SHINING

Just as Dodheimsgard's 666 International attempts to fuse industrial music and black metal from a black metal direction, Shining's Blackjazz tries the same experiment from the perspective of an industrial musician, and of the two experiments I think this is the more successful one. With keyboards that sound like guitars, guitars that sound like keyboards, and a wall of noise which shifts between industrial and black metal modes on a whim, the group have produced a complex soundscape with sufficient variety that there's space for a King Crimson cover at the end of the album which seems bizarrely appropriate given the howling cacophony that precedes it. Not to everyone's taste, but if it is to your taste you'll love it to bits.

One would only hope that Shining would stick to the winning formula, that they so marvelously established on Grindstone, and push it even further with their highly anticipated follow-up release. This would of course not be something that the band members would ever accept, considering their highly fluctuating style shifts up to this point.

While In The Kingdom Of Kitsch You Will Be A Monster still had one foot solidly placed in the world of Avant-garde Jazz and Grindstone loosening those traditions and instead expanding on the darker and more eclectic approach to music making. Blackjazz does seem to promise that same tradition, judging solely by the album's title, but what we get here is just one half of what made Grindstone the great record that it was.

Right off the bat, The Madness And The Damage Done starts off as a wild beast that just won't be tamed no matter how hard you'll try. It's a wild and extravagant piece that seems to take as much inspiration from Extreme Metal as Electronic Rock. Yes, we had the electronica experiments available on Grindstone, but it was hardly the only reason why that album felt so ambitious and different. I'm talking about the groovy soundscapes that we got as the record progressed, which showed us the versatile band that Shining truly was. This just doesn't happen on Blackjazz and what we get instead is more of the same Extreme Metal and Electronic Rock sound all throughout the record.

It doesn't really help that Blackjazz is almost a third longer than its two predecessors. I honestly get exhausted while listening to this record and this feeling of fatigue hasn't really diminished over time. I often don't even care that the album ends with a cover of King Crimson's great anthem 21st Century Schizoid Man. That statement in itself says a lot!

In retrospect, I don't consider Blackjazz to be a bad record and there are quite a few tracks that come close to achieving the greatness of the band's previous milestones. Still, there are just too many flaws for me to consider rating it any higher than this. Good, but far from essential.

**** star songs: The Madness And The Damage Done (5:20) Fisheye (5:08) Exit Sun (8:36) Healter Skelter (5:35) The Madness And The Damage Done (3:24) Blackjazz Deathtrance (10:52)

*** star songs: Exit Sun (0:57) Omen (8:46) 21st Century Schizoid Man (8:41)

I was really looking forward to hearing the new Shining album after the excellent Grindstone and was finally able to get a first glimpse of the upcoming release with its first single!

Fisheye did take me by surprise at first since it sounded like a much heavier composition that I was used to by this point for this quartet. It was clear that the band's collaboration with Enslaved on Armageddon Concerto did inspire Shining to push their style even further towards extreme industrial metal route but I really didn't expected them to keep it up for, what would later turn up to be, almost the entire full length release.

The expanded version of Fisheye doesn't make this composition more enjoyable for me than its five minute version off the full length album, hence I can live without the additional two minutes of added grooves but it's really not a problem either. The shorter Radio Edit edition of the track, on the other hand, leaves out some of the essential moments for me and concentrates on the bone structure of the composition, which unfortunately isn't the main reason why we listen to this track to begin with.

Overall, it's a decent introduction to Blackjazz which sort of hints at what we can expect from the rest of the album, but I'll leave out the details for my next review!

**** star songs: Fisheye [Extended Version] (6:57)

*** star songs: Fisheye [Radio Edit] (3:13)

It took Shining a few albums to develop their own unique voice but they not only progress but actually managed to perfect their music layering experiments and create a beast of an album!

It's nearly impossible for me to explain why I enjoy Grindstone as much as I do since there is really no formula to the music on this 45 minute record. The compositions might seem a bit harsh at times, especially while listening to the opening few numbers, and for some people this will definitely be a love or hate type of affair. Honestly though, I couldn't get enough of this album upon my initial spin and it became an essential part of my playlist all throughout late 2009 and early 2010.

