Green Carnation
Leaves of Yesteryear

Apparently, it is indeed a period of major comebacks after endless absences, as if Tool had started a trend. The year 2020 also saw the great return of the Norwegian band Green Carnation, a cult name in the progressive metal underground, active in the 2000s.

A band often underestimated, with its own style and capable of renewing itself with each album, they had released 5 albums, all more or less different from each other, between 2000 and 2006; to briefly recap their journey, let's say that the first album had very doom metal features, the second consisted of a single long suite between progressive metal and gothic metal, the third had approximately the same approach as the second but spread over different tracks, the fourth moved them towards a more immediate and rocky hard rock or rather heavy rock, while the fifth was a refined acoustic album. Then financial problems and a loss of motivation, an indefinite hiatus, and the new album project postponed indefinitely. Then in 2014, the announcement of a return for some concerts until the unexpected return to the studio.

And so here we are, against all odds, reviewing Green Carnation's sixth work. Let's start by saying that "Leaves of Yesteryear" is a half-legitimate scam, and the reason is simple: only 3 of the 5 tracks, or just 24 minutes out of the total 44, consist of new material, while the other 2 are a self-cover and a true cover. I was critical of Transatlantic, who included a Procol Harum cover in their first album that took up 17 minutes out of a total of 77, which is about 22% of the length, let alone here, where the not entirely new material occupies even 45%. It seems as though there were few ideas to explore, and the primary goal of the release was to verify if there was indeed interest from fans and labels in the band; those two tracks seem almost forcibly included to inflate the runtime, to make everyone believe they've really returned with a new album, therefore I think limiting it to an EP would have certainly been more honest. But we'll return to this later.

The sounds are those that best suit the group, those that characterized the masterpieces "Light of Day, Day of Darkness" and "A Blessing in Disguise", a progressive metal with rocky guitars with a slight hard rock/heavy rock aftertaste, equally rocky and thundering bass lines, but also soft moments with dark and gothic arpeggios. However, something changes, this time they abandon the orchestral arrangements that were a strength in those two albums, here replaced by dramatic and tortured ambient inserts, vaguely reminiscent of Anathema during their late '90s gothic period; layers of keyboards and relaxed organs reminiscent of Pink Floyd, barely caressed piano notes, sound rustlings, but also some lively synths to create contrast, as if to also instill a touch of positivity, easing the tension that pervades the entire album.

The title track is probably the song that best alternates a bit of all this, the bass loops and the almost chorale effects of the opening bars stand out, the traditional prog-style guitar/synth unison that comes in towards the end, but especially the synths with an almost arena rock flavor in the chorus, "trumpets" in the style of "The Final Countdown" that one would never expect from Green Carnation, sounds that are reprised with even more vigor in the end, almost as if it were a battle anthem, reminiscent of Royal Hunt. The second track "Sentinels" instead has the task of being the powerful and direct track of the album, a heavy metal/heavy rock boulder thrown with the power of a meteorite, supercharged guitars and basses like never before, but here too, in the chorus, there's an unusually robust and lively synth passage that contrasts with the dark tones of the track. In "Hounds", it is the dark-ambient component that is better highlighted, the introduction is a tortured manifesto guided by soft layers, cold reverberations, and subdued acoustic phrases, but then the guitar and bass arrive, advancing with a not fast but noisy and sinister pace, although now and then the atmospheric inserts return forcefully.

But let's get to the two not entirely new tracks. The album closes with a cover of Black Sabbath, "Solitude". I'm not a fan of covers unless they're improvised at karaoke with friends, just as I find cover bands pointless when they prolong their existence beyond the first gigs at local festivals, however, that doesn't mean I can't appreciate a well-done cover. This cover is truly incredible and there's nothing wrong with considering it even better than the original; if the original was characterized by dull guitar and bass riffs, Green Carnation transformed it into a psychedelic ambient masterpiece of rare beauty, with acidic reverberations, small acoustic touches, and clear piano notes, an ideal soundtrack for a day halfway between rain and clearing. The Ulver had attempted something similar in 2007, but that was little more than a sterile copy, here it really feels like a Green Carnation-branded piece. The perfect cover, the one that deserves to be included in an album of new material, shouldn't feel like a cover, it should sound like a song by the band, and here Green Carnation fully succeeded in achieving this result. Personally, I would have avoided it, but then I remember that several bands have created authentic and practically original covers, making them genuinely feel like their own and even capable of making one forget, in those minutes, the original, often even incorporating them into their live repertoire as if they were an actual part of it; think of "Feeling Good" covered by Muse or "Hallo Spaceboy" covered by Pagan's Mind, or even the enthusiasm with which "The Sound of Silence" covered by Disturbed was received, and I end up saying "yes, come on, it works too."

If the cover wasn't enough, the longest track, which plays the pillar role of the album, is none other than "My Dark Reflections of Life and Death", a piece unearthed from the band's first historic album and re-recorded in a new version. Towards the remakes of their own songs, I'm even more critical, but equally, I prefer to listen and evaluate. Let's say that here a good reconstruction work was certainly done, as the piece is stripped of its original doom armor and softened with a more prog-gothic metal approach that flows much more smoothly and digestibly, plus the ever-present ambient incursions add a depth and a sonic subtlety not found in the original. It isn't a sterile copy, they certainly didn't do like Faith No More, who included practically a carbon copy of "We Care a Lot" on their second album or like Steven Wilson who solo did a clone of "Don't Hate Me" which wasn't really needed. In the end, I manage to accept this too, precisely because it isn't a carbon copy, remembering also when Radiohead included in "Amnesiac" a completely different version of "Morning Bell".

But it remains a fact that with a cover and a self-cover, they filled almost half the album. But what really sets me biting my nails is the unreleased track the band released last November; "The World Without a View", composed and recorded by the band as a special exception taking advantage of the forced cancellation of concert activities, is an incredible track that has all the characteristics that make this album great. Wouldn't it have been better to conceive it earlier and include it in the album instead of occupying 15 minutes with a remake of an old track?!

But let's avoid asking too much, in the end, these are all mental exercises that talking about music leads one to construct just to have discussion material, Green Carnation has returned in grand style with the same determination and inspiration, and that's enough.