Once upon a time, there were two brothers, one played bass and the other a guitar. In 2000, these brothers helped create Journey to the End of the Night, Green Carnation’s debut album. From here, they went off to form the mighty In the Woods…, hoping to expand on the sound of yesteryear Green Carnation. After leaving both bands, Green Carnation and In the Woods… remained, drastically morphing their sound and pushing beyond the boundaries of long-winded progressiveness, orchestration, and flowing choirs. Come 2013, the Botteri brothers attempted it again with Strange New Dawn. Twenty-fourteen’s debut, The Only One, sees the boys resurrecting the exact sound of Green Carnation’s debut, even going as far as hiring one of its guest vocalists. Like their previous bands, the Botteri brothers have also progressed their sound beyond that simple formula, introducing rock elements, piano interludes, and records that are too fucking long. So, what’s in store for their third album, New Nights of Euphoria?
No matter how I try, I do not enjoy either The Only One or Planet System. For all their progressive elements, Pink Floyd-meets-doom stylings, and builds, many of the songs drag on and ultimately end without a clear conclusion. However, I have to admit that Roy Andersen is a better vocalist than The Only One’s Geir Solli. And he continues to provide his soothing voice to this latest effort. But, having signed to Svart Records, there’s a clear difference between New Nights of Euphoria and the band’s previous albums. For one, this new record is a good fifteen to twenty minutes shorter, resulting in more focused songs. The band has also pushed further into rock territories and spiffed up their progressive elements with key and piano atmospheres. And, for once, they’ve released an album I can get behind and return to without bailing out part way through.
But that doesn’t mean you should expect another 4.0 from ole Grier. But you can expect even more weirdness from Strange New Daw in the opening minutes of “Journey Within” and “Finding the Pieces.” That’s until they fire off into hammering doom riffs and pummeling, Light of Day, Day of Darkness-era Green Carnation goodness. “Journey Within” is a heavy-hitting introduction to the album, combining rasps with Andersen’s building cleans. At the midpoint, the song calms to a gentle trudge until it explodes into a magnificent build with fitting vocal aggressiveness. After the pieceful piano play, “Finding the Pieces” pushes through big, melodic atmospheres and pounding old-school Green Carnation licks. Then, it transitions to a crushing death march before another round of melodic beauty and dooming sadness draws it to a close.
The two mindfuckers on the album are “Class Hero Idol” and “High Strangeness.” The first song starts with some weird, circusy vibes before transitioning into a riff and vocal delivery that reminds me of Metallica’s cover of “Whiskey in the Jar.” Yeah, fucking weird, right? It’s a strange mix of rock ‘n’ roll, Arcturus-ish avant-garde, and soothing yet bizarre key work. Though, somehow, it works. “High Strangeness,” as you can assume by the title, is strange. Forfeiting the circusy shit for an odd, lounge piano and bass introduction, the Hetfield vocal approach hits hard on this one. But this song is far from one-dimensional as it progresses from catchy riffs to symphonic black metal attacks. Not to mention the soaring vocal performance in the chorus. These are just two tracks that display a band in its element, pushing against the walls that confined their previous releases.
While songs like the upbeat “Seek It” and gorgeous “Sons of Galaxy” are stellar, others can feel a tad forced. “Defenders of Faith” is a dark, melodic number with plenty of stellar piano passages. But, the vocals and lyrics are cringey and sappy. And, after all the builds and excellent performances, we conclude with one of the bigger tracks on the album. But the rises and falls of “The Passing” don’t quite live up to their full potential as the song abruptly ends without fulfilling its purpose. Aside from that, New Nights of Euphoria is the best album the band has produced so far. The vocals have grown tremendously, incorporating a lot of variation to meet the new additions to the band’s songwriting. I might not return to it on a regular basis, but New Nights of Euphoria is an exciting glimpse at the band’s new direction.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 128 kb/s mp3
Label: Svart Records
Websites: strangenewdawn.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/strangenewdawnnorway
Releases Worldwide: November 24th, 2023
