* En anglais uniquement
Norwegian progressive metal band
Green Carnation have -- since their 1990 founding by guitarist Terje Vik Schei (aka
Tchort) as a death metal quartet -- been among metal's most musically ambitious and aesthetically evolutionary bands. Over three decades and a constantly shifting sound, the band have developed an instantly recognizable trademark: A skill for developing rich, intricate, even serpentine melodies that offer force, dynamic, lush production, and elegant textures. That constantly evolving yet always consistent sound has been the beating heart of all their releases through various explorations of death and Gothic metal, doom, hard rock, prog, and more (sometimes in in the same song). 2000's
Journey to the End of the Night, displayed
Green Carnation's powerful harmonic sensibility, especially in the addition of four rotating female guest vocalists. Near the end of 2001, they smashed all critical preconceptions with the release of
Light of Day, Day of Darkness. The album was a single track, just over an hour in length, that spiraled in all directions to create a labyrinth of swirling sonics, deep emotion, and aggression. In 2007,
Green Carnation split again. A different lineup returned for 2018's live outing Last Day of Darkness before re-entering the studio.
Founded as a death metal quartet by guitarist
Tchort with lead guitarist Christian "X" Botteri, bassist C.M. Botteri, and drummer
Anders Kobro, they developed an intense approach, as displayed on their 1996 demo Hallucinations of Despair, before splitting.
Tchort joined
Emperor as a bassist, while his bandmates formed back metal outfit
In the Woods.
Green Carnation re-formed in 1998 with new drummer Alf T. Leangel, though
Tchort was by then also playing guitar and bass in
Carpathian Forest and guitar in
Blood Red Throne. After playing gigs to rediscover their chemistry, they signed to Prophecy Productions and released their official debut long-player,
Journey to the End of the Night -- titled after the nightmarish first novel by writer
Louis-Ferdinand Celine -- in 2000, a richly Gothic and folk-inspired doom metal album. Critics greeted the set with favorable reviews, often remarking on the band's use of violin and classically trained female vocalists. It proved successful enough to warrant
Green Carnation headline status.
Little could have prepared newfound fans for the 2001 release of
Light of Day, Day of Darkness. For starters it featured a single track lasting an hour and a wholly different lineup. New vocalist
Kjetil Nordhus made his debut, while drummer
Kobro returned, bringing
In the Woods bandmates
Bjørn Harstad and
Stein Roger Sordal on lead guitar and bass, respectively; they also brought their vocalist Synne Soprana Larsen along as a guest. The set was produced by
Endre Kirkesola, who also dubbed and sang on choir vocals, played keyboards, sitar, organ, and arranged strings. The sprawling
Light of Day, Day of Darkness, was the first example of
Green Carnation's ability to create labyrinthine musical mazes in their compositions. It has since earned a reputation as a 21st century Gothic/prog metal classic. After a lengthy tour,
Green Carnation re-entered the studio with keyboardist
Bernt Moen (later of Shining) making the band a quintet. Produced by
Tchort,
Blessing in Disguise, issued by
Season of Mist, was a harder, more riff-centric and overtly "metal" record than either of its predecessors. While some critics complained that the band seemed incapable of finding a singular musical identity, others understood exactly what
Green Carnation were doing in not limiting themselves. There were prog and Gothic touches throughout the recording, but the energy and heaviness of the guitar and bass riffs were the album's primary flavor.
The following year, Prophecy issued the box set The Trilogy, containing the band's first three albums while they went out and issued their first live video, Alive and Well...In Krakow. There were more lineup changes as Michael S. Krumins replaced
Harstad on guitar and
Kenneth Silden took over the keyboard chair from
Moen. The Silent Offspring appeared from
Season of Mist in early 2005. It shocked longtime listeners as it flirted as much with hard rock riffs (think
Black Sabbath and
Deep Purple) as it did with crunchy metal and elegant prog balladry. Though reviews were mixed, audience enthusiasm ensued on the tour and aided its sales considerably. Interestingly, other bands taking criticism from music journos for the same thing included
Opeth and
Katatonia. Later that year, the band's lineup shifted again, with drummer Tommy Jacksonville replacing
Kobro. These personnel issued the EP The Burden Is Mine... Alone.
2006 proved a fateful year for
Green Carnation. They shifted musical directions radically for the appropriately titled
Acoustic Verses. While not totally unplugged -- there were keyboards, Theremin, and electric and e-bow bass -- the music here reflected the influence of
Wish You Were Here and
Animals-era
Pink Floyd with lush strings, flowing narrative lyrics, and altogether more elegant textures. Critical reception was over the top as punters felt that
Green Carnation had made the transition to soft prog at long last, and as a result won a multitude of new fans. They released it as the live 2007 DVD A Night Under the Dam, offering performances of the entire
Acoustic Verses album, as well as a two non-album cuts. In addition to the band (who featured four acoustic guitarists in the lineup, they were aided by a string quintet and the vocals of
Anne Marie Almedal (ex-
Velvet Belly). It would be
Green Carnation's final outing for a decade. In the aftermath,
Tchort announced a forthcoming studio outing entitled The Rise and Fall of Mankind, described as the closing chapter in the conceptual trilogy that began with
Journey to the End of the Night and continued with
Light of Day, Day of Darkness. That said, the pressures from global touring resulted in massive financial losses and stress. In August of 2007,
Tchort announced the split of
Green Carnation, and that he would write and record under that name. The Fall of Mankind never materialized. Instead,
Tchort pursued work with
Blood Red Throne and
Carpathian Forest.
Nothing happened for seven long years.
Tchort left
Carpathian Forest in 2014 and early that year,
Green Carnation announced a reunion performance of A Night Under the Dam in July, and that they were available for shows and touring. That same year,
Tchort formed the black metal outfit
the 3rd Attempt, who released their debut album in 2015, then did more roadwork with
Green Carnation. In September of 2016, the band made its debut at ProgPower USA (PPUSA) in Atlanta, playing the main stage. They performed
Light of Day, Day of Darkness in its entirety. The show was celebrated, and bootlegged and showcased on You Tube as one of the most significant concerts in the history of the festival. Released as a live DVD by Prophecy in 2018 as Last Day of Darkness, it ran up the metal charts, peaking at 16. The lineup included
Tchort and Krumins on guitars,
Sordal on bass,
Nordhus on vocals, and new drummer Jonathan Alejandro Perez. Former producer
Endre Kirkesola guested on keyboards while
Harstad guested on guitars. The DVD also included a documentary on the band's history. In the aftermath of the release,
Harstad rejoined
Green Carnation as lead guitarist, returning the band to a sextet.
In May 2020,
Green Carnation returned with their first studio outing in 14 years. Titled
Leaves of Yesteryear, the five-track, 45-minute outing was co-produced by the band and
Endre Kirkesola, who also recorded and mixed. In addition to three news songs, the set included a 15-plus minute version of "My Dark Reflections of Life and Death." Originally appearing on their 2000 debut
Journey to the End of the Night, this version was completely revamped and re-arranged as an acknowledgment of the band's history. The other cover was a startling read of
Black Sabbath's experimental track "Solitude." ~ Thom Jurek