A BLESSING IN DISGUISE

Green Carnation was a Detah Metal band before they found out, that progressive rock is much better. After their astonishing "prog-debut" album called "Light of Day, Day of Darkness" wich features a 60 minute song without any subtitles, Green Carnation released "A blessing in disguise" in 2003. The albums is quite different to its forerunner.

Sure, green carnation is listed as a prog metal band but regarding most of the songs featured on this album I would not agree unrestrained. Mainly because most of the songs are melancolic, quite mellow with beautiful melodies; very untypical for the metal genre. You don't get many solos because the sound is focussed on the overall picture wich is, like said before very melancolic. A very nice detail in their sound is the organ, wich is muted but audible and for sure is an enrichment for their sound. There are two songs I don't like, "Crushed to Dust " and "Writings on the Wall " are too gothic for my ears. These two songs are nondescript and can be skipped without concern. But the song between these two, "Lullaby in Winter" is a highlight. It's the best song of the album and I really recommend it. It's a dark and melancolic track with beautiful melodies and instrumental parts wich fit into the overall picture of the song. A beautiful song. "The boy in the attic" is another highlight. A lonely piano froms the intro of the song. Later on it gets a bit faster and more heavy, but has nothing to do with metal. Beautiful melodies and nice lyrics, very dark and sad. The song dies away with the piano heard in the beginning of the song. "Two seconds in life" begings very acoustic, almost sounding like jazz, most notably because of the drums and the piano. The refrain is an instrumental part with some distorted metal guitars wich are not too heavy, very nice and again diffusing a very sad mood. "Myron and Cole" is a faster and heavier song with some nice organ in the background, nice but not as astonishing as other songs. "as life flows by" is a bass dominated song wich is a good one to listen too if you need a break of all those complex and exhausting prog songs, again, the organ is a good choice because it makes the song much more interesting. The last track "Rain" is probably the most melancolic track on "a blessing in disguise". A good one.

So in general "a blessing in disguise" is a VERY good album. But there are some songs wich have a gothic touch besides beeing too heavy for the general sound and mood of the album wich is, yes I will say it again, very melancolic. I'm sure some of you won't like green carnation and some are prejodiced because of the genre they're listed in. But if you leave out Song No. 1 and 3, you get a mellow and dark album without too many, by leaving out the two songs, hardly any distorted metal guitars. I recommend to listen to some songs before you buy the album. Try "lullaby in Winter" or "Boy in the attic" and decide weather you like it or not. I for one like it and would give 4 satrs but being objective and thinking about you fellwo progheads I draw off one star, also because of the two bad songs.

A BLESSING IN DISGUISE, a respectable followup!

How does one follow up a veritable masterpiece?

I was dubious whether Tchort and Green Carnation would ever be able to even match, let alone top Light of Day, Day of Darkness, the most universally acknowleged epic dark symphonic progressive album of the year, maybe the decade.

Is it possible to improve on near perfection? Is it feasible to even match what had to be one of the most brilliant compositions and arrangements since the classical masters of the 1900s? Could Green Carnation replicate, or even come close to the energy and raw emotion of this truly unique creation?

We may never know the answer to those questions, for Thcort and his band of merry men didn't even try. They recognized the impossibly, daunting task before them and opted to go in a different direction. Smart move and I applaud them for it. A blessing in Disguise is pretty much straight Melodic, Progressive Metal/rock and, if you don't let your high expectations get in the way, it really is quite good. There is just a hint of L.O.D.,D.O.D. in the new album but gone are the choirs and the symphonic elements and A Blessing in Disguise regresses back to the normal routine, with nine separate tracks.

The Music

Light of Day was completely written by Tchort, however, this time there were 3 different composers involved, providing some variation. Tchort wrote 6 songs, Stein Rodger Sodal, 2 and Kjetil Nordhus, 1. The music can be described as melancholic rock with heavy elements and prog influences.

"Crushed To Dust" is a surprise for Green Carnation with a fairly fast tempo and a dominant crunchy guitar sound remeniscent of Megadeth.