I love that this album is short enough to not feel intrusive and not long enough to overstay its welcome, something that Shining didn't succeed on with their follow-up release, and it's definitely one of the reasons why Grindstone was the breakthrough album that that earned this quartet the recognition that they truly deserved. It's by no means an easy experience but there is a certain staying power with these compositions that will make you want to repeat the trip just to make sure that you haven't missed anything. Trust me when I say that compositions like the great Fight Dusk With Dawn are still growing on me even to this day.

This is one crazy ride of an album that I still love to take on occasion. A slight word of caution to anyone expecting Grindstone to be a jazz record. Although jazz influences are definitely still in place, they might not seem all that prominent at first. Give this record some time and it will guarantee to work its magic on you!

***** star songs: In The Kingdom Of Kitsch You Will Be A Monster (5:40) Asa Nisi Masa (1:52) Fight Dusk With Dawn (6:53)

**** star songs: Winterreise (3:33) Stalemate Longan Runner (4:15) Moonchild Mindgames (3:06) The Red Room (2:16) Psalm (7:20) -... .- -.-. .... (2:07) 1:4:9 (5:03)

*** star songs: To Be Proud Of Crystal Colors Is To Live Again 1 (0:49) To Be Proud Of Crystal Colors Is To Live Again 2 (1:09)

What is this sort of radical experimentation in music comprised in "Blackjazz"? - a mixture of dementia, rebellion and black magic, perhaps. Mostly, it is the hyperbole of avant-garde metal, or the hyperbole of avant-garde jazz-rock wrapped up in abundant shades of metal and bound with progressive laces. No matter how sophisticated your sentences pour out in order to make an attempt to define the musical offering of Norway's Shining. It will always come out complicated and not as clear as it intended to be. Well, so let's try to point out at it this way: a dynamic mixture of prog metal, death, 90s Crimson, avant-jazz, RIO and electronica. Or maybe this way: a confluence of hyper-Fantomas, ultra-KC, mega-NIN and over-Tool at the UZ-meets-Zappath power. I'm afraid t didn't work either, but I'll leave it to rest so I can now set my mind to describe the repertoire of Shining's "Backjazz", arguably the cruelest prog rock album of the year. The first part of 'The Madness And The Damage Done' states a complex set of cadences that allows tension and counterpart to weave the running shrapnel of lunatic rock sonorities. 'Fisheye' is a bit less loud and more industrial- based: the massive influences from NIN and Tool are easily noticeable. Intelligent storms and erudite tortures, all this and more is what we have got so far from the Shining ranks? and will continue to, be warned. 'Exist Sun Pt. 1' also bears a Toolian mood in places, but the overall framework happens to be more related to Behold The Archtopus and Between The Buried And Me. The industrial expansion of the not-too-long 'Exit Sun Pt. 2' paves the way for the explosive odyssey of metal-jazz encapsulated in 'HEALTER SKELTER', a curious homage to The Beatles' wildest song ever. 'HEALTER SKELTER' is one of the most accomplished manifestations of the band's aesthetics of cruelty in the album - dissonant, powerful restless, yet sophisticated enough as to achieve artistic greatness beyond simple anger. The second part of 'The Madness And The Damage Done' starts on an autumnal mood, Crimsonically contemplative ("Red"-era Crimson is the obvious reference here), until the reprise of the first part's main motif brings a relief for massive aggression of sound. 'Blackjazz Deathtrance' occupies a 11- minute span: a prog metal gale focused on alternated sources of avant-garde adventures, industrial explosions, death metal irruptions and jazzy occasional developments. Many instrumental deliveries are really humanly impossible, as Zappa would say: given the amount and intensity of the mood and tempo shifts, it must have been particularly challenging for drummer Lofthus to use every ounce of his talent in order to comply with the demands for the rhythmic department. What a great work! 'Omen' is an exercise on creepy ambiences and surrealistic developments that inherits much of the darkness epitomized in UZ's "Heresie". All throughout the track's 8 ¾ minute span, there is a feeling of impending doom that never seems to fully come to the fore, and still, the fear remains solid as an infinite grey cloud on an endless winter sky. The tracklist end with a cover of KC's perpetual classic '21st Century Schizoid Man': Grutle Kjellson, of Enslaved, guests on vocals for this one. The band gives this classic a Dadaistic spin with lots of industrial-metal and RIO nuances along the way. Even though this particular cover does not add something essential to the "Blackjazz" experience, it works as a hint to the artistic ideology upheld by Shining. General conclusion: an excellent item in any progressive schizoid man's collection.

