Metal Shock Finland (World Assault )

Had Green Carnation never returned from hiatus, the Norwegian prog bards would always be remembered for completing one of metal’s most ambitious individual epics. However, there was one tale – or three, to be exact – that eluded them for more than three decades, until last year. Now, after reaching crushing new highs on Part I of their forthcoming album trilogy, the band are descending into the deepest, darkest and most personal depths of their storied career with A Dark Poem, Part II: Sanguis.

“Sanguis is lean, purposeful, and emotionally devastating in the way only music built from genuine anguish can be”, Sonic Perspectives writes in an 8.8/10 review. “Green Carnation have distilled their identity down to something sharper and more potent than ever”.

“The band’s dark, sweeping brand of sad prog metal is fully bloomed here, braiding together moments of aching intimacy and fiery grandeur”, Invisible Oranges writes.

“When it comes to progressive metal that’s particularly somber, eloquent and rustic, few bands do it better than Norway’s Green Carnation”, Loudwire says in an interview about Sanguis with the band’s vocalist Kjetil Nordhus and bassist/primary lyricist Stein Roger Sordal.

A Dark Poem, Part II: Sanguis was released yesterday, Friday, April 3 on Season of Mist, and you can hear all six heart-wrenching songs by listening to the full album stream:

“Sanguis invites listeners into our darkest inner rooms with some of the most raw and vulnerable songs that we’ve ever written”, Nordhus says.

“The lyrics are so personal that I had to go many rounds with myself over whether or not to tone them down”, says Sordal. “In the end, I chose to keep them as honest as possible”.  

Order the album here: https://orcd.co/greencarnationsanguis

If The Shores of Melancholia set sail from a familiar place of melancholy, then Sanguis opens with Green Carnation far out at sea, fighting to stay afloat against the storm that’s raging in their minds. Over the course of nine minutes, the album’s epic title track vows to forgive and forget familial wreckage, washing away the bloody stains of the past with impassioned cleans and a chorus that radiates conviction — only for a traumatic memory to come flooding back during its doomy coda.

“Father was boiling, mother was crying / The children left scared in their beds”. A fiery shiver of a riff slowly spirals downward, as if trapped inside a mental hell.  

“It paints a pretty grim picture of my childhood”, Sordal says about “Sanguis”. “I do have great memories from that time, too, but parts were very dark. I had some tough issues with my father, but I now know that he had it worse. I didn’t think about that when I was younger, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned that there is usually more to the story”.  

“It took Stein Roger almost 50 years to understand why his father treated him the way he did”, Nordhus says about his dear bandmate. “He didn’t understand until he had kids of his own and was watching them grow up”.

The newfound heaviness from the Part I of A Dark Poem continues to age like a fine wine, balancing sweet meaty riffs with an underlying bitterness. “I Am Time” demands immediate recognition with a guitar melody that winds like the winds of change, while “Fire In Ice” stokes the political flames viewed from The Shores of Melancholia with pounding chills of double bass. But Sanguis reveals the band at their most raw with ballads that unfold with the grace of a wilted flower.  

“The end justifies the means, you’ll see”, Kjetil Nordhus sings with an eerily quiet confidence on album closer “Lunar Tale”. As the song seeps beneath the moonlight, Sanguis leaves fans hanging in suspense over where this trilogy will end.

Tracklist
1. Sanguis (9:05) [WATCH]
2. Loneliness Untold, Loneliness Unfold (4:04)
3. Sweet to the Point of Bitter (5:58)
4. I Am Time (5:39) [LISTEN]
5. Fire in Ice (7:03)
6. Lunar Tale (5:25)
Full runtime: 37:16

Catch Green Carnation during their upcoming hometown shows and European summer festival dates. During their headlining show in September at the Kilden Performing Arts Centre, the band will perform A Dark Poem in its entirety for the first and final time – including the as-of-yet unannounced Part III. Already, fans from 18 different countries have purchased tickets for this once-in-a-lifetime event.  

