Magic The Number

Green Carnation first spoke about creating a three-album saga in the mid-2000s. Two decades later, the Norwegians are finally releasing the first chapter of their A Dark Poem series: The Shores Of Melancholia. Singer Kjetil Nordhus talks to Prog about the themes and backstory of their long-gestated trilogy.

Words: Matt Mills

Green Carnation: standing on the edge of melancholia, but still excited about their new album cycle.

Images: Lars Gunnar Liestøl

K jetil Nordhus has one piece of advice for anyone trying to make three albums at the same time: don’t.

“I wouldn’t recommend it,” the singer of Norwegian prog rockers Green Carnation admits, the exhaustion almost audible in his voice. “I’m 50 this year and over the last, say, 10 years, I’ve learned the difference between something being 97% good and 100% good. You use a lot of time on the last five or 10%.”

Nordhus is speaking from experience. Prog is joining the vocalist on a video call to talk about Green Carnation’s catchily titled new album, A Dark Poem, Part I: The Shores Of Melancholia, the first entry in an eventual trilogy. Without sounding too lofty about it, it’s the start of what’s going to be Green Carnation’s Lord Of The Rings, with its constituent pieces coming out individually despite being worked on as one enormous whole.

The band first had the idea of a three-part venture about 20 years ago. Yet The Shores Of Melancholia wasn’t announced – and lead single In Your Paradise wasn’t released – until mere hours before our interview. The initial feedback, mercifully, suggests that all the toil will be worth it.