Band:	Green Carnation
Album:	The Quiet Offspring
Style:	Gothic metal, Progressive metal
Release date:	February 2005

01. The Quiet Offspring
02. Between The Gentle Small & The Standing Tall
03. Just When You Think It's Safe
04. A Place For Me
05. The Everlasting Moment
06. Purple Door, Pitch Black
07. Childsplay Part I
08. Dead But Dreaming
09. Pile Of Doubt
10. When I Was You
11. Childsplay Part II

In our times dominated by Death, Black and Power metal bands, it's always refreshing to encounter sheer originality in a band hailing from Scandinavia. Green Carnation originates from Norway and has a solid lineup including legendary musician Tchort. But after all, Norway brought us the most original bands in the recent past with Winds, Pagan's Mind or Jorn; and Green Carnation belongs to that same category of artists albeit their music is more oriented Prog/Heavy than the aforementioned bands. The new Prog/Heavy prodigies are back with their highly anticipated album, "The Quiet Offspring".

From the beginning, two things appear clear. Number one., the band is experienced and they all know their instruments very well. Number two, the songs are intended to reach a wider audience than their previous effort. The Doom influences are now toned down and the whole thing has a catchier structure. Therefore the atmosphere is more open, friendlier to an inexperienced listener. Still, the compositions are complex and there's no denying that Green Carnation style remains Progressive Metal.

The songwriting is varied and ranges from Progressive/Heavy to Heavy/Stoner ['Between The Gentle Small & The Standing Tall'] to Doom ['When I Was You'] to wider genres ['Just When You Think It's Safe', close to what nowadays Katatonia is about]. While this could mean reaching a larger audience, it could also puzzle some fans, the ones who are only looking for Progressive Metal with a darker side to it. I have to say I am one of those people. While I recognized that this album is very good, some of these quality songs don't do it for me [well, those three songs I was talking about above, I could do without] while others mean everything to me ['Pile Of Doubt', 'The Quiet Offspring'].

With a good covert art by Niklas Sundin [yes, the same, Dark Tranquillity's guitar genius] and a great and clear production, "The Quiet Offspring" appears as a great package.

While it still feels like lukewarm water to me, it might become a 2005 classic. To put it briefly, "The Quiet Offspring" is a very good record with some killer songs and if you're open-minded in terms of music, you ought to give it a try.


Highlights: 'Pile Of Doubt', 'The Quiet Offspring', 'Childsplay Part I'