There’s this phenomenon called winter solstice. It happens every year as the planet’s orbit places one end of the world at its farthest point from the sun. During this period, the sun figuratively stands still, never completely rising above the horizon, leaving parts of the world in total darkness.
Norway, thanks to its Arctic latitude, knows all about this. Wet, cold and gloomy, a Norwegian winter is probably best left to the imagination. As with all things in life, however, winter eventually ends. Snow melts, carnations bloom.
And like a budding flower springing free from a world of darkness, Norway’s Green Carnation gives the metal scene a little illumination.
Not your typical metal group, Green Carnation is hard to pin down. After 16 years, an EP, four albums and one DVD, the band has made a name for themselves across the ocean with continual innovation with strict attention to detail. It’s harsh with a soft spot. Metal with atmosphere. Mogwai meets Sabbath. Kinda. Sorta.
Perhaps you should just listen for yourself.
“Green Carnation is a band that deals with a lot of different kinds of music,” front man Kjetil Nordhus explains. “We’re known to explore new music on each album, that’s how I hope we’ll continue for years.”
I recently exchanged e-mails with Nordhus, who discussed, amongst other things, Acoustic Verses, the band’s latest effort, which finds them exploring (you guessed it) the acoustic side of their metallic melodies:
What are your thoughts on, Acoustic Verses? How does it differ from previous efforts?
That was another album that was very much different from our previous ones. Even though the Acoustic Verses contains many typical Green Carnation elements, we approached it in a different way when deciding that it was going to be an acoustic record. We gave ourselves a lot of challenges with that, and I know we also gave our fans a challenge, as we strive to do on each release.
What were your expectations for the release?
We had great expectations for it before it was released, simply because we thought it was a great record. Also, and of course very important, the critics loved it, and that was also one thing we didn’t know 100 percent. You know, there were critics that thought we had gone too soft already before the Acoustic Verses, but they too have been extremely positive about our newest album. And last, but not least, the fans seem to like it a lot – both old fans and new fans. And although that’s not something you think too much about when making the record, the combination of all those things is the stuff that makes success.
This release is the first on your own label, Sublife Productions. Are there any added pressures, challenges, etc.?
First and foremost it’s been extremely motivating to work with Green Carnation in that way too. If any pressure, I guess that must have been the pressure put on ourselves in order to have kind of a small “industry” around our first release. It was important for us to do deals with the right people in order to make the album available to people, and although there’s always room for improvement, I think we’ve come a long way in only a short time of existence.
Now you’ve been around since 1990, how do you keep things fresh?
I think the key for the band is to renew all the time, being open to new musical styles and try out different stuff. Also, we’ve had to change members now and then, and there’s a lot of challenges with doing that. But in the end the new members will add something fresh to the band, and we all gain from that.
What are your goals for the band?
I think we’re in the middle of our goals right now, because we’re doing music that we enjoy ourselves. We all have to keep on our toes because the band is moving from album to album, and it’s also great that there are so many people around the world enjoying what we do. If we can continue that, I think we’ll say – when we quit – that we accomplished our goals.
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