"Lullaby In Winter" Starts as a melancholy ballad - "When tomorrow comes / All your worries fly / Hear the lullaby / All will be soft and warm / You will be safe and strong / Hear the lullaby" - but it digs a lot deeper because, after a few minutes, it's showing the typical Green Carnation sounds, which feature conjuring guitar riffs and a humming warm Hammond organ. The second half of this song is the closest I felt to Light of Day.

"Writing on the Wall" The fatalistic nature continues here - "Kill me, Down by the shore / I can feel it, She's not here anymore / Hear my call, It's borne by the breeze / Tell me, to where do I go.

"Into Deep" progressively moves up along a perfected bass line and transforms into some excellent guitar work.

"The Boy In The Attic", The piano lets us hear a sweet sadness containing just the aspect of despair for which music can be so healing. Vague elements of the powerful epic Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness can be found in this piece.

"Two Seconds In Life" gives us a fragile, dark voice which like a searching tendril of a vine, searching for light, the proverbial fight of an individual between good and evil, the need to evolve in darkness into the light. Written by singer Kjetil.

"Myron & Cole" similar in tempo and sound to the first track, through which at times of the unfolding of the grunge becomes noticeable again.

"As Life Flows By" has a rocking take off and a very catchy melody in a medium paced rocking love song.

"Rain". A string band opens a rich scale of sadness with whiney roots, ala Alice in Chains it's pure beauty with lots of skill translated in words and music. Halfway through, some elements of the previous CD come floating to the surface, which gives an exciting turn to the song.

"Lullaby in Winter" cont. "I know you're sad because it's winter But I can promise you a spring I know you're cold, I see you shiver But I can promise you a spring"

"Tomorrow's new Tomorrow's warm Remember, when you're all alone"

"I know you're hurt, I feel it in my heart But I can promise you a spring I see you're down, I see it in your eyes But I can promise you a spring"

The band managed to pen ever more classic lines, continuing to solidify their place among the great lyricists in the todays metal scene. I say the band because, as I mentioned, unlike their previous album, which was written entirely by Tchort, both Kjetil Nordus(vocals) and Stein Roger Sordal(bass) contributed to this album as well.

As a rule, I never purchase an album without sampling it first. And I must admit that after Light of Day, Day of Darkness I had huge expectations. Disappointed, no! Enthused, no...not really! Ambivalent feelings for the album, no doubt!

A Blessing in Disguise is nothing like the inspired Light of Day, Day of Darkness, which was an original melancholic progressive metal masterpiece. The new album contains 9 tracks, each ranging from 4m30s to shortly over 8 minutes in length. The songs are dark, melodic and yes...progressive. On some songs the band hits the nail on the head while on others Tchort misses the mark altogether. I guess that explains my ambivalence towards the album even though it includes some of my FAV songs from the band.

The music goes from soft and slow, very serene piano passages to heavy guitars, to full blown instrumentations with strings leading to some very catchy choruses. But like I've already said, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't!

1. "Crushed to Dust" - 4m26s - (10/10)

The band waste no time rocking out on the opening track. The first indication that this album is nothing like Light of Day, Day of Darkness. This is an enjoyable track that grows on you after repeated listens. Fast paced, Nordus vocal delivery sounds so different here, at first I actually thought they had a new singer. No guitar solo...but none required!

2. "Lullaby in Winter" - 7m48s - (7/10)

Soft, smooth, slow tempo track. Nice melancholic melody. You get the feeling that winter is coming...the sad winter months! Then at the 3m20s mark the song makes a sudden twist that doesn't fit with the beginning. But I really love the last 15 seconds or so, one sole electric guitar picking "passage" for an awesome ending.

3. "Writings on the Wall" - 5m26s - (8/10)

Very mainstream, contemporary rock/metal. The subject matter of the song will keep it from being played on mainstream metal or rock radio. Perhaps my FAV after the first few spins. It now ranks amongst the best on the disc but it is not my overall FAV. Nice little solo.

