Norwegian progressive metal band Green Carnation have announced the next chapter in their ambitious trilogy with A Dark Poem, Part II: Sanguis, due out April 3 via Season of Mist.
Following last year’s acclaimed The Shores of Melancholia, which landed on year-end lists at Loudwire, PROG, Angry Metal Guy, and more—the band now descend into deeper, darker, and more personal territory. Alongside the announcement, Green Carnation have premiered a stirring music video for “Sanguis (Blood Ties)”, the opening movement of the album’s massive nine-minute title track.
Watch “Sanguis (Blood Ties)” here:
Vocalist Kjetil Nordhus explains:
“We wanted A Dark Poem to start off with guns blazing, but for Part II, we have some very personal stories that we want people to hear. Sanguis invites listeners into our darkest inner rooms with some of the most raw and vulnerable songs that we’ve ever written.”
Bassist and primary lyricist Stein Roger Sordal adds:
“A Dark Poem, Part II: Sanguis holds some of the most personal lyrics that I’ve ever written. The lyrics are so personal that I had to go many rounds with myself over whether or not to tone them down. In the end, I chose to keep them as honest as possible.”
“Sanguis” confronts childhood trauma and fractured family ties, unfolding over swelling organs, hopeful keys, pulse-pounding drums, and soaring guitar leads before collapsing into a haunting, solitary finale. It marks a tonal shift from Part I, plunging beneath surface-level melancholy into deeply intimate emotional terrain.
Sordal reflects on the song’s origins:
“This song paints a pretty grim picture of my childhood. I 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.”
Produced with longtime collaborator, and now official band member, Endre Kirkesola, Sanguis introduces new peaks and valleys within the trilogy’s overarching narrative, blending grand progressive arrangements with stark vulnerability.
The video for “Sanguis (Blood Ties)” was directed and edited by Rikard Amodei.
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Tracklisting:
- Sanguis (9:05)
- Loneliness Untold, Loneliness Unfold (4:04)
- Sweet to the Point of Bitter (5:58)
- I Am Time (5:39)
- Fire in Ice (7:03)
- Lunar Tale (5:25)
With Sanguis, Green Carnation continue their decades-long journey through progressive metal’s most emotional and cinematic depths—proving once again that vulnerability can be just as powerful as heaviness.