Well I must admit this is a diappointment for me after their previous album "Grindstone" which blew me away.They've pretty much made this record more extreme when it comes to the vocals and sound. It's a noisy and chaotic recording while the growling and screaming vocals are just too much for me. A very intense album.

They kind of play with the title of Neil Young's "Needle And The Damage Done" calling their's "The Madness And The Damage Done". It opens with yelling then kicks in heavily. Not a fan of the vocals here. It's chaotic before 3 minutes and the vocals come screaming back after 4 minutes. "Fiskeye" opens with heavy drums as crazy synths join in. Spoken vocals a minute in as the guitar joins in. Synths are back. Sax before 3 1/2 minutes. Catchy stuff believe it or not. "Exit Sun" has a good guitar intro and some killer drum work.It turns experimental when it settles. Kicks back in at 6 minutes.

"Exit Sun" is a short percussion based tune. "Helter Skelter" is an uptempo track with drums and dissonant sax standing out. "Madness And The Damage Done" is intense early. Drums kick in before 2 minutes and the guitar follows. "Blackjazz Deathtrance" has these strange sounds that pulse before the heavy drums arrive. It settles around 3 1/2 minutes with more weird sounds. Spoken words follow. It's intense again. A calm before 6 1/2 minutes then it picks back up 8 minutes in. "Omen" is dark and intense once again. Sax in this one after 4 1/2 minutes and later. "21st Century Schizoid Man" is an interesting cover especially with the processed growling vocals. I prefer APRIL WINE's version.

A tough one for me to get into. Experimental, chaotic, noisy and loud. And no this has nothing to do with Jazz.

Well, Shining certainly took the vibe of Grindstone even further here on Blackjazz.

Where Grindstone was a heavy, yet experimental and dynamic record, this one is just a continous punch in the gut all the way through.

The record starts off well with the opening duo of The Madness & The Damage Done and Fisheye which easily sets the tone. Unfortunately the overlong and aimless Exit Sun (both of 'em) really goes nowhere without any good riffs to boot.

But from Healter Skelter and out, the album kicks ass. On Healter Skelter, Munkeby recycles the main sax theme from the REDRUM track on the In The Kingdom... album from 2005 which pisses all over the original. And then there's a reprise of The Madness & The Damage Done which is easily the proggiest track on the album because it's got lotsa dynamics, mellotron and a nice buildup to the main theme.

Blackjazz Deathtrance is also good, but at nearly 11 mins a bit overlong, esspecially because it's so harrowing and relentless. Omen however is the best track on the album, and a song that Sunn0))))) wish they wrote. And the cover of 21st Century Schizoid Man is also very good, mainly because they do their own extreme interpretation of the song, and not a routine by-the- book delivery. These last two songs also feature guest vocals from Grutle of viking/black metal band Enslaved.

So Blackjazz is a pretty successful (and innovative) marriage of jazz and extreme metal. Unfortunately, one or two subpar songs + a slight lack of dynamics here and there means that I have to subtract one stars from the rating. Grindstone is in my opinion a better album, but Blackjazz is still good enough to label Shining one of Norway's most exciting bands at the moment.

Name "Shining" for years associates for me with great movie with Jack Nicholson. And "Blackjazz" could be possibly nice words game ( if there will be release from late 60-s with such name, I could think it should be possibly avant-jazz-funk Afro-American energetic project). But it is not.

Norwegian quartet of jazz musicians with music academy education plays combination of BLACK metal, industrial, heavy progressive and free-JAZZ. Or shortly speaking, BLACKJAZZ.

During last decade Norway became the strong base for world most innovative progressive musicians in different genres. Shining's team is not exception - band's musicians participated in many different, mostly jazz projects, and two of them are even "Jaga Jazzist", one of best known European progressive new fusion band, members. But there is no music as on "Jaga Jazzist" albums on Blackjazz at all.

In fact, musicians doing there on this album, same things they 're doing in their other projects - they are mixing different styles in one melted fusion. The difference is components: this fusion is very fast, very heavy, cold, industrial, with trash/death metal vocals. Possibly, it is most radical mix, with still could be named "fusion".