4. "Into Deep" - 6m09s (8/10)

Slow mid paced rock track. Nice bass line intro and ending, serving as bookends to the song, very effective. Some very nice lead guitar work here. This one will grow on you as well...with each new listen!

5. "The Boy in the Attic" - 7m12s - (2/10)

Slow atmospheric opening with piano. The track never really takes off. My least FAV song on the album. Dull, slow, uninspired effort. No matter how many times I listen to this one, I simply can't get into it!

6. "Two Seconds in Life" - 6m26s - (2/10)

Another slow piano intro. Both openings to tracks 5 and 6 make me think about a depressed piano player in a bar...very slow moving music. Sometimes the vocals and the music reminded me of Supertramp's Crime of the Century? This may not be a bad thing, but Green Carnation should stay far away from this musical territory.

7. "Myron and Cole" - 5m52s - (10/10)

A very different opening here, and the band finally returns to heavier sounds with this track, a fast-paced rocker with organ accompaniment. Some slow passages appear here and there but everything blends well together.

8. "As Life Flows By" - 4m42s - (9/10)

Continues where "Myron and Cole" left us and builds on that energy. Fast-paced rocker with a good solid beat.

9. "Rain" - 8m06s - (5/10)

This track opens with a Cello, very soft opening melody which slowly moves into faster mid tempo territory. If Tchort was actually going for an "uninspiring" feel, he succeeded! Some good moments but inconsistent, going from good to not-so-good. I can't help but feel that this song could have been worked a little more...

Concluding Remarks:

Am I satisfied with the purchase of this album: Yes! Although I was expecting more, the band just decided not to repeat what they had already done on their previous album. Since I enjoyed 6 out of the 9 songs, I think that makes for a good recording. And since those 6 tracks are actually excellent recordings...I recommend the album to those who enjoy this bands' music, just don't expect "Light of Day, Day of Darkness - Part 2."

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.

This album represents my first experience with Green Carnation - a band that I had been hearing the name many times from prog friends as well as prog sites. But I had no clue at all about the music until a friend of mine, Rizal, who work in Singapore brought in this album for me to have a couple of spins. Oh man . I don't know how to describe the feeling I had when I first spun the CD at my NAD player and B&W bookshelf speaker system. One thing for sure: this kind of music is really straightforward and no need to think about the complexity of structure or composition. It flew naturally and it engrossed gently into my ears and my mind; and it finally sent a strong signal to my heart telling "this music is very enjoyable!". Yeah . that's what I felt. Right away this album became my favorite and I kept playing it at my CD player, car stereo and my laptop. I like the simplicity of composition this album offers.

Having enjoyed couple of spins, finally I checked out this site and found out the rating was something like 3 plus stars. I don't understand that most people rate this album with just good one. But it is okay with me, because that's what PROG is all about: everyone has his /her own view about certain album. So, my job is simple: respect what others view about that album and "find my own voice" (ehm .. it seems I'm using Mr. Stephen Covey's term in his book titled "The 8th Habit - From Effectiveness to Greatness". Mr. Covey, should I pay you a royalty of using your term?) about that album. So is the case with this "Blessing in Disguise" album - despite many have given three stars rating, I think this one deserves four stars: an excellent addition to any prog music collection. Well, my voice seems similar with colleague reviewer MikeEnRegalia who just put his voice at this site.

It might be misleading if we put Green Carnation under prog met category as the music is not something that typical progmet bands do: heavy riffs and hard edge guitar solo. I find it rare guitar solo in this album, but I have to admit that there are many "soft" guitar riffs. It's probably the riffs that forced the band under prog met category. And I understand that because the opening track "Crushed to Dust" (4:26) contains guitar riffs and sort of prog metal sounds. But when the music moves into second track "Lullaby in Winter" (7:49), you might be surprised by the composition that offers two major parts of structure while the latter contains Hammond organ solo which reminds you to the music of Brian Auger and Julie Driscoll. Do you know a classic track by Julie Driscoll titled "Road to Cairo"? If you do, you may find the organ solo sounds very similar! It's so wonderful, my friend. If you were there in the 70s music, you will find this track 2 is very powerful as it combines classic 70s sounds and modern digital technology sounds. WOW! This second track has since then become my all time favorite. Very enjoyable!

