Green Carnation at Progfreak.com

The concept of one-song albums did not start here. Of course it is not easy to pull the stunt, to actually write a song that is one hour long. Or, to be more specific, to write one that is interesting.

The first half of the song is best described as riff-salad. It is a bunch of riffs accompanied by somewhat deep lyrics. The music is pretty much Opeth with a different vocalist. About half an hour in, a very long interlude appears, a woman singing for like, ten minutes, accompanied by some noodling. Then there's a bunch of quiet droning, some more heavy riff salad, and a disappointing ending.

Possibly the most overrated composition ever. However, parts of Green Carnation would reform as In the Woods... who would write considerably more focused and moving songs. Light of Day, Day of Darkness is not bad, or completely boring to listen to (if that was the case, I would have given it a much lower rating), but I'm surprised to see it receive such a warm welcome when it has so many flaws.

Usually when heavy bands do lighter stuff it's brilliant... and this release makes no exception. Opeth's "Damnation" or Borknagar's "Origin" can be seen as references, but I would also add Alice in Chain's "Jar of Flies/SAP", since some of those songs have a slightly grungy feeling too.

I love this album. I like all of the Green Carnation albums, but this one is special to me ... I think it is also better than their alleged masterpiece "Light of Day, Day of Darkness". I recommend it to anyone who appreciates the lighter side of Scandinavian Death/Black influenced metal. There is no growling on this album though, and it deals with personal issues like loss, birth and the universe rather than burning churches.

What I like most is that each of the tracks has its own unique qualities, with no filler material. The tracks get to the point, dwell on it as long as necessary and then then next track kicks in another "gear". Some tracks are driving, fast-paced metal songs, others are sad, moody songs with clever string arrangements and keyboards.