Green Carnation
“Light of Day, Day of Darkness”
(The End Records)
My first impression of the band is that they have a massive CD booklet: six stapled sheets all two-sided and full color. Where do these people get the money? Well, from their record label I assume. The label is also home to Scholomance and Virgin Black and it wouldn’t be entirely unfair to say that Green Carnation settles nicely in between those two bands. They have the epic kind of scope and feel Scholomance goes for and the sorrowful heavy emotional stuff Virgin Black plays. Still, that doesn’t answer where the money comes from. The production is pristine. Every sound has a wonderful scintillating clarity not exactly common on labels focusing on niche metal. Maybe they’re all rich boys and got the money from their parents. Either way, who cares right?
The album exists and the album is kind of good.
The band plows through various metal styles with ease and playful whimsy: from acoustic introductions to light metallic sub-operatic nuances into heavy sludgy passages accentuated with string arrangements, an opera choir and a children’s choir. The album doesn’t progress from song to song as the album is arranged as one big opus. The musicianship is above average but the overall album weighs heavy on patience, especially since there’s no skipping to the next track. Before it can finish its bound to be ejected in favor something more, well, favorable.
