The Shores Of Melancholia is the start of a project Green Carnation have been working towards since their return in 2016. The Norwegians had a trilogy in mind before their 2020 comeback album, Leaves Of Yesteryear, and the first act of A Dark Poem promises a spectacular adventure ahead.
They’re no strangers to extensive excursions – 2002’s classic Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness was a single hour-long song, for example – and the format allows them to construct a single strand of creativity with as many changes in structure, tempo and dynamics as they see fit.
As the title suggests, this journey isn’t going to be a joyride. Opener As Silence Took You starts in sombre fashion, with doomy guitars and a solemn march as vocalist Kjetil Nordhus intones, ‘I never got to say goodbye.’
Follow-up Paradise has a bit more impetus, with a recurring driving riff and a sprinkling of shimmering keys. Both tracks weigh in at around seven minutes and offer plenty of room for the songwriting to breathe. The structures and musicianship are meticulously built, but they opt for feel and emotion over technicality.
Me My Enemy piles on the atmosphere, with a slow build of gently pulsing bass and Floydian licks off guitar, before The Slave That You Are hits the other extreme with a nod to guitarist Tchort’s black metal roots.
Grutle Kjellson from Enslaved lends an intentionally hideous croak over palm- muted tremolo guitars. It might be a bit extreme for some, but the juxtaposition with passages of clean melodic vocals and crystalline keys produces a startling effect.
The Shores Of Melancholia itself quickly transitions from a gently-picked intro to a slab of melodic hard rock with a touch of fists-in-the-air bombast. It’s the most straightforward song on the album – but even so, there’s space and structure and carefully worked melodies.
Too Close To The Flame brings things to a conclusion with extended soloing and the impressive momentum of an ever-cresting wave.
Green Carnation never sound overly hurried, even when they’re pumping out dynamic guitar riffs or lacing proggy synth passages through the mesh of instrumentation.
The writing is understated yet constantly captivating; and while the individual tracks are all capable of shining under their own lights, The Shores Of Melancholia works best as a whole.
There’s an ebb and flow and a sense of cohesion even when they dip towards their extremes. It’s an excellent start to what promises to be an enthralling trio of albums.
A Dark Poem, Part I: The Shores Of Melancholia is on sale now via Season of Mist.
