by Stewart Mason

Dialing back a bit from the conceptual reach of their second album, Light of Day, Day of Darkness (which consisted of one hourlong, multi-part song in the tradition of Jethro Tull's Thick as a Brick), the Norwegian quartet the Green Carnation return to discrete songs of more reasonable lengths but continue the questing spirit that made this album's predecessor so interesting. Leader and philosopher Tchort wrote most of the album, although bassist Stein Roger Sordal contributes two of the best tracks, including the surprisingly poppy opener, "Crushed to Dust." The bulk of the album is quite restrained, with a melodic feel not far removed from Dream Theater or even their fellow Scandinavians the Soundtrack of Our Lives. The standout is the atmospheric, spacy closer "Rain," but the entire album has much to offer fans of progressive metal.