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 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”.

Today, Green Carnation are releasing 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”.

Listen to “The Messiah Complex” below:

A Dark Poem, Part III: The Messiah Complex comes out September 4, 2026 on Season of Mist.

Pre-order

https://orcd.co/greencarnationadarkpoempart3

Catch Green Carnation during their upcoming hometown shows and European summer festival dates.

During their headlining show in September at the Kilden Performing Arts Centre, the band will perform A Dark Poem in its entirety for the first and final time. Already, fans from 18 different countries have purchased tickets for this once-in-a-lifetime event.

Green Carnation 2026 + 2027 Show Dates

August 1 - Ungarn, Hungary @ Feke Zaj Festival [TICKETS]

September 12 - Kristiansand, Norway @ Kilden Performing Arts Centre [TICKETS]#

September 25 - Bucuresti, Romania @ Bucharest Prog Day II [TICKETS]

September 26 - Barcelona, Spain @ Be Prog! My Friend [TICKETS]

May 1, 2027 - Kopervik, Norway @ Karmøygeddon [TICKETS]

#Performing A Dark Poem, Part I-III

With A Dark Poem, Part III: The Messiah Complex, Green Carnation finish a masterpiece that stands alongside Light of Day, Day of Darkness as the defining statement of their storied career.

Recording lineup
Kjetil Nordhus - Vocals
Stein Roger Sordal - Bass, Rhythm Guitars, Lead Guitars, Keyboards
Bjørn Harstad - Lead Guitars, Effects
Endre Kirkesola - Keyboards, Synthesizers, Organs, Effects
Jonathan Alejandro Perez - Drums

Guest musicians
Ingrid Ose - Flute on “Broken Souls, Common Enemies”

Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra and Opera Choir on “A Dark Poem - Orchestral Suite”

Live lineup
Kjetil Nordhus - Vocals
Stein Roger Sordal - Bass
Tchort - Guitars
Bjørn Harstad - Guitars
Trond Breen - Guitars
Endre Kirkesola - Keyboards

Recording & Mixing Studio
dUb Studio

Mastering Studio

Rorysound Studios

Production Credits
Producers - Endre Kirkesola, Stein Roger Sordal, Kjetil Nordhus
Mixing & Sound Engineer - Endre Kirkesola

Mixing Assistant — Bjørn Harstad

Mastering Engineer — Lawrence Mackrory

Credits for “A Dark Poem - Orchestral Suite”

Recorded at Kilden Performing Arts Centre in Kristiansand, Norway

Performed by the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra and Kristiansand Opera Choir

Symphone Orchestra Conductor - Alexander Hanson

Choir Preparation and Conductor - Anne Haugland Balsnes

Mixing & Sound Engineer - Simen Endresen Hefte

Mastering Studio - Rorysound Studios

Mastering Engineer - Lawrence Mackrory

Cover artist
Niklas Sundin

Pre-order & Pre-save
https://orcd.co/greencarnationadarkpoempart3

Follow Green Carnation:
Bandcamp: https://greencarnationsom.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreenCarnationNorway
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/green2carnation/
Twitter (X): https://x.com/Green2Carnation
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2vfEaTADayEniT7xbG-XCA
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1ZaJhNBAhJ3HjPsWiB9sDc
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/artist/green-carnation/72866964
Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/artist/8192
Tidal: https://tidal.com/browse/artist/23079

At no point over the last 25 years has Green Carnation ever shied away from a challenge. Whether completing one of the most ambitious individual epics in metal’s historic archives or performing their acoustic verses under a mountain dam, the prog bards have always flashed a flare for the dramatic. However, from the very beginning, there was one tale - or three, to be exact - that eluded the Norwegians. That is, until now.

Having reached crushing new peaks and delved into their deepest, darkest and most personal depths during the first two parts of A Dark Poem, today, Green Carnation are bringing their critically-acclaimed album trilogy to a bold conclusion. With the announcement of A Dark Poem, Part III: The Messiah Complex, the band are putting the finishing touches on another masterpiece that stands as one of the defining statements in their storied career.

“A Dark Poem is by far our biggest achievement since Light of Day, Day of Darkness”, Green Carnation vocalist Kjetil Nordhus says. “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. The Messiah Complex ties the whole story together with our most uncompromising statement to date”.

“The intention behind A Dark Poem was to build a completely new musical universe”, Green Carnation bassist and primary lyricist Stein Roger Sordal says. “While the direction revealed itself as the creative journey unfolded, The Messiah Complex was carefully planned with a clear vision for where we wanted the story to end. Our goal was for all three parts to stand on their own, but Part III brings them all together into a unified whole”.

Watch the premiere of the extremely meta music video for pitch-perfect lead single “Unconditional Artificial Chemistry” Below:

A Dark Poem, Part III: The Messiah Complex comes out September 4, 2026 on Season of Mist.

https://orcd.co/greencarnationadarkpoempart3

“The video for ‘Unconditional Artificial Chemistry’ tells a meta story about the danger of artificial intelligence”, Nordhus says. “We all know, if we are being honest with ourselves, that A.I. is going to take control of our lives. There are powerful people who stand to profit from it and that makes its takeover inevitable.

“The video shows this happening before our eyes” Nordhus continues. As soon as the A.I. takes control, our likeness is corrupted. Before the song is even finished, we’re completely destroyed”.

The video for “Unconditional Artificial Chemistry” was directed and edited by Rikard Amodei.