Band:	Shining
Album:	Shining
Style:	Progressive black metal
Release date:	September 2023

01. Avsändare Okänd
02. Snart Är Dom Alla Borta
03. Allt För Döden
04. Fidelis Ad Mortem [feat. Andy La Rocque]
05. Åttahundratjugo
06. Den Permanenta Sömnen Kallar

Dropping a self-titled album this late into a career is a bold move. Sort of like with Rammstein, you would expect Shining to be an encapsulation of everything Shining stands for. In other words, expectations are high… Well then, how does Shining compare to the band’s previous discography? More importantly, does it still make you want to kill yourself?

One of the more controversial bands in metal, Niklas Kvarforth’s Shining has more than once evolved into new bestial forms (the fact that band members seem to come and go with the frequency I change my underwear could have something to do with it) between albums, and have created some very well-heralded releases in the process. V - Halmstad remains one of the finest (semi-)progressive black metal records out there, and while later albums often fell short of its majestic, misanthropic quality, VII - Född Förlorare and X - Varg Utan Flock came pretty damn close. So, Niklas & Co. decided to drop the Roman numeral (for only the second time in their entire discography, the former case being Redefining Darkness) and release a self-titled album twelve albums into their career, begging the question: why? What is so special about this album that it deserves to bear the name of the band itself?

First, let’s have a look at that cover art, shall we? If nothing else, that picture does encapsulate everything there is to know about Shining; a band whose founder time and again has stated that his intention is to spread self-harm around the world. The lyrics, as well, are as excellently disturbing as always; Niklas always had a way with words and if you do not speak Swedish, well, just take my word for it. “Min gåva är en belastning / En belastning i ditt register” (My gift is a strain / A strain in your register) - the pun here being that “belastningsregister” is Swedish for “criminal record”. Ah well, it made me smile anyway. Which was probably not what Niklas intended, but whatever.

“Avsändare Okänd” (Sender Unknown) opens up in classic Shining fashion: mid-paced, borderline-black metal carried by a simple riff and Niklas’ trademark screams. It soon dies down into an acoustic passage that maybe goes on for a bit too long, and eventually (and, dare I say it, inevitably) erupts into blast beats. As far as openers go, it is good enough, but just so. It lacks the immediacy and memorability of openers such as “Svart Ostoppbar Eld” (Black Unstoppable Fire) or “Ytterligare Ett Steg Närmare Total Jävla Utfrysning” (Yet Another Step Towards Complete Fucking Desolation), and it helps little that the following “Snart Är Dom Alla Borta” (Soon They Will All Be Gone) continues on the near-doom paced acousticity that carried much of the opener. I am not saying Shining should not be allowed to write ballads (in fact, there are quite a few good ones in their backlog), but the dynamics feel a bit off and even when “Snart Är Dom Alla Borta” picks up speed, it does so only ever so slightly. Around the 7-minute mark, a highly memorable doom riff leads into the song’s conclusion, but the dynamics still feel… well, a bit off. There is nothing that makes me go “whoa!” but rather lulls me into a depressingly calm mood - which, to be fair, might be just what the band is going for, but I expect some hard-rocking moments to break off the disarming elegy once in a while from these guys.

“Allt För Döden” (All For Death) starts out good enough, with a (finally) energetic and hard-rocking riff that (yet again) dies down into brooding, acoustic maudlin and mid-paced black metal. The slightly progressive lead guitar and theatrical vocals sort of save the song from the throwaway pile, but it does little to warrant a runtime of over 11 minutes, and, like much of the album, depends too much on aforementioned brooding acousticity… A brooding acousticity which continues on the next track, the ritualistic ambience of which still creates one of the more memorable moments on Shining. The choral guest vocals by Andy La Rocque and the reverberating doom in the riffs make “Fidelis Ad Mortem” a standout track, but I want misanthropic black metal, damn it, not a bunch of mellow guitar arpeggios. The guitar solo sounds inspired by Pink Floyd which, I guess, is not a bad thing, and Shining have always flirted with progressive rock, but there’s still something… off about the dynamics. "Den Permanenta Sömnen Kallar" (The Permanent Sleep Is Calling) is the song that sounds most like what you'd expect from Shining, and it leaves me wanting for more of its kind, but there's an entire album of often-too-mellow stuff to go through in order to get there.

Shining is a very mellow, introspective album, and I am sure that many will like it for what it is, but what it is not is what you would expect from a self-titled album like this: it is not an encapsulation of everything Shining stands for, and it is not as immediate or memorable as any of their better albums, and it is, frankly, in many parts, barely metal. The by-now seemingly mandatory classical piano cover is very pretty, but lacks oomph as it is sandwiched between already pretty mellow stuff. I am unsure what the band was really going for on this album, and I am unsure why they decided to title this, of all albums, after their own band name. It doesn’t really make a statement (as you’d expect), but rather just flows by and lulls you into a melancholic trance. If that’s what you’re after, you’re going to like it just fine, and I do like it just fine, there’s just a bit of a mismatch between the promising album title, the gnarly cover art, and the music that’s actually on display here.