After reaching crushing new peaks and delving into the deepest, darkest and most personal depths of their storied career during its opening chapters, the Norwegian prog bards Green Carnation are ending their critically-acclaimed album trilogy with a bold and uncompromising exclamation. A Dark Poem, Part III: The Messiah Complex comes out September 4, 2026 on Season of Mist.
“A Dark Poem is by far our biggest achievement since Light of Day, Day of Darkness”, Green Carnation vocalist Kjetil Nordhus. “Our new album trilogy returns to the epic storytelling that put us on the map back in 2001. While the reception to Part I and Part II has been overwhelmingly positive for us, we do believe that Part III saves the best for last”.
Green Carnation have released the title track as the second advanced single from A Dark Poem, Part III: The Messiah Complex. By performing a prog miracle, trilogy highlight “The Messiah Complex” reveals a dark truth about human nature.
“The title track from Part III of A Dark Poem is about our need to find external excuses for our behavior”, Green Carnation bassist and primary lyricist Stein Roger Sordal says. “This is nothing new, but with our uncritical way of working with our increasingly digital world, we seem unable to cope with the consequences of our actions”.
“‘The Messiah Complex’ is a standout song in the trilogy”, Nordhus adds. “The vibe to this song is quite unique for us, but it doesn’t take long to recognize that it is still very much a Green Carnation song. Bjørn’s guitar work lifts the song up, together with Jonathan’s drumming and, of course, Stein Roger’s bass and vocals during the bridge”.
Pre-order: https://orcd.co/greencarnationadarkpoempart3
Tracklist
1. Unconditional Artificial Chemistry (6:09) [WATCH]
2. The Messiah Complex (6:48)
3. Broken Souls, Common Enemies (8:45)
4. A Dark Poem – Orchestral Suite (16:47)
Full runtime: 38:31
