Green Carnation

It’s more or less inevitable that any band known for releasing an album-length song has got to be harbouring some artistic sensibilities and an appreciation for progressive rock. That is certainly the case with Green Carnation, even though the Norwegians’ latest album, The Quiet Offspring, buries its notions of artiness in a solid wall of good old fashioned hard rock. In some ways the new album is clearly a continuation of 2003’s unforgettable Blessing in Disguise — Kjetil Nordhus’s voice is now unmistakable, and the heavy use of organ sounds contributes to Green Carnation’s distinctive progressive flavour. Just the same, The Quiet Offspring has a return-to-basics attitude and an even stronger harkening back to ’70s hard rock and early metal. This latest recording has its dreamy moments — not in the vaguely menacing "Dead But Dreaming,” but in subtler songs like "A Place For Me” or "When I Was You.” Gliding between eerie tragedy ("Child’s Play” — Parts I and II), heavy groove ("Between the Gentle and the Standing Tall”), and catchy choruses ("Purple Door, Pitch Black”), The Quiet Offspring even offers a glimpse of what a metallic U2 might sound like ("Pile of Doubt”). Green Carnation’s capacity for brooding darkness has suffered a breath or two of clear air, but underneath the light-hearted melodies still lies a vein of cynicism. No collection of instant hits, The Quiet Offspring is a gradual revelation, one of those records that totally pay back the investment of a little "growing time.”