LIGHT OF DAY, DAY OF DARKNESS

First of all I want to thank "evenless" (Martijn) for introducing me to this amazing album. GREEN CARNATION actually formed in 1990 but never got off the ground then as Tchort left to play bass for EMPEROR, so the Botteri brothers formed a band called IN THE WOODS... .Tchort and the Botteri brothers would record only one album together as GREEN CARNATION called "Journey To the End Of The Night", GREEN CARNATION's debut in 2000. The Botteri brothers would leave after that release.That debut record was about the tragic death of Tchort's daughter, and needless to say it is filled with darkness,pain and sorrow. I need to say as a father that I can't possibly imagine what Tchort went through and is still going through.That kind of pain is only known by those who have experienced it first hand. This is the follow up record and Tchort dedicates the music to his new son, while lyrically he dedicates it to the Botteri brothers.Tchort describes this release as his "Musical legacy". And this record reveals the emotions and feelings of Tchort of what he's going through, and went through, but unlike the first album this is seen through the "joy, inspiation and meaning" that his son has brought into his life. So there is hope in this album, but also a lot of darkness and anger. In the liner notes is a picture of a little white casket with a young woman laying beside it, holding it, with her head resting on it. The other pictures in the liner are beautiful photos of nature. Musically this sounds more like IN THE WOODS... than anyone else although I was reminded of ANATHEMA during some of the quieter parts.This is a single 60 minute song that tells Tchort's feelings without being interupted.

The song starts off rather atmospherically with some eerie sounds as the soundscape builds with guitar and drums as we hear a child making noises. Reserved vocals come in at about 3 minutes that change to a full sound 5 minutes in with some good guitar riffs. Great ! Organ melodies come and go.The lyrics are so emotional as he sings "Insanity reached me it's hand". 8 minutes in the vocals are aggressive and the sound is heavy and angry. 14 minutes in we get some very heavy drums and bass that accellerates. Nice ! This is followed by a spacey, dreamy soundscape that suit the lyrics that are about a dream he had. 20 minutes in we get some BLACK SABBATH-like guitars and vocals and it gets punishingly heavy again. 22 minutes in it lightens up some with some incredible instrumental work.

Some nice organ work and riffs dominate until 25 minutes in it almost stops before we get the heavy riffing again as the light and heavy are beautifully contrasted. The drumming is fantastic here and throughout this song. We get some female vocals after 33 minutes with a reserved sax solo. She gets close to screaming during her vocal melody. At 39 minutes the male vocals and the heaviness is back. A long amazing guitar solo 42 minutes in and i'm reminded of ANATHEMA 45 minutes in. More heavy riffing and she's back 52 minutes in. The guitar is incredible and then we hear the child's voice again with synths that are broken by blazing guitar and pounding drums. The song ends with the sound of a music box playing.

There are some heart wrenching lyrics in this song, but I can tell you that the music is as good as the words. This is truly a masterpiece !