Album Review: Shining – Shining (Napalm Records)

Formed in 1996 and known as one of the most controversial and musically brilliant bands in the black metal scene and beyond, iconic Swedish metal band Shining are set to release their self-titled Napalm Records debut (and eleventh overall) on September 15, 2023.

They’ve done it again. Created something that is wholly unique, excessively extreme, and lavishly detailed. It’s fair to say that we never really know what we’re going to get with Shining these days, and once again, the group create something startlingly inimitable and progressive.

This self-titled release is both fresh and an amalgamation of who this band is today. From the moment the dark, horror-infused, grim and grubby Avsändare Okänd arrives, there is a strong sense that this album will leave you feeling cold all over. Progressively tight, but rooted in the extreme side, Shining set the bar high early on.

Expanding like a pulsating star about to go supernova, Snart Är Dom Alla Borta is a melodious turn. The darkness wraps around the mind like a death-shroud, and when it does get heavier, it becomes undeniably blackened. Shining reaching into gloomiest of depths for this effort.

The longest track, Allt För Döden passes the eleven-minute mark and sees Shining pushing their abilities to even greater heights. Heavy on atmosphere, with straight-forward black metal vibes, chaotic and commanding, it’s an elaborate trawl into the mindset of this band and how they stay inspired and motivated decades on from their inception. It’s the album’s magnum-opus, and a slab of pure captivation. If someone asks you who Shining are and you need to draw from their modern output, this is the track to play them.

King Diamond’s Andy La Rocque guests on Fidelis Ad Mortem, a track with a more progressive rock output. Before the tone changes significantly with piano-led interlude, Åttahundratjugo.

Call that preparation for the finale of Den Permanenta Sömnen Kallar. A ten-plus minute explosion of black metal. Hot, heavy, and hellacious, the blackened fires within Shining’s soul has reached infernal levels here. A blistering finale that puts the stamp of black metal approval on this record. Who knows what will come from Shining in the future but right now, there is no better encapsulation of who and what they are today than this record.

Shining – Shining Track Listing:

1. Avsändare Okänd
2. Snart Är Dom Alla Borta
3. Allt För Döden
4. Fidelis Ad Mortem (feat. Andy La Rocque)
5. Åttahundratjugo
6. Den Permanenta Sömnen Kallar

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