Artist : Green Carnation

Album : Leaves of Yesteryear

Release Date : 08-05-2020

Added : 16-06-2020

'Green Carnation' is a Norwegian group between progressive rock and metal founded by 'Terje Vik Schei' (nicknamed 'Tchort') and which had a period of intense activity between 2000 and 2006 with 5 albums, the last 'The Acoustic Verses' being included completly in a beautiful DVD 'A Night Under The Dam' available on you tube. 2016 saw the reformation of the group with and, four years later, the release of a new album ‘Leaves of Yesteryear’.

First of all, it must be said that of the 5 tracks on the album, only 3 are original because 'My Dark Reflections of Life and Death' already appeared on their first album 'Journey To The End Of The Night' and 'Solitude' is a cover of 'Black Sabbath' from the album 'Master of Reality' released in 1971. The three unreleased tracks are therefore, in order, 'Leaves Of Yesteryear' which takes us on a first long development of 8 minutes, and we find all the ingredients for a rich and inventive progressive metal supported by accessible melodic lines from the first listening, then with 'Sentinels' which follows with an introduction which reminds me in a heavier style the atmosphere of 'Innuendo' of 'Queen', we alternate mid-tempo passages and a much more energetic refrain, and finally, 'Hounds' is certainly the most varied with very beautiful melodic lines and a succession of several parts which go from a peaceful rock style to a muscular metal, all these mixes offering a nice coherence to the whole. As for the cover ‘My Dark Reflections of Life and Death’, it was rewritten in another tone and re-recorded but I will not enter into a sterile comparison, each version of this long development gives me the same listening pleasure. Finally, the album ends with a cover of ‘Solitude’ from ‘Black Sabbath’, in a quiet atmosphere, the singing of ‘Kjetil Nordhus’ lending itself very well to the atmosphere created by this title.

In summary, the Norwegians of 'Green Carnation' timidly come back with only three unreleased tracks which are nevertheless remarkable which makes 'Leaves of Yesteryear' more of an EP but will allow, beyond the historical fans, to make to know this band to a wider audience and to some to discover or rediscover their discography (like for example this monument 'Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness' which is the only title of the album of 2001, but what title, since it lasts an hour !), and also I hope that they will not make us wait too long their next album...

Line Up / Musicians

Kjetil Nordhus (Vocal), Terje Vik Schei “Tchort” (Guitar), Stein Roger Sordal (Bass), Bjørn Harstad (Guitar), Kenneth Silden (Keybords), Jonathan Alejandro Perez (Drums)