Reviews list for Green Carnation - A Blessing in Disguise (2003)

Green Carnation was one of the most stylistically diverse bands in terms of changing their sound in every release one by one. Each album in their initial run is heavier than the next, softer than the last. The first two albums have exemplifed their doomy progressive metal sound. Then their mid-2000s material went down to just alt-metal and acoustic rock. And in between is one album that would stand as the transitional release between those two eras...

A Blessing in Disguise is a good offering to appreciate and respect. Here they discard their earlier doomy elements for more of an atmospheric prog-metal/rock sound. The drama and sorrow in the music and lyrics brings to mind what Amorphis and Anathema were doing at that time.

The early 2000s Amorphis comparisons hold true with the punk-ish opener "Crushed to Dust", a great song that's one of the first I've heard from the band besides Light of Day, Day of Darkness, and I still enjoy it in the past 4 years before this review. I also just noticed that the lyrics are close to what to expect in DSBM, but they're still good, in mighty contrast with the upbeat music. "Lullaby for Winter" brings it closer to the Anathema side of things, around their late 90s gothic metal/alt-rock era. Quite impressive when they experiment with a hammond-filled rock composition with emotion and energy. Also, great singing from Kjetil Nordhus, who performs all the vocals instead of being in a league of guest vocalists. Then comes another highlight, "Writings on the Wall", a Paradise Lost-infused track with a great chorus despite the suicidal lyrics.

Despite the greatness of the opening trio, the writing gets more, well, extra in "Into Deep". Also troubling is "The Boy in the Attic" which barely has any heaviness, mostly just piano-led. "Two Seconds in Life" is another boring ballad-ish track, though the midsection bridge sounds nice and lively.

"Myron and Cole" is a heavy return to the gothic-ish progressive metal sound expected in the album, with crushing heaviness and esoteric experimentation. "As Life Flows By" has good balance in the variation. "Rain" is the 8-minute final epic of strength and melancholy. While the intro and outro may be too long for the impatient, they both know how to build up and down in those respective sections. With that and the heavy riffing and melodic chorus, this feels like the closing track anyone would wanna hear.

All in all, A Blessing in Disguise has a good blend of melody, progressiveness, and accessibility. The more extreme metal elitists may want to stay though, especially from those 3 tracks in the middle than are a little too soft, even for me. Still it's a good album to rock out to....

Favorites: "Crushed to Dust", "Lullaby for Winter", "Writings on the Wall", "Myron and Cole", "Rain"