Harder and darker are the best adjectives to describe the second album of the narrative A Dark Poem.
Green Carnation took Sanguis into a whole new universe, blending personal issues, raw and aggressiveness with that familiar prog sound that we are aware of. We had the chance to learn the whole process of an entire trilogy, why the long-term of producing such ana amazing and powerful trilogy, as well as other aspects that shape the Norwegian group.
M.I. - The second album in a trilogy. How did the narrative of A Dark Poem start?
It’s an idea that has been in the band since the release of Light of the Day, Day of Darkness (2001).
It has been with us for many years. We went in a different direction after that album, because we felt that we had emptied our creativity. We released five more different albums, and only in 2016 that main idea kind of surfaced again.
We started discussing what our next move should be, about the trilogy that we wanted to do so long. It took us a lot of time, a lot of effort and energy. Then, we decided to work on this trilogy in 2017/ 2018. Since it started to take a lot of time, we decided to release Leaves of Yesteryear, in the meantime, in order to give us more time to finish this trilogy.
Only in 2025, we have the first part, and the two next ones will be out quite soon, one in April and the other one in September of 2026, even though it’s not official yet. We composed a lot of songs, and not only for the first or second parts, but we did compose a lot of them, and soon we understood that we’re writing these songs in a period of our lives where personally we’re facing issues and achievements. Our lives have been ups and downs with losing people and throughout the three albums you have natural variations, not as a storyline, but we had to write down these songs to empty our feelings and show them to the world.
The world has been quite weird since 2020, we feel some alienation from people, less tolerant and you cannot really cope with the current situation happening nowadays. We tried to put together these albums, at the same time they could live alone, but when you hear them, you start to understand that all of them are different.
M.I. - If you had to label part’s II DNA, which words would you use to describe it?
Well, in part one we have this energy, guns blazing, heaviness and epicness. In this album, we have more personal and introspective concepts. More personal and introverted lyrics.
We did a lot of new stuff in this one that we didn’t do in the first one. We wanted to take away everything else, it’s very voice driven but connected somehow with part one. Part two can also be perceived as a stand-alone album, even if you didn’t listen to part one. I think we succeeded in the first one, and let’s see how people will appreciate part two, and connect it with the first album.
We’re dealing with the same kind of thoughts throughout the three albums. Musically speaking, there’s a difference between the first and second albums, a little bit more introvert and talks about personal issues, like the song “Sanguis”. Our bass player wrote the lyrics and the song with me, and for us it’s a very aggressive and personal song.
M.I. - Part I: The Shores of Melancholia also brings a few guest musicians, such as members from Enslaved, and much more. We already know that Ingrid Ose will play in this upcoming album, but what about any other musicians?
Actually, you are the first person who interviews me for part two. I remembered when I was saying about part one, there’s going to be a lot of guests on the third one. We are definitely talking about at least one hundred people that will play with us.
M.I. - Are we talking about an orchestra?
It might be! A few names that will take place in part three have already been part of Green Carnation’s world before. You mentioned Ingrid Ose, and she will participate in this one too, she’s very talented and has already worked with us before.
M.I. - Being part of a trilogy, there’s always the element of storytelling. It seems Part II: Sanguis brings a darker theme to the whole concept of the album.
Absolutely. That’s what we have been talking about. It seems that we have entered in a darker room. The first, second and last songs do have a dark vibe, disturbing at the same time.
This album feels like when you give up everything, what happens then? It’s kind of a relief, because everything is gone and this is how this album can be described. As I’ve said a few times, it’s a very personal album, especially when you hear the lyrics they can be understood.
M.I. - Even the artwork is quite different from The Shores of Melancholia.
Yes, you are right about that. It’s part of an entire trilogy concept, and everything can be perceived well together, but the theme is quite different. You see it as planet crashing down or even a drop of blood for example, or perhaps a mix between both, who knows?
M.I. - What about any touring plans that you have scheduled so far?
It has been a slow start for us, and we haven’t done a lot of tours. Suddenly, two and a half years later we have been releasing music, and promoters and music shows will contact Green Carnation to play.
We went to a prog festival in the Netherlands, totally sold out, and it was amazing. We played out there with our friends Leprous and Gazpacho. We do have a festival in Finland and Hungary next summer, and then we’re coming back to Barcelona to play around September. Plus, we also have a full concert in our hometown (Kristiansander), where we will perform all three albums, including with all the guests and a full symphony orchestra.
M.I. - Endre Kirkesola is the band’s newest member. How challenging was it for him to learn three decades of the band’s music roster?
He kind of knew everything from before. Endre he was the producer of Light of Day, Day of Darkness, he also played keys when we toured with the album.
After our previous keyboardist quit, Endre came back, we also recorded Leaves of Yesteryear, and he has done most of the keyboards on the trilogy. It wasn’t a huge challenge for him; he’s also a personal friend of us of our hometown. He’s part of the family for a while.
M.I. - If you had to choose three albums that shaped Sanguis’ concept, which ones would be?
That’s a good one! My first choice would be the newer Candlemass albums, like The Door to Doom (2019). I always liked Candlemass, but there’s something about this album, a freshness that really inspired me a few times.
Through COVID-19, I’ve been listening to new music which I wasn’t familiar with. I’m talking about Chelsea Wolfe, and I kind of connected with her. It seems to me that I’m the only guy in the band that listens to new music, and when you have time, you tend to discover a lot of new and good music. Also, I think that the people that listen Green Carnation’s music are a mix between the old school and the new generation
My third and last choice would be one of Opeth’s latest albums. I love them and their career has been amazing. Whenever they change their sound, it suits me really well, like they did with Blackwater Park, and when they released The Last Will and Testament it suited me well.
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Entrevista por André Neves
