Green Carnation A Dark Poem, Part I: The Shores Of Melancholia
- Metal |
- Prog Rock |
- Progressive Metal |
- Rock
Release Date: September 5, 2025
Label: Season Of Mist
Green Carnation’s A Dark Poem, Part I: The Shores of Melancholia is a bold trilogy opener that fuses progressive elements, heavy riffs, soaring melodies, and immersive storytelling into a powerful new chapter.
Green Carnation are a band who have been defined by ambition, resilience, and reinvention, and their new album A Dark Poem, Part I: The Shores of Melancholia proves just how far those qualities can take them. The album marks the first installment of a planned trilogy, a bold concept that recalls the scope of their landmark Light of Day, Day of Darkness while pushing into fresh territory with sharper focus and new energy.
From the opening salvo of “As Silence Took You” and “In Your Paradise,” it’s clear that Green Carnation are reconnecting with the immediacy of their Blessing In Disguise era. These songs are driven by hooks and choruses that stick, even as the band weaves in layers of heaviness. Elsewhere, “Me My Enemy” drifts through an intoxicating groove that blends jazz-inflected rhythms with Kjetil Nordhus’ most haunting vocal delivery, while “The Slave That You Are” reaches back to the band’s extreme roots, boosted by a guest turn from Enslaved’s Grutle Kjellson. The centerpiece title track feels atmospheric and cinematic, lifted by Kenneth Silden’s keyboards and matched with Niklas Sundin’s striking cover art. By the time “Too Close to the Flame” closes the album in sprawling, progressive fashion, The Shores of Melancholia feels like a complete journey, even as it points toward what’s to come.
For bassist and songwriter Stein Roger Sordal, this trilogy is less about nostalgia and more about exploration. He explains that the songs probe existential questions and inner struggles, designed to pull listeners into an immersive world that will extend across all three records. Nordhus echoes that spirit, emphasizing that A Dark Poem is about carrying forward the epic storytelling of the band’s past without repeating it. The aim is to create something challenging, emotional, and monumental, and judging by the ambition behind this project, they're on course to achieve it.