A Dark Poem, Part I roared forth on sturdy wings of woe (too) late in 2025. A record that didn’t deny its roots to Doom Metal Central with pronounced progressive airs, and powerfully so. A piece full of poignant melancholy that took us by surprise first and then by storm. It did miss reaching superb levels by a fraction of an inch, though. And this was mainly due to inexplicable slowdowns and an undeniable lack of oxygen in certain spots.
So, barely a few months later, Green Carnation reappeared on our radar with more sadboi tunes. Rushing new records usually ain’t a stellar idea. This kind of scurrying about the soundscape already brought down more than one band. And that left this crew worried for a while. Sadness it will be, that we know. But will it be good sadness delivered to our tissue box, that is the question.
The blood-red album cover of Green Carnation‘s 2nd installment of the trilogy, A Dark Poem, Part II: Sanguis, captivated this crew’s attention first. Brightly shining figures painted over a barren landscape in front of a blazing sun. A vivid, yet frugal deluge of moody colors that feels like an omen leading directly into this somber and desolate atmosphere of a record, full of highly personal o-tons.
This new piece depicts Green Carnation in a more pensive posture. It is as if the band found itself way out in the mighty Sea of Woe with no idea of how to return to those craggy shorelines. Not that Sanguis, the title track of sorts, is any indicator of that. The comforting sounds of ’70s-era prog and doom greet you almost lustily at first. Until the track hits a true Paradise Lost vein, combined with Isole‘s soaring, tear-drenched lament, that is. Never forget that this song also contains the full package of moods and flavors typical to Sanguis, the record. Fast-moving beats, oldish prog tropes, power prog à la Nevermore, the full monty of the melancholy train in rapid motion. Riffs that are typical of doom AND prog together with drum work that’s always right on point. And it finds vocalist Kjetil Nordhus in full form, emotively and powerfully so. In other words, if you’re looking for the essence of the album, look no further than this first track.
But once Loneliness Untold, Loneliness Unfold hits the tracklist, you’ll understand where the main theme is headed. True, some may call the track banal and an unnecessary stopgap to ruin a relatively well-paced tracklist.1 But for this crew, the song is the epitome of a ballad. One that hits home way too close to be comfortable. Well-arranged, simple, and yet perfectly written, it is – to our astonishment – also interpreted by guitarist Stein Roger Sordal. This is one of those tracks, positively oozing a sentiment of troubled veracity and desperate desolation. Of a man with heavy baggage who has been there and finally dared to expose this tale.
But there’s more. I Am Time will send you a reckoning of highly polished, soaring gothic vibes. Whereas Fire and Ice and its weird monologue sounds like a modern, prog-heavy morsel seemingly emanating straight from Paradise Lost’s Elegy, drunk on a nifty combo of cranky bass and mourning drums. Yet another track that perfectly represents what Green Carnation stands for. And let’s not forget Lunar Tale with its frugal and vulnerable airs, featuring yet again Ingrid Ose on flute. Those tracks are imbued with truly Nordic vibes, featuring that typical sorrow and grief we so often hear from those tribes populating their vast stretches of cold and barren lands.
But ultimately, there definitely is a raw yet delicate edge to A Dark Poem, Part II: Sanguis. An avalanche of heartbreak and distress, carried by often oldish yet powerful vibes typical of decades-old gloomy prog patterns. Sometimes forceful and sometimes meandering, but always navigating somewhere in this liminal space where forlorn mournfulness and agonising despair dwell in tandem. And whilst far from your typical Doom Metal piece, all of the above is supported by strongly argumentative lyrics that smartly underpin complex power-prog structures and soaring melodies. A true work of art.
In short, the record indeed tells of sadness in a variety of shades of misty greys. And it does it with artful taste and measured fervor, which leads into a record that you absolutely need to have in your collection.
Record Rating: 8/10 | Label: Season of Mist | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 3 April 2026
- Yeah, I can already hear them. -Ed.-↩