This album also offers simple rock music with ambient nuance like third track "Writings on the Wall" (5:26) where you can find a simple guitar solo and very nice and upbeat riffs that produce peaceful sounds. "Into Deep" (6:09) offers another simple form music with great vocals, simple bass lines combined with howling riffs and a bit of classic Hammond sounds with long sustain keys combined with guitar rhythm and riffs. It flows naturally and it's really rewarding. I love it. Who says prog music must be complicated? Nope man . you must enjoy this album! "The Boy in the Attic" (7:13) is a mellow track with catchy piano line; it's far from any notion of prog met music - therefore this band should not be pigeon-holed as prog met.

If you reach track 6 "Two Seconds in Life" (6:28), again, you would be surprised with the stream of music the band is offering! This track is very close in style and performance with Van der Graff Generator music; or if you are familiar with Carptree or Sylvan "Artificial Paradise" or "X-Rayed" album. Yeah, that kind of music. So, how can you it as prog met band? Come on .. "Two Second in Life" is definitely another favorite of mine. I like the heavy voice line and the beauty of composition this track offers. Wonderful! Believe me ..

The remaining tracks "Myron & Cole" (5:53), "As Life Flows By" (4:45) and "Rain" (8:06) are also excellent ones. "Rain" is another track in the vein of Carptree / Sylvan styles with some soft and smooth riffs; it's faraway from prog met style.

Overall, this is a very enjoyable album and I recommend you having this album in your prog music collection. Happy new prog year and . keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

After the release of the masterpiece "Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness" I'm sure GREEN CARNATION had some sort of a problem. Because: how could they possibly top this? Fortunately they weren't trying to do something similar, but something completely different. "Blessing in Disguise" is a "standard" 9 track album with an average length of 6 minutes or so. Another difference is that on this album all band members helped writing the songs as with "LOD, DOD" Tchort was the mastermind behind the whole project.

"Crushed to Death" is an up-tempo into your face rock song and if you left the volume of your stereo system still a bit up from the previous cd you listened to, I'm sure you will be awake immediately!

After the opening track of this album the contrast couldn't possibly have been bigger than with "Lullaby in Winter". This is my favourite track of the album! Very dramatic and melodic track sung with a lot of passion by Kjetil Nordhus. After 3:15 we think the song is over, but in fact what follows is a beautiful transition with some great drumming. I love the part that goes: I know you're sad, because it's winter, but I can promise you a spring. I know you're cold, I see you shiver, but I can promise you a spring. wonderful! Also nice to mention is that there are some great winter pictures enclosed in the booklet.

"Writings on the wall" is a bit more up-tempo again and it has a very catchy chorus and contains some heavy metal riffs. "Into Deep" is somewhat similar and "The Boy in the Attic" is another mellow track and kicks off with a beautiful piano into which lasts for about two minutes. After this we get a vocal part and in the middle section we hear a classical string section. Towards the end the delicate piano which was used for the intro is now used for the outro of the song. "Two Seconds in Life" is another mellow track in the same style of "The Boy in the Attic". "Myron & Cole" and "As Life Flow By" are both a bit heavier again. To me definitely not the greatest songs of this album, but still better than average though...

Thankfully the last track "Rain" is a lot better again. It start out as a mellow track, but at 3 minutes we get some great riffs accompanied by keyboards and some nice drumming. I wish they would have made more use of those tempo/mood shifts in the separate tracks by it self. This is what made "LOD, DOD" a masterpiece and makes this "just" a very good album.

3.5 stars. Like the previous two studio albums children occupy a prominant place in the equation. From the picture on the front and back cover of a young boy, to the words written in some of the songs. If I had to describe their sound on this record I would say it's a combination of catchy, heavy riffs with the odd emotional, dark passages mixed in.

