Had Green Carnation never returned from hiatus, the Norwegian prog bards would always be remembered for completing one of metalâs most ambitious individual epics. However, there was one tale – or three, to be exact – that eluded them for more than three decades, until last year. Now, after reaching crushing new highs on Part I of their forthcoming album trilogy, the band are descending into the deepest, darkest and most personal depths of their storied career with A Dark Poem, Part II: Sanguis.
âSanguis is lean, purposeful, and emotionally devastating in the way only music built from genuine anguish can beâ, Sonic Perspectives writes in an 8.8/10 review. âGreen Carnation have distilled their identity down to something sharper and more potent than everâ.
âWhen it comes to progressive metal thatâs particularly somber, eloquent and rustic, few bands do it better than Norwayâs Green Carnationâ, Loudwire says in an interview about Sanguis with the bandâs vocalist Kjetil Nordhus and bassist/primary lyricist Stein Roger Sordal.
A Dark Poem, Part II: Sanguis comes out tomorrow, Friday, April 3 on Season of Mist, but you can hear all six heart-wrenching songs today by listening to the full album stream, which premieres on the Season of Mist YouTube channel at Noon Eastern Time.
During the premiere, the band will chat with fans about the latest installment in their forthcoming album trilogy, as well as what the future might bring on Part III.
A Dark Poem, Part II: Sanguis Full Album Stream Premiere
Thursday, April 2 @ 12 pm Eastern Time
âSanguis invites listeners into our darkest inner rooms with some of the most raw and vulnerable songs that weâve ever writtenâ, Nordhus says.
âThe lyrics are so personal that I had to go many rounds with myself over whether or not to tone them downâ, says Sordal. âIn the end, I chose to keep them as honest as possibleâ.
Pre-order
https://orcd.co/greencarnationsanguis
Pre-save on Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/prerelease/7pUfKrzW4Q5vn0WAfPHCkS?si=uDZLcOH5Rh2-j8BcS956-g
Available Formats
CD Digipack
12″ Vinyl Gatefold (Black)
12″ Vinyl Gatefold (Yellow and Red Marbled)â
12″ Vinyl Gatefold (Orange and âCoke Bottle Green)
12″ Vinyl Gatefold (Gold Splatters)
12″ Vinyl Gatefold (Silver, White and Black Marbled)
12″ Vinyl Gatefold (Transparent Green and Purple Marbled)
If The Shores of Melancholia set sail from a familiar place of melancholy, then Sanguis opens with Green Carnation far out at sea, fighting to stay afloat against the storm thatâs raging in their minds. Over the course of nine minutes, the albumâs epic title track vows to forgive and forget familial wreckage, washing away the bloody stains of the past with impassioned cleans and a chorus that radiates conviction â only for a traumatic memory to come flooding back during its doomy coda.
âFather was boiling, mother was crying / The children left scared in their bedsâ. A fiery shiver of a riff slowly spirals downward, as if trapped inside a mental hell.
âIt paints a pretty grim picture of my childhoodâ, Sordal says about âSanguisâ. âI do have great memories from that time, too, but parts were very dark. I had some tough issues with my father, but I now know that he had it worse. I didnât think about that when I was younger, but as Iâve gotten older, Iâve learned that there is usually more to the storyâ.
âIt took Stein Roger almost 50 years to understand why his father treated him the way he didâ, Nordhus says about his dear bandmate. âHe didnât understand until he had kids of his own and was watching them grow upâ.
The newfound heaviness from the Part I of A Dark Poem continues to age like a fine wine, balancing sweet meaty riffs with an underlying bitterness. âI Am Timeâ demands immediate recognition with a guitar melody that winds like the winds of change, while âFire In Iceâ stokes the political flames viewed from The Shores of Melancholia with pounding chills of double bass. But Sanguis reveals the band at their most raw with ballads that unfold with the grace of a wilted flower.
âThe end justifies the means, youâll seeâ, Kjetil Nordhus sings with an eerily quiet confidence on album closer âLunar Taleâ. As the song seeps beneath the moonlight, Sanguis leaves fans hanging in suspense over where this trilogy will end.
Catch Green Carnation during their upcoming hometown shows and European summer festival dates. During their headlining show in September at the Kilden Performing Arts Centre, the band will perform A Dark Poem in its entirety for the first and final time – including the as-of-yet unannounced Part III. Already, fans from 18 different countries have purchased tickets for this once-in-a-lifetime event. Â
Green Carnation 2026 Show Dates
June 6 – Tampere, Finland @ Ankea Festival [TICKETS]
June 14 – Kristiansand, Norway @ Odderøya [TICKETS]*
August 1 – Ungarn, Hungary @ Feke Zaj Festival [TICKETS]
September 12 – Kristiansand, Norway @ Kilden Performing Arts Centre [TICKETS]#
September 25 – Bucuresti, Romania @ Bucharest Prog Day II [TICKETS]
*Deep Purple, Turbonegro + Slomosa
#Performing A Dark Poem, Part 1-III
More praise for A Dark Poem, Part II: Sanguis
âGreen Carnation have added another superbly realized song cycle to their catalogue, and the third part of this trilogy cannot arrive soon enough. Just be prepared to shed a tear or tenâ – Blabbermouth
âA Dark Poem, Part II: Sanguis finds Green Carnation at their most raw and emotionally exposed, weaving crushing heaviness and haunting melody into a dark, unresolved journey that lingers long after the final noteâ – The Prog Report
âAs Part I, Part II both causes instant delight and will doubtlessly show itself to be a grower in the sense that it contains many layers and nuances that will continue to unfold over timeâ – New Noise
âOn the guitar side, the album sounds phenomenal. From the acoustic guitars to the heavier riffs, this album has it all: great execution, super rich, offering so many dynamics, still technical at times, especially the solos.â – A&P Reacts
âThat is one thing you will notice throughout the whole album; the band will have something to say, in every songâ – Metal Temple
âIt is the band at their most introspective and vulnerable, baring their souls for everyone to see and this is very much reflected in the musicâ – The Razors Edge
âItâs always a delight to listen to the best in the business going about that business, and Sanguis is a very exciting exercise in just thatâ – Sentinel Daily
âThis is not meant to eclipse Part I – itâs meant to complete it, to complicate it, and to push the narrative into deeper, more human territoryâ – Metal Epidemic
âThemes of loss and sorrow dominate, yet the record avoids sinking entirely into darkness. Instead, it gradually introduces a sense of inner peace, even as a persistent thread of melancholia runs through each compositionâ – Markus Heavy Music Blog
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