Artist: Green Carnation
Label: End Records
Release Date: 1/8/02
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Title: Light of Day, Day of Darkness Artist: Green Carnation Label: End Records Release Date: 1/8/02 |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
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Abyss's Review:
Have you ever heard of this band? Well I sure as hell haven't, but apparently they are an early incarnation of In The Woods... So what does this band have to offer besides a dumb moniker? The truth is I'd need about ten more listens to know for sure. Unfortunately, here at Metaljudgment.com, we only get a half a week per album. The first time I listened to this album I was not impressed. It sounded like a heavy version of some eighties band that I couldn't identify. But the more I listened to it, the more I realized that there is a lot more going on here.
"Have you ever heard of this band? Well I sure as hell haven't." This album is one long track that runs about an hour, which forces to mind Edge of Sanity's Crimson and Opeth's My Arms, Your Hearse (I realize the latter album has different tracks, but it is meant to flow into one long song). As evidenced by those two examples, whenever a band does something like this, they generally come out with a very ambitious, epic vision. And this album is no different. An early criticism for me was that the album seemed to be too soft, especially at the beginning, but as I got more acquainted with the music, I began to notice a subtle heft that grew, not only as the song progressed, but as I familiarized myself with all that was going on.
Like many epic metal albums, Light of Day, Day of Darkness does its best to incorporate a multitude of layers. Driving rhythms mingle with flowery melodies consisting of strings, synthesizers and other impressive arrangements that progress and evolve throughout the piece, giving the listener a grand canvas to absorb. This far-reaching type of composition has been well mapped out in the realm of metal-- this genre is nothing new, what is new here isn't the concept, but the execution. While Green Carnation play the same type of music as Opeth, or any other epic metal band, they don't sound like them. Their unique sound is difficult to grasp right away (and even more difficult to put into words), hence my early apathy toward the record. But nothing truly worthwhile is easy, and while it may take some sort of investment on the listener's part, the rewards are quite great in the end. This might be the most ambitious album I've ever heard.
"This might be the most ambitious album I've ever heard."
Death's Review:
Funny name (when I first heard it spoken I thought the band was called Reincarnation), yet another ambitious, artistic release from The End Records. In the spirit of similarly adventurous efforts from bands such as Opeth, Katatonia, Amorphis and Anathema, taking elements of a more mainstream classic rock sound from bands like U2, Kansas, Pink Floyd and Last Crack, yet filled in with enough metallic musicianship and aggression to at times to betray serious death, doom and even black metal leanings and influences, Light of Day, Day of Darkness is not to be taken... well, lightly.
"Like Disney World in Orlando, there's too much to here to absorb it all in one day." Truth be told, like Disney World in Orlando, there's too much to here to absorb it all in one day. Or even seven. But my ears can immediately tell me that there's something special at play here, and although I am not always exactly sure what to make of it all, I can tell you that no matter what direction this single, hour-long song takes me in, it always reeks of quality. I admit that last sentence was some pretty awful writing, but I cannot help it-- there is something about Green Carnation that makes me want to describe the band in terms of a sticky, pungent, green flower... but I digress.
Green Carnation features a lineup that was a precursor to In the Woods..., and includes Tchort, who in the early 90's replaced Mortiis on bass in Emperor, and the return of drummer Anders Kobro of Carpethian Forest and In the Woods... fame). Green Carnation's new album, Light of Day, Day of Darkness also features an opera choir (including a Pink Floyd's Dark Side-esque solo high-pitched woman's vocal part which hits altogether too high of a note, in my opinion), children's choirs, a string ensemble and a sitar. The verdict? It works.
"I can tell you that no matter what direction this single, hour-long song takes me in, it always reeks of quality." "Psychedelic Orchestrated doom" is how they describe the album on the The End Records' web site. I don't know what to call it, but if you like your metal epic and adventurous in that brooding, layered, atmospheric yet decidedly metallic type of way, definitely check it out.
Hel's Review:
I dare you to listen to this album from beginning to end for a total of three times, and then try not to go back. Go ahead, I dare you. Can't do it, can you? Yes, I am starting to go a bit batty. You would too if you spent several days trying to figure out how to write about a record like this! How do you describe the indescribable? I know! I'll create a new sub-genre! Symphonic metal, yeah, that's it!
"Symphonic metal, yeah, that's it!" Really, I haven't a clue how to express the depth and addictiveness of this song. Yes, the album truly is one long song. When I first got my copy, before I looked at the info sheet, I was convinced that it was just "burned funny"-- then I listened to it. The other bands that come to mind while I was trying to come up with something to compare this to, well, they are the very bands people have already had trouble trying to describe on a regular basis before this. So what is the point in citing them, since this really doesn't sound like them at all anyway? Perhaps you are beginning to comprehend my dilemma, eh?
On their label website, they are referred to as, "Psychedelic Orchestrated Doom." I suppose that works, although "Psychedelic" certainly wasn't in the top ten adjectives which came to my mind. But regardless of which words are chosen, in the end, this song/album is amazing. It is complex beyond belief, but still coherently a single song. In short, it is a remarkable songwriting achievement. The performances on the record are outstanding: the orchestra strings, the electric strings, the horns, the vocals, the drums…
"This is the sort of music you can close your eyes and sink into." I found Light of Day, Day of Darkness completely enthralling. The overall pacing of the song may be the most enchanting thing of all. It tugs you along on its wild journey. This is the sort of music you can close your eyes and sink into. Deep, thick, full sound-- I'm telling you, you've got to check it out. You may find yourself mesmerized.
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