GREEN CARNATION „A blessing in Disguise”

RUNNING TIME: 56:19

I haven't heard any of Green Carnation's previous stuff, but I bought this on the strength of one song. I wasn't let down as it's a cracking listen. From what I have read, their previous material was quite heavy and on this one, they have taken a softer approach

The clear production allows the songs plenty of space and the album doesn't feel cluttered. The thing that hits you straight away when listening to these songs is that they are all full of hooks and it's hard to get them out of your head even after the first listen. One thing I promise you is that there will be repeated listens.

There is a strong prog element running through the songs thanks to the subtle use of keyboards. Strip these away and you are left with just the guitars and if you think about this, you realise how important the keyboards really are. One band I am reminded of when listening to this is Lake of tears how they sounded about five years ago and to be honest that's not a bad reference point.

Well, what to say about the vocals? In a word – fantastic. Kjetil Nordhus has a great range and will appeal to fans of Opeth's mellower moments and Katatonia. He uses his voice to carry the songs and it is hard to recognise that it is the same vocalist from one song to the next.

With this release, Green Carnation has created their masterpiece. This was in my top 10 of 2003 and it deserves a place in the collection of anyone who considers themselves a metal fan.