Norwegian prog band GREEN CARNATION have released the title track “The Messiah Complex”. The track is the second advance single from “A Dark Poem, Part III: The Messiah Complex”, the closing chapter of the band’s album trilogy, out September 4th, 2026 via Season of Mist.
The title track wanders through an existential desert where rock-solid riffs give way to swirling synth, tracing what GREEN CARNATION frame as the evil root of modern anxieties back to biblical times—fiery double bass drum invoking the wrath of King Herod before the song resolves into its final melody. “Look, there it is / Can you believe it?” Nordhus sings, before later asking, “Would you guide my way if I believe?“
“‘The Messiah Complex’ is a standout song in the trilogy,” Nordhus says. “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.”
“A Dark Poem, Part III: The Messiah Complex” concludes a trilogy that began with 2025’s The Shores of Melancholia and continued on 2026’s Sanguis. Where those two records established the band’s command of metal, rock and folk, Part III ties the trilogy’s ongoing dialogue with Arthur Rimbaud’s Ophelia together with heavier strokes of prog, closing with a 16-minute orchestral suite recorded with the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra and Opera Choir.
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“The title track from Part III of A Dark Poem is about our need to find external excuses for our behavior,” 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.”
Founded in the early ’90s by Emperor’s original bassist Tchort, GREEN CARNATION built a cult following on the strength of “Light of Day, Day of Darkness”, a single hour-long song still regarded as one of metal’s most ambitious epics. The band went on hiatus in 2007 before returning with 2020’s Leaves of Yesteryear, which welcomed drummer Jonathan Pérez, ahead of the current trilogy’s launch in 2025.
Track list:
1. Unconditional Artificial Chemistry (06:09)
2. The Messiah Complex (06:48)
3. Broken Souls, Common Enemies (08:45)
4. A Dark Poem – Orchestral Suite (16:47)
Full runtime: 38:31
