Releasedate: 04-09-2026 Label: Season of Mist
My connection to the Norwegian band Green Carnation is strong. I remember listening to “Light of Day, Day of Darkness” one day while I was at the gym, putting my sit-ups aside to take in the details of this masterpiece.
It was 2002, a few months after its release (back then, we could only listen to the album if we bought it), and I never expected that some 20 years later I’d be in the pleasant position of interviewing them and publicly sharing my thoughts on “A Dark Poem Part I: The Shores of Melancholia” (that was on a greek webzine). Now, the third and final part of their famous trilogy has fallen into my hands through Tempelores.
Compared to the first two parts, “The Messiah Complex” has a calmness that prepares you for the story’s conclusion, and furthermore the connection to ’70s prog rock is more pronounced on this album, but on the other hand their influence from that era was unmistakably evident in everything they have done.
If nothing else, we must give credit where credit is due, emphasizing that Green Carnation has a knack for starting every album brilliantly, and “Unconditional Artificial Chemistry” is a track that makes your finger itch to hit the repeat button.
“A Dark Poem, Pt. III: The Messiah Complex” contains only four tracks, with the final one, which runs 16 minute, being strictly instrumental. The title itself is an orchestral suite and highlights the Norwegians’ connection to classical music, in a track that sounds like a movie end-credits soundtrack and that is in collaboration with the Kristiansand Symphonic Orchestra.
I’m not sure exactly how the songs are lyrically connected to one another, but that’s the nature of poetry. Every reader draws a different meaning from it. So I, too, see the band worrying about the evolution of artificial intelligence, experiencing a crisis of faith as they search for something to hold onto, and wondering what the nature of humanity is, if it isn’t survival?
Green Carnation have always looked within themselves before writing, and that’s what they’re doing now as well, even though, due to the long postludium ,”Orchestral Suite”, “A Dark Poem, Pt. III: The Messiah Complex” seems to be the least attractive part of the trilogy.
The production is up to their usual high standards, and the orchestration is also of recognized quality, Green Carnation are in top form, and it’s now clear that the three parts of “A Dark Poem” must be listened to in sequence and without interruption. You might be put off by the fact that 16 minutes were spent without heavy guitar or vocals, but how could you not go ahead and buy the trilogy, especially since it features 20 minutes of classic Green Carnation right at the start?
I may be mostly fixated on the first part of the three, but I’ll admit I’ve already listened to this so many times, with each session conjuring up new images.
The Norwegians know exactly where they stand, where they’re headed, and where they’ll take us. We just need to trust that, because as has always been the case, they’ll never let us down.
Line up:
- Kjetil Nordhus — Lead and backing vocals
- Tchort (Terje Vik Schei) — Guitars
- Stein Roger Sordal — Bass, rhythm/lead guitars, keyboards
- Bjørn Harstad — Lead guitars, effects
- Endre Kirkesola — Keyboards, synthesizers, organs, effects
- Jonathan Alejandro Perez — Drums
Tracklist
- Unconditional Artificial Chemistry
- The Messiah Complex
- Broken Souls, Common Enemies
- A Dark Poem – Orchestral Suite