrowing stuff. For example:
Alive… Alive…
Darkness got the best of me
I’m not living, I’m just alive
I’m not living, I’m just alive
And it ventures into still darker territory.
Upside down, razor blade
Fake escape, the role I played
How can it be, I’m still alive?
I was taken aback somewhat by the ferocity of The Slave That You Are. It was a timely reminder that, no matter how melodic and emotional their more recent output might be, they are stamped indelibly with the mark of their extreme metal origins, and are only too happy for it to be known. Grutle Kjellson of Enslaved provides lead vocals on what is very much a foray into the realm of old-school black metal, thoughthe extremity subsides in favour of lush vocal harmonies and more grandiose synths in the chorus.
The title track has a distinct Middle Eastern flavour to it – so much so that I felt like I was looking beyond the titular shores to a vast expanse of sand, with camels dotted hither and thither on the horizon. It is melodic throughout, with only the slightest hint of harsh vocals, and relatively brief at five minutes and thirty-eight seconds in duration. Also, the keyboard solo is as proggy as it gets! Lyrically, it’s a gloomy as the title would suggest:
Here on the shores of melancholia
Winter is draining the life out of summer and hope torn asunder
Never mind; it’ll soon be Christmas.
Turning to the final track, the gargantuan Too Close to The Flame, they wrongfoot me once more by opening with shuffle-beat stoner rock, though I suppose it’s not a million miles from the way in which progressive rock is rendered by a certain band from Devon in England. The lavish vocal harmonies of the chorus over 1960s-style organ are particularly gratifying in a manner of which Matt Bellamy and Co. would surely approve. The middle section of the song is pure rock opera, with swirling organs and plaintive, wailing guitars not so much gently weeping as screaming into the void with heaving sobs. We then return to the style of earlier in the track before closing out with a shimmering coda driven by double-kick rolls and the repeated lamentation: “The purpose is constantly changing, a lesson learned as bridges burn.”
So, that’s the first installment of the trilogy, and there is much to love. Green Carnation are a metal band who do not shy away from beauty, a progressive band who do not indulge in unorthodox time signatures or ostentatious displays of virtuosity simply for the sake of it, proudly displaying their prowess only when the occasional calls for it. They are clever without being pretentious, and all of this is to their immense credit. We await the second and third parts of the poem with great interest, and award the opening stanza four and-a-half Metal Horns.
If you’ve enjoyed this Green Carnation review of A Dark Poem Part 1: The Shores of Melancholia, stay tuned for our updates on Parts 2 and 3.
A Dark Poem, Part 1: The Shores of Melancholia by Green Carnation is now available from via Season of Mist.
Tracklist:
1. As Silence Took You (07:12)
2. In Your Paradise (07:04)
3. Me My Enemy (07:17)
4. The Slave That You Are (06:16)
5. The Shores of Melancholia (05:38)
6. Too Close to the Flame (09:16)
Full runtime: 42:44
Available Formats
Digital Download
CD Digipack with Slipcase
12″ Vinyl Deluxe Gatefold (Black)
12″ Colored Vinyl Deluxe Gatefold (Gold with silver splatters)
Current line-up
Kjetil Nordhus – Vocals
Tchort – Guitar
Bjørn Harstad – Guitar
Stein Roger Sordal – Bass
Endre Kirkesola – Keyboards
Jonathan Alejandro Perez – Drums
Recording line-up
Kjetil Nordhus – Vocals
Bjørn Harstad – Guitar, Effects
Stein Roger Sordal – Bass, Guitars, Keyboards
Endre Kirkesola – Keyboards, Synthesizers, Organs, Effects
Jonathan Alejandro Perez – Drums
Guest Musicians
Ingrid Ose – Flute on “In Your Paradise” & “Me My Enemy”.
Grutle Kjellson (Enslaved) – Harsh Vocals on “The Slave That You Are”.
Henning Seldal – Percussion on “Too Close to the Flame”.
Production Credits
Recorded at DUB Studio in Kristiansand, Norway
Produced by Endre Kirkesola, Stein Roger Sordal & Kjetil Nordhus.
Sound Engineering by Endre Kirkesola.
Mixed by Endre Kirkesola & Bjørn Harstad
Mastered by Lawrence Mackrory
Cover Art
Niklas Sundin (https://www.nsundin.com)
Photography
Lars Gunnar Liestøl
Follow Green Carnation
Bandcamp: https://greencarnationsom.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreenCarnationNorway
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/green2carnation/
Twitter (X): https://x.com/Green2Carnation
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2vfEaTADayEniT7xbG-XCA
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1ZaJhNBAhJ3HjPsWiB9sDc
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/artist/green-carnation/72866964
Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/artist/8192
Tidal: https://tidal.com/browse/artist/23079
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is A Dark Poem, Part 1: The Shores of Melancholia about?
A: Green Carnation’s latest album explores themes of loss, melancholy, and rebirth, blending progressive metal with emotional storytelling. Lyrically, it moves between grief, existential struggle, and hope for transformation, making it both deeply personal and universally relatable.
Q: How does The Shores of Melancholia compare to Green Carnation’s earlier work like Light of Day, Day of Darkness?
A: While Light of Day, Day of Darkness was an hour-long epic that cemented Green Carnation’s place in prog metal history, The Shores of Melancholia takes a more song-based approach. It still carries the band’s trademark grandeur and emotional weight, but in a more concise, modern format across six tracks.
Q: Who contributed guest performances on the album?
A: The album features standout guest appearances, including Grutle Kjellson of Enslaved on harsh vocals for The Slave That You Are, as well as Ingrid Ose on flute and Henning Seldal on percussion. These contributions add extra depth and texture to Green Carnation’s already expansive sound.
Q: Where can I listen to A Dark Poem, Part 1: The Shores of Melancholia?
A: The album is available now via Season of Mist on streaming platforms such as Spotify and YouTube, with physical copies and orders available through the label’s official store.
