Review Summary: Eccentric Avant-Garde Metal
Shining (no not that one, the Norwegian one) are a five piece Avant-Garde metal band from Oslo. Their can-do attitude of mixing odd experimentation techniques into a metal state has earned them considerable mainstream success since their 2010 landmark album ‘Blackjazz’. As you can probably tell by that title alone, the particular experiment Shining undertake is the fusion of contrasting genres, principally the extreme side of metal and fancy jazz has earned them a unique trademark sound that is practically nonexistent in the world of heavy music
While ‘Blackjazz’ was founded upon meandering dynamics and uncontrolled trials of experimentation, 2013’s ‘One By One ’ seemed more focused on Shining’s strengths rather than trying everything all at once in a whirlwind of confusion. Their new album ‘International Blackjazz Society’ intimately blends the crazy antics of ‘Blackjazz’ with the controlled finesse of ‘One By One’ giving it a newfound sense of maturity and anticipation.
The production to ‘International Blackjazz Society’ is near perfect. The only complaint is during ‘Need’ where the bass seems way too heavy and all the fuzzy instruments seem to drift in and out of volume. Perhaps it’s to establish a tone of bizarreness, or maybe they just got a little too carried away? Other than this the production, produced by Sean Beavan, (NIN, Marilyn Manson) makes the album sounds strong and animated. ‘The Last Stand’ and ‘Burn It All’ both have infectious grooves that are more riff focused rather than uncontrollable experimentation. The latter could be considered Shining’s defining anthem with its angered chanting chorus of ***-this-and-***-that attitude. Throughout the album the guitars constantly sound fuzzy and have a Manson-esque elasticity which gives the band, in general, a more vintage sound that increases the uniqueness of their black-jazz soundscapes.
Shining is very much Jørgen Munkeby’s band. He’s the songwriter, singer and saxophonist and the only founding member left in the band. He has renewed presence on this album than any other and each song sees his defiant nature to shave against the grain in terms of musical accessibility that truly shines in the chorus in ‘House Of Control’. Opener ‘Admittance’ is a short introduction of crazy swirls of saxophone and springy synth and the vocal led ‘Thousand Eyes’ sounds bolder against the intermittent pound of drums which even have a solo-albeit it seeming unnecessary- to increase the ballistic nature.
Of course Munkeby’s saxophone claims the spotlight in moments of ‘International Blackjazz Society’. Other than the aforementioned opener, ‘House Of Warship’ is another instrumental where the saxophone is unleashed although it does sound more of an interlude than an actual song. It’s mainly directionless however the sharp tones eventually zigzag their way to a finale. The downside to the saxophone is that it only seems to emerge in a solo or interlude. It would be interesting to hear what it sounds like as a riff-driven element to a song rather than spontaneously cropping up as if it has Tourette's syndrome.
