Shining
IX- Everyone, Everything, Everywhere, Ends
Season of Mist
Release Date: 20 August 2015
Review by Matt Bolton
Not to be mistaken with Norwegian avant-garde metal band of the same name, Sweden’s very own Shining deliver some of the best black metal still out there today. Going strong from 1996, after releasing 5 EP’s and now there 9th full length; IX- Everyone, Everything, Everywhere, Ends, Shining prove they are here to stay. Even after disbanding in 2004 they soon reformed later that year. Goes to show you can’t keep a good band down.
After discovering the band from reading Black Metal: Evolution of The Cult by Dayal Patterson, a chapter was dedicated to the Swedish group and vocalist Niklas Kvarforth sounded like an interesting character and I thought I would check them out. I’m glad that I did and the vocalist’s music is a form of art. On this release, just like anything off the back catalogue, Niklas is so passionate about with what he sings, even though we may not understand what he is singing about, we know that it’s straight from the heart.
Instrumental intro, Den Påtvingade Tvåsamheten, gets us ready for some epic black metal with a strong build-up of thudding drums, melodic guitars and some deep hard hitting riffs. Niklas gives us a few “Uu-aagh’s” in Vilja & Dröm and we know that the band are in fine form. Peter Huss provides us with some dark distinct Shining riffs and Rainer Tuomikanto thrashes away on this track.
We see Niklas can also pull off clean vocals with what starts off as a ballad with acoustic guitars, Framtidsutsiktersoon soon turns to something dark with the sound of the bass slowly grooving nicely by Christian Larsson and the guitar playing a soothing yet eerie riff. A hard hitting riff soon comes and the first of many awesome guitar solos by Huss.
A standout track for me is Människotankens Vägglösa Rum. I favour the riff and the blast-beats that take over. This song has a groove to it from the get-go and is will have you stomping to the beat, head banging along. The music is so deep and so much is going on within the record with the compositions and layers of music that you will not find a dud track here. Even the acoustic played in this song along with Niklas’ clean vocals are beautiful yet dark. The bluesy guitar sets a relaxing tone that soon rings out with a solo and goes back to that stellar riff.
Larssons’ bass shines out in next track, Inga Broar Kvar Att Bränna, over the strumming of the acoustic guitar. “All great art is built upon suffering”. This is something Niklas believes and you can hear the pain in his voice in this track. It’s a beautiful song. The guitar in this song has a Mediterranean feel to it. The last minute you find yourself lost in the soothing solo.
Last song on the album before the two bonus tracks is Besök Från I(ho)nom which is something different in itself starting upbeat, then changing to blast beats, back to slow with the heavy bass groove. There is something in it for everyone with Shining’s diverse take on extreme metal.
It’s interesting to see the bands take on Rammstein song Ochne Dich and they pull it off well. Its second bonus track, Black Industrial Eleven, that’s a treat. It’s a good way to finish off the album. Half way through the song there is a powerful riff and we get one last blast-beat from Tuomikanto, who proves to be a beast behind the kit. Shining has outshined their peers with this release.
