This is the Norwegian Shining not the Swedish one and the fact that two extreme bands both from Scandinavia should share the same name is a fact that no doubt has confused a few. It did me getting all excited thinking that Kvarforth and his jolly chaps were supporting Enslaved when I went to see them and I was not at all pleased to discover this bunch of imposters taking the stage. Of course then they played and I forgot all about my annoyance as I had discovered a very different but greatly enjoyable band. ‘Black Jazz’ expands upon this live viewing and then some. The album title from these deranged loons (take a look at their photo shoots and check out their garb) is pretty much spot on. Musically this is completely out there and in the fucking zone and mixes all sorts of different ideas, including black metal and jazz into a vast cauldron, gives it a big stir and completely messes with your head.
Starting with ‘The Madness And The Damage Done’ (excellent title, so good they use it again for track 6) we get a wild scream then a bouncing industrial tinged tumult. But it’s nowhere near straightforward and at first I am reminded of the glam side of ‘Mechanical Animals’ era Marilyn Manson going head to head with The Locust. There is that spazzoid crazy vibe going through the music and it grinds and tears its way out the speakers with an extreme avant-prog mindset. Vocals from Munkeby are as nuts as the music which suddenly goes into complete overload and so fast it is practically impossible to keep up with. This is probably the sort of sound you are going to love or you are going to jump through the nearest window, be it open or not, to get away from. Personally I love it but then again The Cardiacs are a firm favourite and this is like them on Christ knows what particular drugs.
Futuristic bleeps and random mathematical equations are forged out on ‘Fisheye’ before the number spasms into a nutty deluge of riffs and pulses. It’s all quite addictive and the album keeps you on your toes throughout wondering what the hell is going to be thrown in next. In this case it’s a sexy sax solo but it could just have easily been someone hitting the kitchen sink with a large mallet. I have just looked into things a bit closer and see that the album is mixed and mastered by Sean Beaven and Tom Baker who also have worked with Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson himself which makes me realise the earlier off the cuff remark was not as wild as it could have been. Also I read that Enslaved man Gruttle contributes guest vocals, not that I could particularly pluck them out of the melee.
Some of the tracks border on epic like ‘Black Sun’ in one and a bit parts and the kaleidoscopic, too much acid whilst listening to Beefheart and Zappa ‘Healter Skelter,’ which literally fries the brain. The crowds roar over the hyperbolic charge of ‘Blackjazz Deathtrance’ before the vortex collapses into sinister electronic charges and ghostly vocals. Wallop, back to an Atari Teenage Riot of a number, time changes, wild yells and melting walls all thrown in and coming at you like insects crawling out your skin. To add insult to severe injuries it does all this over a 10 minute running length that could easily put the unwary in a straightjacket asylum (did I say this was a bit nuts)? ‘Omen’ slows it down and comes at you in troughs and peaks, still completely and utterly out there and deranged and possibly unlike anything you have ever quite heard before. Finishing it off we have a cover and one that is so damn obvious they literally had to do it, as they did when I saw them live ‘21st Century Schizoid Man.’ If you don’t know that already then there’s something serious missing from your musical education. Whether said education actually needs Shining in it is open to interpretation, I think mine did but as the album ends I have to pick myself up off the floor and find a cloth to clean up the drool off my desk. Approach with severe caution and severe drugs, you have been warned.
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