Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Review of Green Carnation, June 30, 2003
I have to confess. I was going into this latest album by Green Carnation with huge expectations. After all, the symphonic melancholic choral masterpiece that was Light of Day, Day of Darkness couldnt be topped. And almost knowing it, the band decided to take a markedly different direction with A Blessing in Disguise. From symphonic melancholic doom with harsh vocal touches in the margins to dark progressive melodic rock in a span of one album meet Green Carnation in 2003.What precipitated the changes? The line-up of this Norwegian band remained the same (making a session keyboard musician a full-time band member doesnt count). Could it be the label switch (why, oh why, you left my beloved "The End"??!!)? Could it be the desire to produce something more readily accessible than a 60min long track that made up Light of Day, Day of Darkness? In the end, though, I think it is the same reason that drove Green Carnations another incarnation (no pun intended) In The Woods to release no two albums that were alike. True artists, like Tchort, just cant stand still, they need to evolve, transform and revolutionize. Well, the last word may be overkill, but with A Blessing in Disguise Green Carnation put out another extremely solid album. As I mentioned before, Green Carnation delved into dark progressive melodic rock on this CD. The band site states it, and I couldnt agree more. Maybe a little more commercial than Katatonias Viva Emptiness, A Blessing in Disguise has songs that combine sufficiently heavy guitar chords, quiet melodies, keyboard sprinkles on the perimeter and unbelievably catchy choruses that you will be humming for days (Crushed to Dust, Myron and Cole, As Life Flows By). Some of these songs are so radio friendly (As Life Flows By), it feels like they were made to be played over airwaves and uplift moods despite the not-too-jovial lyrics. There are enough melody variations ranging from mid-Eastern market melodies (Myron and Cole) to moody blues (Into Deep) for this album not to crush into a predictable rut. Besides, Green Carnation drops several dark, but cleansing experiences in between. Lullaby in Winter is a two-part song with the first part having clean guitar and floating tender and serene vocals by Kjetil Nordhus. As the outstanding drumming by Anders Kobro begins to ratchet up the pressure, something that started out as a dark Pink Floyd goes through jazzy Deep Purple into a soft polyphonic with string section clearly heard. Such mood changes are also prevalent on Two Seconds in Life where velvety voice over empty melody can change to a full instrumentation combined with strings in a matter of seconds. Guitar, bass and high-hat intro to Into Deep switches to heavy riffs with audible bass and strings hovering above. While not being overly symphonic A Blessing in Disguise has enough of symphonic elements and string instruments (cello on Two Seconds in Life and harp on Rain) to really make the whole effort multi-dimensional. Throw in the crispiest production, excellent musicianship, and, indeed, you have an excellent album by the mature band. What will sound as a commercial effort from the beginning, upon repeated listens will become more and more personal and emotional. For the second time in a row, Green Carnation managed to completely capture my imagination. Invest without second thought If you see it somewhere.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Light of Day, Who of What? This album owns., September 17, 2005
Those expecting a sequel to 2001's monumental "Light of Day, Day of Darkness" were surprised to say the least. Tchort and company took their uncanny songwriting abilities in a somewhat different direction, crafting an album with separate songs (a definite change from "LoD,DoD"s 60-minute track) and only incorporating movements or echoes from their previous effort.
Having said that, "A Blessing in Disguise" is equal parts hard-rocking and beautiful. The opening song, "Crushed to Dust" says everything in the title. Both catchy and aggressive, the song starts the album off on a very positive note, giving the listener a hefty taste of guitar-crunch and twangy keyboards. From the very start it is apparent that Tchort has left his northern, forest home and embraced the life of a modern-day headbanger. There is even a part of the song (beginning at 3:07) that sounds shockingly like something you'd find in Metallica's "ReLoad" (but no worries - it lasts for only about 15 seconds).
So, let's breathe for a moment now. "Lullaby in Winter" - again, a song whose title perfectly describes its sound. It begins with clean guitars and a march-like snare drum, leading into Kjetil Nordhus' delicate and vulnerable voice. "Writings on the Wall" showcases Green Carnation's razor-sharp guitar-work, and "Into Deep" closely resembles "LoD,DoD"s epic sound, combining strings with particularly hurtful vocal passages.
The beauty of the album is that no two songs are alike. Unlike "LoD,DoD"s segues that would often get mistaken for repeated riffs, "A Blessing in Disguise" is composed of absolutely unique songs that stand alone perfectly. In fact, if I were to give each song a rating, only two songs would fall short of `excellent', namely the excessively melancholic "Two Seconds in Life", and the somewhat lackluster closing track, "Rain". Besides these less-than-stellar pieces, the album is a true accomplishment for a daring and courageous band. Progression, indeed.
See also: Green Carnation - "The Quiet Offspring", "Light of Day, Day of Darkness", Amorphis - "Tuonela", "Am Universum"
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Blessing indeed...., March 3, 2006
GREEN CARNATION - A Blessing in Disguise
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The general consensus with Green Carnation is that every album is different from its predecessor yet still as appealing as the last. Tchort had come off his masterpiece `Light of Day, Day of Darkness' a 60:00 minute, one track album and then released this amazing Prog Rock album with 9 well crafted tracks many of which have generous helpings of Metal. (Songs like, Crushed to Dust have such a nice heavy edged guitar and pounding rhythms.)
Being relatively new to Green Carnation I would best describe them as being similar to Amorphis, for they also started as a Metal band and changed direction to a more commercial progressive rock sound. Like Amorphis though this was the farthest thing from selling out, it was just simply a change of direction if anything the music only improved over the years... Personally I'd much rather see a band go prog then pull a `metallica'.
The musicianship is outstanding Vocals, Bass, Guitars and Drumming are all done very well... I especially enjoy much of the guitar work and harmonizing between Tchort and Harstad. It sounds great when 2 guitarist utilize different parts but play them in complete cohesion. Also I should point out Kjetil Nordus vocal work is also extra impressive... Truthfully, based on his vocals alone, I'm surprised these guys haven't been more exploited by the mainstream.
As far as the music / song writing goes it really does vary song to song... All the tracks have a great drive and there is not a bad song on the album.
Favorite Songs: As Life Flows By, Lullaby in the Winter, and Two Seconds to Life,
-4.5 Stars
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