LIGHT OF DAY, DAY OF DARKNESS

Light of Day, Day of Darkness is the second full-length studio album by Norwegian experimental/ progressive metal act Green Carnation. While the debut album Journey To The End Of The Night (2000) was a very melancholic affair which lyrically evolved around the death of the daughter of bandleader/ composer/ guitarist Tchort ( Terje Vik Schei), this second album while still melancholic in sound has more positive lyrics inspired by the birth of Tchort´s son. The album consists of one 60:06 minute long song.

The music has roots in melodic doom metal but there are lots of progressive rock elements in the sound too. The vocals are clean male and more seldom female. With a song that´s 60 minutes long I expect to get tired somewhere along the way but Light of Day, Day of Darkness actually manages to keep me entertained the whole time. I don´t know if the album has seen a vinyl release but around the 32 minute mark there´s a short break which could indicate that. The guitar riffing style is slow and melodic most of the time and there´s also an omnipresent organ which is a big part of the sound. It sounds like there are quite a few different singers who contribute to the album but they all have enjoyable voices. Note the Dead Can Dance influenced female led part after the short break at the 32 minute mark.

The production is good. Warm and enjoyable.

Light of Day, Day of Darkness is a rather unique album and it´s very hard to compare it to anything else. Personally I wouldn´t call it a masterpiece but that´s of course an aquired taste. I´m willing to rate it with 3.5 - 4 stars though and call it a very intriguing album release by Green Carnation. I´d say this one is a must-hear even though it doesn´t really appeal to my personal taste.