Origin:	Norway
Genres:

Last update/review:	June 8, 2020

Green Carnation

The history of Green Carnation dates back to 1990, when they were formed by Tchort, Chris Botteri, X-Botteri, and Anders Kobro. Essentially a death metal band at that time, a demo was recorded in 1992, but the band essentially split up when Tchort was invited to join Emperor. The other three members regrouped and formed the nucleus of the avant-garde black metal band In The Woods .... Fast forward to 1998, with Tchort done with Emperor and In The Woods ... having run its course, Tchort and the Botteris regrouped and eventually the first album, Journey To The End Of The Night, inspired largely by the death of Tchort's daughter, was released in 1999, featuring several guest vocalists including Vibeke Stein of Tristania, Atle Dørum (Drawn), and Synne Soprana of In The Woods .... By 2001 the Botteri brothers had left the band, but founding member Anders Kobro returned, and a new Tchort-led lineup released the brilliant Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness later that year.

Musically, Green Carnation is hard to pin down. At the core of their music is doom metal, but without the ultra-heavy riffing and general depression that often accompanies that genre. Instead, the band relies on atmospherics and mood, creating an almost dreamy ambience as the guitars and vocals (of which there are many styles) play off each other. While both albums are excellent in their own right (and not wildly different in style), it's Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness where the band truly shines. Single-track albums are rarely attempted and fewer succeed (one good one from several years ago is Edge Of Sanity's Crimson), but Light Of Day is simply outstanding, an emotional journey, drifting from heaviness to lightness with ease, all the more impressive in that the listener is never left with the "will this song ever end?" feeling that one might expect from an hour-long opus. Since Light Of Day the band has continued to evolve and mutate, adopting an arguably less metallic sound (indeed, parts of A Blessing In Disguise are surprisingly upbeat) but never failing to stretch the listener's imagination. Green Carnation is unquestionably one of the best metal bands of the 21st century.

The band recorded a few more albums in the 2000's, but following a failed tour and citing exhaustion and dissillusionment from several members, the band more or less dissolved in 2007. Tchort left open the possibility of recording new music with new members, but instead most of the band who last recorded together in 2005 came back in 2014.