Shining - Redefining Darkness (2012) (9/10)

After the short cover EP “Lots of Girls Gonna Get Hurt”, the controversial Swedish Depressive Black Metal band SHINING around front man, vocalist, keyboarder and guitar player Niklas Kvarforth is back for good with an eighth full length record in only twelve years.

I haven’t been a big follower of the band but I wanted to try them out for quite a while and I’m very positively surprised with this release that surely motivates me enough to check out further parts of their discography. The band is in fact much more epic and especially melodic than I expected. Harsher parts with unchained and fascinatingly unique vocals, sharp riffs and heavy drumming are as present as psychedelic with atmospheric keyboard sounds, chilling acoustic guitar passages and dreamy clean vocals that give the whole thing a very progressive touch. In these passages, the band is quite close to bands such as ANATHEMA, KATATONIA, or OPETH. There is only one difference: SHINING happens to be better than any of the talented other three bands. The band sounds very pure in its emotions, the song writing perfectly plays with contrasts and the tracks vary enough to never get boring.

A few years ago, I would have been discouraged by the quite brutal opener “Du, Mitt Konstverk” but as time went by, I began to understand what I would call the essence of Black Metal and find the bleak atmosphere authentic, extreme and profound. Even this beast of a song has a melodic break in its second half that calms you down, puts you in a melancholic mood and plays with contrasts. On the other side, the closing “For the God Below” is probably one of the most epic and melodic tracks the band has ever written as far as I’ve heard and should also please to fans of other genres such as Gothic or Progressive Metal. The acoustic guitar harmonies, the variable vocals and the great guitar effects and solos are simply touching and also technically very well executed. This track is by far one of the best songs of the year and any open minded metal maniac should try this out at all costs.

In the end, SHINING deliver one of the most emotional and varied releases of the year and have won a new fan in me. There have been many amazing records out this year but this album is clearly among the twenty best albums and I feel that it may still grow on me. Those who like extreme emotions and imaginative music filled with contrasts should try this band out despite its controversial image. Madness and genius are quite close and even though Niklas Kvarforth might be very eccentric, what he delivers here can be called a true little masterpiece despite its short length and a few less convincing passages in the tracks of the record’s middle part.

(Online December 1, 2012)