Review Summary: I really like this album for the fact I find it very interesting musically and emotionally but it's almost a lie in the name. It isn't really redefining anything, every track isn't breaking any new boundaries, even “The ghastly Silence” doesn't shift
Review – Redefining Darkness by Shining
So, Shining are back. Now I don't attempt to pass myself off as a good writer so all I will say is, Redefining Darkness is more like Redefining awesome. I am aware that the album has been out for some time now and merely felt like reviewing it for the sake of it.
For some who have no clue who this band is I will now explain. Shining have pioneered the sub-genre “suicidal black metal” in which they advocate self harm of many different outlets, violence and suicide. Their music is dark and eerie yet they have strayed away from the norms of black metal which are shrieked vocals, tremolo picking and low production quality and into a more adventurous style of music that implement black 'n' roll riffs and progressive Opeth like acoustic sections. This is more prevalent in their 5th, 6th, 7th and this album.
The vocalist (Niklas Kvarforth) describes this album as much darker than their previous albums and that this one is the true meaning of darkness in music. Mr. Kvarforth is a man who is met with controversy due to the use of self mutilation and amoral stage antics which lead them to hospital bills and with that his real question of debate is found; is he truly insane or is he just an attention whore?
I found myself interested in Shining after hearing their seventh album, Född Förlorare. It intrigued me as I analysed part and found myself hooked on “Fortvivlan Min arvedel”. At that point in my life I was going through a dark patch that still takes up a lot of my time and this style, something I had never known before really resonated with me. I trekked through their back catalogue and then found myself anticipating the release that promised to be darker and more different than ever and this is what I found.
The album opens with Du, Mitt konstverk and I was honestly surprised. It had a very Black metal feel with the speed of it, which made me wonder. Will the whole album be like this? Blast beats and the almost genericness of the intro with a shrieked scream of power that was supplied by Hoest from Taake. Then it stops. It starts again with a twisting riff and the pure hate that Niklas emits with his tortured vocals, Then the melody hits, beautiful and serene contrasting with the uneasyness of the main body of the song. Solos are abound in this song which certainly lives up to its name, meaning You, My Masterpiece which highlights Peter Huss a hugely underrated guitarist. The song becomes calm and acoustic using the same structure as Fortvivlan min arvedel employing clean vocals with the bass and guitar harmony. The use of phaser on Niklas' voice gives this song a unearthly feel that is reminiscent of Xasthur. These vocals are just the repetition of “Please, please please let me hurt you” and it truly hits with the intended darkness it was created to project.
Next is one of my favourite songs on the album, “The Ghastly Silence” which is the first English written song since “Claws of Perdition” off of IV: The Eerie Cold and opens with the clean guitar which resembles the theme from 28 days later and the very audible bass lines of Christian Larsson. This shifts into the usual chokes of Kvarforth and back to the acoustic but wait! There's now saxophone which which give the song extra depth. This song has moments which bring The Eerie Cold or Langtar Bort Fran Mitt Hjarta from Halmstad to mind with all the progressiveness of the more recent Shining. This song is most definitely the most unique on the album but that is not a bad thing in this context.
We are brought to Han Som Hatar Manniskan (he who hates people) and this song is brought to life by the Lat Oss Ta Allt Fran Varandra inspired, catchy riff. The vocal patterning is definitely a strong point of the song as it is bouncy yet incredibly aggressive. The drums hold this song together with surgical precision which Shining would be much worse off without. This song is my favourite and is one of their best in my opinion. Yet it becomes slow and it almost falls into a structure they have used and used again which I find irritating at the worst of times and enjoyable at the best. This song also has the best solos in the album; one of which is contributed by Rob Caggiano of Anthrax.
The fourth song on the album is “Hail Darkness Hail” like the other songs with English lyrics it has some very clichéd lyrics which are almost cringe-able by fans of this band. However like the other songs in English it has a very chantable quality to it and I stand by this song as great. It features some more clean sung lyrics which are: “Without you there's no light at the tunnel” to whom this is addressed I have no clue whatsoever but I find it pleasant especially with the classical, spanish guitar solo towards the end.
Since III the 5th song has been a bit different because it is either an instrumental or a cover. In here it is a piano instrumental which is not too dissimilar from “Åttiosextusenfyrahundra” off of the Halmstad album and as I am not a fan of this style of music as such I do not enjoy it or appreciate it like some could but I do feel the creeping sense of misery in it as the rain picks up at the end.
This leaves us with “For The God Below” which is almost like the pattern from FFF of Fodd Forlorare with its calm introduction that builds to the rage of Kvarforth and his hate. I like this song apart from the silliness of the lyrics which I find in Gorgoroth as well (satanic lyrics just aren't my cup of tea) but I see the enjoyability of the interesting solos and riffs which fit the song perfectly and I can see the Pink Floyd influence. that may just be a coincidence but who knows, he said he liked Coldplay! The song ends with another powerful solo that closes the album and truly gives a good send off.
The thing is, I really like this album for the fact I find it very interesting musically and emotionally but it's almost a lie in the name. It isn't really redefining anything, every track isn't breaking any new boundaries, even “The ghastly Silence” doesn't shift that much from what is it is. It feels like a nostalgia album in that each song is like a different feel from a different album that belongs to their back catalogue. But at the same time the songs feel like bettered aspects of the albums they represent and maybe that is redefinition in a way but it comes to the fact this is an awesome album that should have been called “Redefining Awesome” and is more intriguing and better than most other modern black metal (not all!) and I recommend it to all interested for whatever reason.
Pros
Good production (not really important though)
Well written music that is a delight on the ears at points
Evil lyrics and Vocals that are as tortured as we all know and love
The drums have the drummer from Halmstad (Ludwig Witt) and are certainly talented
Cons
The lyrics to Hail Darkness Hail are almost unbearably cheesy through the main body of the song
It repeats the “agressive, dark, then clean” structure too much through the album. Which makes it feel less unique than what it could have been.
8/10