Green Carnation 2026 Show Dates
June 6 – Tampere, Finland @ Ankea Festival [TICKETS]
June 14 – Kristiansand, Norway @ Odderøya [Tickets]*
August 1 – Ungarn, Hungary @ Feke Zaj Festival [TICKETS]
September 12 – Kristiansand, Norway @ Kilden Performing Arts Centre [TICKETS]#
*Deep Purple, Turbonegro + Slomosa
#Performing A Dark Poem, Part 1-III

No matter how long or where the journey has taken them, Green Carnation have never been afraid of a challenge. After reaching crushing new highs during the grand and gloomy opening chapter to their long-awaited album trilogy, the Norwegian prog bards are descending into deeper, darker and more personal depths with Part II of A Dark Poem.  

“We wanted A Dark Poem to start off with guns blazing. Judging by the reaction, The Shores of Melancholia was successful in doing that”, the band’s vocalist Kjetil Nordhus says. “But for Part II, we have some very personal stories that we want people to hear. Sanguis invites listeners into our darkest inner rooms with some of the most raw and vulnerable songs that we’ve ever written”.  

“The second part of A Dark Poem holds some of the most personal lyrics that I’ve ever written”, says Stein Roger Sordal, the band’s bassist and primary lyricist. “The lyrics are so personal that I had to go many rounds with myself over whether or not to tone them down. In the end, I chose to keep them as honest as possible. I mean, am getting older and I do have some life experience to back them up”.

Founded in the early ‘90s by Emperor’s original bassist Tchort, Green Carnation amassed a cult following behind critical acclaim for Light of Day, Day of Darkness, an album containing a single hour-long song that still resonates as one of the most ambitious epics in metal’s archives. Current members Bjørn Harstad (guitar), Stein Roger Sordal (bass) and Endre Kirkesola (keyboard, producer) along with Nordhus, were already in place by 2001. But whether it was the gothic crush of A Blessing in Disguise or pitch-black hard rock of The Quest Offspring, Green Carnation continued branching out through the mid-2000s. Even before going on hiatus in 2007, they still flashed a flare for the dramatic by performing their acoustic verses underneath a mountain dam.

“Green Carnation use Leaves of Yesteryear to prove once again they are titans of the craft”, Metal Injection wrote about the band’s 2020 comeback album, which welcomed drummer Jonathan Pérez.  

However, there was one tale – or three, to be exact – that eluded them for more than three decades. The idea for an album trilogy penned after Shakespeare’s tragic Ophelia stems all the way back to their earliest reflections of life and death, but when the first part of A Dark Poem was unfurled in 2025, right away, it was clear that Green Carnation had completed their masterpiece. The Shores of Melancholia washed onto year-end lists at Loudwire , Angry Metal Guy and other major publications.  

“Epic in both scope and sound, the latter being the band’s rich, melodic take on the genre best described as Rainbow’s Rising if it were a prog album”, PROG wrote. “Part I works as an entity in its own right while also leaving the listener desperate to hear the next installments”.  

If Green Carnation set sail from a familiar place of melancholy on The Shores of Melancholia, then Sanguis finds the band far out at sea, fighting to stay afloat against the storm that’s raging in their minds. Whereas Part I only scratched at the surface, the epic title track that opens Part II vows to forgive and forget old bloodied wounds. Over the course of nine minutes, cresting cleans and swells of organ from long-time producer and newest member Endre Kirkesola try and wash away the familial wreckage — only for a traumatic childhood memory to come flooding back during the song’s doomy coda.  

“Father was boiling, mother was crying / The children left scared in their beds”. A fiery shiver of a riff slowly spirals downward, as if trapped inside a mental hell.  

“It paints a pretty grim picture of my childhood”, Sordal says about “Sanguis”. “I do have great memories from that time, too, but parts were very dark. I had some tough issues with my father, but I now know that he had it worse. I didn’t think about that when I was younger, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned that there is usually more to the story”.

