SOURCE – A Dark Poem, Part II: Sanguis (2026) is directly connected to A Dark Poem Part I: The Shores of Melancholia (2025). How did you approach the lyrical and musical division between these two releases?
Kjetil Nordhus (Vocals) – When composing all this music, we didn’t work “chronologically.” It was only after we had written all the songs that we started working on putting them together into albums that would make sense both individually and, eventually, as a trilogy. That meant we had to group songs that would fit together, and we also wanted the albums to have a certain kind of variation. It certainly seems like people have really understood what we were trying to do from Part I to Part II, not only with the lyrics, but also with the music. Of course, some of the songs could well have suited Part I, but they make very much sense together on Part II.
SOURCE – A Dark Poem Part I: The Shores of Melancholia (2025) was considered one of the best albums of the year by the specialist press. How do you evaluate it today on its own terms?
Kjetil Nordhus (Vocals) – That is, of course, a big bonus. Bands are lying when they say that reviews and reactions don’t matter at all. But having said that, we are extremely proud of all three parts, and that is the most important thing for us. Stein Roger and I decided early on that we wouldn’t let anything through before it was operating at 100 percent of our capacity, both musically and lyrically. We talked about it just a few days ago, and we think we actually managed to do exactly that. And that is the most important thing of all for us.
SOURCE – Do you plan to implement any distinctive promotional strategies for A Dark Poem, Part II: Sanguis (2026) that you did not explore with A Dark Poem Part I: The Shores of Melancholia (2025)?
Kjetil Nordhus (Vocals) – I don’t know if I can call it a promotional strategy, but we decided early on that it would be interesting to place a bigger focus on the lyrics on Part II. They are truly hard-hitting, and we have received an extreme amount of feedback regarding them, maybe partly because of this focus. Now we are preparing for Part III, where the focus will very naturally shift in another direction.
SOURCE – Releasing two sequential albums as complex as A Dark Poem Part I: The Shores of Melancholia (2025) and A Dark Poem, Part II: Sanguis (2026) is no small feat, and not every band can manage it. How did you convince the label that this sequential release strategy would have the necessary impact?
Kjetil Nordhus (Vocals) – Hehe, that wasn’t too hard, to be honest. In 2016, we started discussions with several labels about a contract that would include the release of a trilogy. And Season of Mist was onboard very early and showed confidence in our ability to pull this off. That has meant a lot to us throughout the process. The idea of releasing the albums in three stages was my idea, but having been a band that had released only one album since 2006, I thought we could create momentum by doing it this way. And they agreed with the thinking behind that. I think the strategy has worked really well, with the interest around Part II being even bigger than it was around Part I. And I think we will open even more doors with Part III.
SOURCE – What was the reason for not releasing these albums as a double album? Are there any plans to issue both records as a boxed set?
Kjetil Nordhus (Vocals) – (I answered this question partly in my last answer.) And yes, there might be a boxed set after all three albums are released.
SOURCE – A Dark Poem, Part II: Sanguis (2026) and A Dark Poem Part I: The Shores of Melancholia (2025) offer a vast conceptual universe for merchandise. How are you approaching this aspect of the band’s marketing strategy?
Kjetil Nordhus (Vocals) – We are working closely with the album’s artwork artist on this, Niklas Sundin. He is creating a universe of artwork connected to A Dark Poem, ending up as cover art, sleeve art, and T-shirts. We have all these items available in our own web shop, where we also sell exclusively signed vinyl records and CDs, as well as older material: https://officialgreencarnation.bigcartel.com/
SOURCE – A Dark Poem, Part II: Sanguis (2026) and A Dark Poem Part I: The Shores of Melancholia (2025) function as companion releases. Were there any songs or musical arrangements that had to be split between the two albums during the writing process?
Kjetil Nordhus (Vocals) – There are songs on Part II that could fit well on Part I, and vice versa. But we have tried to connect songs that would make the albums stand out from each other in different ways. During the writing process, we didn’t know where the songs would end up, so that wasn’t an issue at the time.
SOURCE – Beyond album promotion, what other plans do you and the rest of the band have?
Kjetil Nordhus (Vocals) – We have an ambition to be able to present the A Dark Poem universe live throughout 2026 and 2027. Realistically, we won’t be going on long world tours, but we are very eager to play festivals and special shows both in Europe and the United States again, and hopefully to be able to visit some continents for the first time in Green Carnation’s history. We see that there is a lot of interest in our music around the world, and we would love to connect with people who embrace our music.
Photo Credit: Lars Gunnar Liestøl
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