VI - KLAGOPSALMER

The most interesting years of most bands are the years in which they try to find and define their own sound. Once they got that nailed the best is usually over, even though their most successful years might just be starting. This especially strikes me in metal and Shining doesn't escape the omen. VI. Klagopsalmer doesn't deviate an inch from V Halmstad, but it misses the superior songwriting and the creative excitement of a band finding their own voice.

I'm pretty sure most fans and Metal e-zines have this ticked as one of the 2009 favourites. But I couldn't disagree more. This is the sound of a band at a creative dead-end. Content with what they achieved after years of hard work trying to find the essence of their style. My most pessimistic forecast is that from now on we're only going to get more clone-albums like this one. I grant Shining all the success they gain from it but for me it ends here. Just plain good.