“It took Stein Roger almost 50 years to understand why his father treated him the way he did”, Nordhus says about his dear bandmate. “He didn’t understand until he had kids of his own and was watching them grow up”.

The heaviness that launched Green Carnation during Part I of A Dark Poem has aged like a fine wine on Sanguis. “Sweet to the Point of Bitter” balances meaty riffs with a pleasing melody and underlying notes of resentment. “You will acknowledge I was broken / Before you came around”. With a guitar solo that winds like the winds of change, “I Am Time” demands immediate recognition. “In your mind, I’m tomorrow / For your sake, I should be today”.

But while “Fire In Ice” stokes the political flames viewed from The Shores of Melancholia with pounding windchills of double bass, Part II reveals Green Carnation at their most raw and vulnerable. As was the case for most of Part I, Sordal penned all the lyrics to Sanguis. However, in a rare appearance not seen since the burden was his alone, he steps to the mic on “Loneliness Untold, Loneliness Unfold”. With an arrangement that’s plucked like the petals of a wilted flower, the song now stands as one of the more barren and stirring in their discography. “Do you want to die?”  Sordal poses to a distant familiar of the band. His delicate delivery confirms his fear of already knowing the answer.  

“These songs come as they are, with no filter”, Sordal says. “I needed to set these stories free and let them out”.  

“Part II deal with personal loss and sadness”, shares Nordhus, though as he’s quick to explain, Sanguis isn’t all gloom and doom. “Those feelings can be almost comforting, like stories you hear about the calm that people experience before they die”. Indeed, if A Dark Poem contains a silver lining, it’s in the creative partnership that’s helped Green Carnation endure for more than three decades. “It would be different if I had only known Stein Roger for two months”, Nordhus continues in explaining how he gives voice to the words of his dear friend. “It’s easy for me to understand and relate to all of his struggles, all of his pleasures and joys, because I’ve been a part of them as well”.  

Part II introduces more peaks and valleys into the overarching narrative of A Dark Poem, but nowhere does the album’s bleeding-heart core shine through more achingly than its closing ballad. Graced by Ingrid Ose’s soothing flute, “Lunar Tale” positively sparkles, even as it casts a rather grim beacon into the future. “The end justifies the means, you’ll see”, Nordhus sings with eerily quiet confidence. As the piano seeps beneath the moonlight, Sanguis leaves fans hanging in suspense over where this trilogy will end. 

Recording lineup
Kjetil Nordhus – Vocals
Stein Roger Sordal – Bass, Rhythm Guitars, Lead Guitars, Keyboards, Lead Vocals on “Loneliness Untold, Loneliness Unfold”
Bjørn Harstad – Lead Guitars, Effects
Endre Kirkesola – Keyboards, Synthesizers, Organs, Effects, Backing Vocals on “Lunar Tale”
Jonathan Alejandro Perez – Drums

Guest musicians
Ingrid Ose – Flute on “Lunar Tale”

Live lineup
Kjetil Nordhus – Vocals
Stein Roger Sordal – Bass
Tchort – Guitars
Bjørn Harstad – Guitars
Trond Breen – Guitars
Endre Kirkesola – Keyboards

Recording, Mixing & Mastering Studio
dUb Studio

Production Credits
Producers – Endre Kirkesola, Stein Roger Sordal, Kjetil Nordhus
Sound Engineers – Endre Kirkesola, Bjørn Harstad
Mixing engineer — Endre Kirkesola
Mixing assistant — Bjørn Harstad
Mastering Engineer — Lawrence Mackrory

Cover artist
Niklas Sundin

Follow Green Carnation:
Bandcamp: https://greencarnationsom.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreenCarnationNorway
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/green2carnation/
Twitter (X): https://x.com/Green2Carnation
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2vfEaTADayEniT7xbG-XCA
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1ZaJhNBAhJ3HjPsWiB9sDc
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/artist/green-carnation/72866964
Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/artist/8192
Tidal: https://tidal.com/browse/artist/23079