"Crushed To Dust" is hard and heavy right from the crack of the bat. An uptempo, straight forward song with lots of riffs. Not a good start as it's my least favourite track on here. It was actually hard to believe this was the same band who made the previous two records. "Lullaby In Winter" is one of my two favourites on this record. A slower paced song then the opener with guitar that reminds me of IRON MAIDEN, I think it's the tone of the guitar more than anything. The vocal melodies are a nice touch. The song completely stops and you would swear the next track comes on, a totally different melody. But it's part two of the same song and it begins with TOOL-like drumming and organ followed by some good guitar and vocals. The lyrics are great. "Writings On The Wall" is KATATONIA sounding with deeper vocals and heavy bass and drums. The guitar solo 3 minutes in is quite uplifting. "Into Deep" has an ominous intro that is blown away by a guitar assault. The organ is really good too.This is a powerful song with strings as well.

"The Boy In The Attic" has some chilling lyrics and lots of nice piano melodies.The contrast is good between the dark and heavy and the light and pastoral passages. "Two Seconds In Life" is ANATHEMA sounding. Opening with piano and vocals followed by strings and a full sound, this contrast continues. "Myron & Cole" is a hard hitting song with heavy riffs and organ. "As Life Flows By" features more excellent organ, bass and riffs. Good contrasting again in this one between the mid paced lighter sections and the uptempo heavy ones. "Rain" is probably the best song on the record. Taking lyrics from poems written for the "Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness" record this is obviously a very emotional song . It opens with the words "It rained the day that she went away, she never returned..." Gulp. Of course Tchort lost his daughter and these words are heart breaking. The song opens with cello and I love the melody 5 minutes in.

I have become a big fan of this band and highly recommend their first two albums. This album is a little too commercial sounding at times but there's lots of excellent music as well.

One of the things I love about Green Carnation is that they manage to put out melodic and accessible music even though it’s mostly in the form of metal. This album is a bit less grandiose than the previous two; frankly compared to the hour-long unitrack known as ‘Light of Day, Day of Darkness’ this album seems almost mainstream.

But it’s not boring by any stretch. The opening “Crushed to Death” isn’t the musical maelstrom its title would suggest, but it is a pretty heavy tune with power chords and hard-driving drums with the same sort of catchy measure the band would employ a couple years later on ‘A Quiet Offspring’. “Writings on the Wall” is a song in much the same vein, but on that one the guitar sounds closer to hair band metal and I can’t say as the overall experience is very special; and the same goes for “Into Deep” really. Three pretty pedestrian tracks on an otherwise decent album, but they definitely bring down the quality of the release somewhat. “Myron and Cole” has the same sort of hair-band vocals and guitar but manages to skirt the edges of decency thanks to an ambitious chamber ensemble.

The tone changes considerably on “Lullaby in Winter” with a sort of glum and stark arrangement that is so common in Nordic metal (heck, Nordic music in general). I listened to this a few times before realizing there is a major tempo shift halfway through where I had thought the song abruptly shifted to another which didn’t make sense at the time. No worries – things are sorted out in my addled brain now.

I like the piano on “The Boy in the Attic”, a little bit more subdued song but one in which the vocals seem a bit forced and awkward. This track doesn’t flow too well with the rest of the album, although taken on its own it is a nice style changeup for the band, and one they would revisit on ‘The Acoustic Verses’. “Two Seconds in Life” is similar musically, but the vocals are more focused and border on being eerie (which I suppose is what the band was going for).

“As Life Flows By” really makes no impression on me one way or the other – sort of a generic though melodic metal tune; but “Rain” is a powerful, slowly-building power piece that makes an especially effective use of piano for a metal tune, and brings the album to a solid close without being melodramatic. Nice finish.

I came across Green Carnation after their In the Woods days, but have quickly taken a liking to nearly all their music. This is their most uneven album in my opinion, but is still pretty solid on the whole. I think three stars are warranted, and would recommend this to most types of metal fans. I know two of my teenagers find this to be a decent album, and who am I to question the taste of a couple of finicky budding proggers?

peace

An worthy follow up to the outstanding Light of Day, Day of Darkness...

