LOTS OF GIRLS GONNA GET HURT

"Lots of Girls Gonna Get Hurt" is an EP release by Swedish black metal act Shining. The EP was released through Spinefarm Records in May 2012 and it bridges the release of the band's seventh- and eighth full-length studio albums "VII: F'dd f'rlorare" (2011) and and "Redefining Darkness" (2012). "Lots of Girls Gonna Get Hurt" features four cover songs of Katatonia, Kent, Imperiet, and Poets Of The Fall (three Swedish artists and one Finnish).

While Shining are probably mostly known as a depressive black metal band, their post-2007 period (from "V: Halmstad (Niklas ang'ende Niklas)" onwards) have featured more and more progressive songwriting, excursions into goth/dark rock territories, and a generally more adventurous approach to writing music, so the release of "Lots of Girls Gonna Get Hurt" really isn't that surprising. Lead vocalist Niklas Kvarforth have always been vocal about his love for melancholic rock artists like Seigmen, Kent, and Katatonia.

The EP opens with the cover of "For My Demons" by Katatonia and although it's the most metal oriented of the tracks featured on this EP, it's actually the weakest of the covers. It's decent but Kvarforth just doesn't hit the melancholic heights and subdued vocals of Jonas Renkse. "Utan Dina Andetag" by Kent is a much more successful cover, and it's great to hear Kvarforth singing pop/rock style vocals with passion and conviction. "Kung Av Jidder" is a cover of Swedish 1980s dark rock/punk act Imperiet, and Shining does a good job with this cover, although the original song isn't beaten. The Poets Of The Fall cover "Carnival Of Rust" closes the EP, and it's a good quality cover, but not terribly different from the original rock song (a brilliant song by the Finnish band), and it's therefore slightly redundant.

"Lots of Girls Gonna Get Hurt" is well produced and upon conclusion I like the idea that a talented artists like Kvarforth stretches his wings and embraces other genres and musical ideas like his done several times before and since...mostly with success. I could have wished for more personal interpretations of the source material, so I immediately would be able to say that it was Shining playing, but when that is said "Lots of Girls Gonna Get Hurt" is still a good quality release and a 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).