LIGHT OF DAY, DAY OF DARKNESS

If after reading this dissection you decide to venture out and pick this disc up there will certainly be some questions to be asked. One of those questions would be whether or not this actually a metal album. Well, I'd have to say I've visited many metal sites myself and have questioned whether or not some of the discs at many of these sites are actually metal. An example of such instances would be when I see the band Katatonia featured at some of these sites. I own two Katatonia discs and even though I don't hear anything on either album that resembles metal, somehow they've been lumped into that category. Don't get me wrong; I love Katatonia, but they're not metal. As far as Green Carnation goes, the majority of this album is not metal, but when the metal it does contain flushes out of my speakers it is as heavy as anything you and I have ever heard. With that said, being this disc does flourish some impressive metal moments I have no choice but to dub it a "Millennium Metal Masterpiece".

After reading several reviews highly recommending this album, I finally ventured out myself to track this one down. 'Album' is probably not the right word for Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness due to the fact that that is the name of the only song on the disc. The only complaint I have about this would be that it is only one track lasting 60 minutes; therefore, it's not easy to skip around. One plus to this is that there is only one song name to remember, whereas when other bands produce marathon songs they give them several different names, movements, parts, etc. I guess the only benefit to dividing up this song would be to get to certain points in the song more easily. With this being the one and only complaint I really have here it probably could have gone unsaid, but I thought it would only be fair to you, the reader, to know this information before you add this album, I mean song, to your wish list.

I have always been the first to admit that I don't like using other bands as comparisons, but I'm gonna go against that here because I really see no other way to give you a full description of what's going on here. The music on display here is comparable but not confined to the elements put forth from bands like Pink Floyd, Katatonia, Anathema and Opeth just to name a few (well, four actually). Just looking at three of those names I personally haven't heard much metal come out of them, but Opeth has definitely proven themselves to be metal-worthy and the heaviness I hear on this disc is most reminiscent to them in my opinion. My opinion could be way off compared to what others might think, but that's the beauty of being in control of this dissection. My opinion is the only thing that matters here.

This album contains many peaks and valleys as far as tempo goes, but the overall mood for the most part is sullen and dark. With many build up parts over the first 35 minutes or so, the song kind of winds down into a section where a female with an operatic style converses with a saxophone. It is an extremely dark section and although at first it was a little much for me, I was able to appreciate it even more after what came next. With guitar solos usually showing up at the 3/4 point of most songs, that is exactly where I found one about 45 minutes in this trip. And the solo has got to be one of the best I've heard in my life. It doesn't contain all the fancy finger and pick work used by all of the guitar gods in the business; it just contains simple notes that speak to the listener with feeling and soul. Perfection in my book. Besides the above mentioned female voice, other voices used in this piece include a children's choir, an opera choir, a few different male voices and a screaming voice. Diversity is what this track is all about, and there's plenty of it.

In conclusion, this is by far one of the best discs I've gotten my hands on this year and I strongly suggest any and all "true" musicians pick it up. That's not to say it's not going to appeal to non-musicians, but if you're a listener that doesn't have a tolerance for diversity and you expect the music to always slap you in the face, then this may not be for you. If you're interested in hearing some sound clips, you can find some at their label's website. Last but not least, this album came out in Europe in late 2001 and wasn't released in the US until early 2002. As a result, that will make it available to make my top 6 albums of the year list, and that's exactly where I see it ending up.