Possibly, it is difficult to imagine, how does it sounds: just think about Zorn's Naked City, some radical form of King Crimson, and the atmosphere is very similar to The Mars Voltian chaotic space, but without such deep psychedelic sense.

As many avant/experimental works, this album is not everyone's cup of tea. For those searching for harmony, mellow symphonic conformism with very regulated element of heavy rock in their music, or lovers of Pat Metheny pleasant listening, this album could break their nerves. Or bring them into depression. Or just destroy their pink glasses. If you're the one from categories from above, better avoid. It is just not your world ( and there is huge industry, working to produce one more product to make you happy).

But for dark streets travellers, for researchers of the borders between light and dark, for those thinking music is not nice soundtrack for your cocktail party - try this.

Wow. That was the word that popped into my head when I first listened to "The Madness & The Damage Done, Pt. 1." And, that word continued to enter my thoughts as the album continued on its course. Now, at week #3 of owning this album, I can honestly say that it's one of the most powerful, artful pieces of music I've ever heard.

To say that Shining combines death metal, jazz and industrial does not do this album justice. Yes, all of those styles sit in here somewhere, but it's much more than that. It's a true musical statement that, in my opinion, pushes to the boundaries that many prog and extreme metal bands are going to be reaching for in the years to come.

Analyzing this track-by-track is not an option. One must experience this as a whole. But with that said, each track is unique in its own way, and I do recommend that you explore each track in greater detail once you ultimately get hooked on this album. And, if the quality of the original material were not enough, the album finishes with a punishing version of KC's "21st Century....", one that will literally knock you on your backside, not knowing exactly what hit you.

With that said, go out and buy this album. You'll be writing a similar review to this one rather soon!

Just the other day, I was reviewing Ihsahn's After and noted a particularly bonkers track called A Grave Inversed where Ihsahn and chums seemed to play as fast and horrifically as they can and just when you thought things couldn't get crazier, in came the saxophone. Exhilirating though it was, I commented that it was a good thing he didn't try to keep that up across the album because it would've been exhausting not to mention just plain horribly noisy. So I turn around and am confronted by Shining's Blackjazz (also from Norway, big year for them with the two mentioned acts and Motorpsycho getting big buzz on new releases and we're only in March) which is broadly the sound of A Grave Inversed stretched across an album. And I'm eating my words at saying such a record would be painful because I have thoroughly enjoyed Blackjazz. I must say that the best songs come towards the end. Opener The Madness And The Damage Done is a great showcase of the band's energy and enthusiasm- the first few seconds alone find the tricky G-spot between being terrifying and entertaining- but after multiple listens feels a bit simple and repetitive. The next track, Fisheye, is more proggy- The Madness And The Damage Done is structurally straightforward, it's the ferocity of the sound that's amazing- hopping about between odd places and introducing the sax but doesn't really interest me that much despite some nice guitar work and a few well executed explosions of anger. Exit Sun, pointlessly separated into tracks as the outro track doesn't stand alone, trundles into view next and is quite close to Fisheye in vibe but feels a bit more sinister and has a big payoff lurking at the end. But then we're into the second, much better, half of the album. Shining is one of those bands that should really consider becoming an instrumental band- predictably disturbing lyrics aside, the two instrumentals Helter Skelter and Omen together with Blackjazz Deathtrance (not an instrumental but very focussed on the sound with the vocals being part of the atmosphere) are easily the highlights. They find Shining exploring more literally jazzy and freeform spaces, Helter Skelter showing off tight, flashy chops, Omen being a more lazily evil beast that grows in might and dread as it goes along and provides a rare flash of beauty in the synthesized recurring refrain and Blackjazz Deathtrance being a colossal and unsettling 10 minute descent into madness of the kind that all extreme RIO fans love. A cover of 21st Century Schizoid Man closes the album but feels a bit tacked on- Shining don't embarrass themselves with this bold choice of track, but it feels quite needless after the whopping one two of Blackjazz Deathtrance and Omen. While the album never gets bad, a few tracks do not capitalise on the musical potential I think Shining have which stops this from being a fiver. However, fans of RIO and jazz influenced metal can't pass this up.