And a very different one too... Far from the mastodontic offering of the previous album, wich was an hour single song, A Blessing in Disguise is a very decent collection of shorter tracks, moving between gothic sounds (Writings in the Wall, As Life Flows by...), some 70's prog influences (Lullaby in Winter...), and hard tracks with a good stoner rock (Crushed to Dust, Myron and Cole...) feeling. Of course, this album is more commercial and more friendly than its predecessor.

In the longer tracks the style of Light of Day, Day of Darkness comes again. Specially in Lullaby in Winter, where the acoustic guitars are similar, the double pedal part in A Boy in the Attic, and the final part of Rain, wich could habe perfectly been in this masterpiece... Two Seconds in Life, a track with some Porcupine Tree's influences, it's also alike.

The rest of the tracks are not so progressive, and like I said before, they move between the typical gothic rock from Norway (but with a superior quality...) and a harder and groovy mood. So this is a very variated album from a very capable band... Wich lost some of their personality in the search for a bigger audience. Sometimes is hard to notice that you're hearing the same band wich made a true masterpice of post metal like Light of Day, Day of Darkness is.

Best tracks: Crushed to Dust (great riffing, and outstanding chorus...), Lullaby in Winter (a true jewel... A precious tribute to the 70's, only comparable with Opeth's Damnation in quality), Myron and Cole (it's maybe a bit too obscure, but it could have been in a great stoner rock album...) and As Life Flows By (I really love the bass lines in the verses...)

Conclusion: although this album is very good, is far from being so impressive as Light of Day, Day of Darkness... A Blessing in Disguise is more commercial, and I think the band tried to sound more radio friendly, but putting down part of their personality in the search of a bigger audience... I can understand it, and this album has enough interesting moments to being a worthy purchase. But being a prog lover, I think it's a pity that this band changed their musical direction in so a drastic way.

My rating: ***1/2

"A Blessing in Disguise" is the 3rd full-length studio album by Norwegian progressive metal act Green Carnation. The album was released through Season of Mist in June 2003. Green Carnation was formed in 1990 as a death metal act, but was initially a short lived project which ended in 1991. Guitarist Tchort then joined black metal act Emperor and played bass on their now legendary debut album "In the Nightside Eclipse (1994)". Tchort shortly after left Emperor and layed low for a couple of years before reuniting with some of the original Green Carnation members, who in the intermediate years had kept themselves busy in In the Woods.... The band´s debut full-length studio album "Journey to the End of the Night" was released in 2000.

The sophomore album "Light of Day, Day of Darkness" followed in 2001. Both of those relases feature a dark, progressive and doom/gothic metal style and both are concept releases (the latter solely features one hour long track). With "A Blessing in Disguise" the band have opted for a different songwriting approach and sound. The material on the 9 track, 56:19 minutes long album are still rooted in heavy metal, but the overall sound is predominantly a heavy progressive rock style, featuring "regular" rock instrumentation of guitars, bass, drums, and vocals, but also keyboards (predominantly vintage sounding). The tracks are melodic, relatively catchy, and while not overtly complex, they are still nicely intriguing and adventurous. The atmosphere is melancholic and dark, but not a pitch black type of darkness. Dark melancholy is a more fitting description. If I have to compare the sound on "A Blessing in Disguise" with another artist, I would pick the Dan Swanö led Nightingale as a reference. Although the two artists don´t sound alike, there are many similarities in the overall approach to playing heavy progressive rock.

The musicianship is strong on the album, with greatly skilled and organic instrumental performances, and a strong vocal performance by Kjetil Nordhus too. "A Blessing in Disguise" also features a powerful and organic sounding production, which suits the material well, so upon conclusion it´s a strong third album release by Green Carnation. Some fans of the first two releases may not be completely satisfied with the change of sound, but fans of heavy progressive rock featuring a melancholic atmosphere, should find this a greatly enjoyable release. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)