Shining: Blackjazz (Indie Recordings / Distribution, 2/2/10)
Shining: “Fisheye”
[audio:https://alarm-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Shining_Fisheye.mp3|titles=Shining: “Fisheye”]
Beginning as an experimental acoustic jazz ensemble, Norway’s Shining — the brainchild of saxophonist Jørgen Munkeby — transformed to a progressive jazz-fusion outfit before delving into its darker side for a collaboration with black-metallists Enslaved.
Blackjazz pushes deeper into the band’s dark recesses, forging a progressive industrial sound for the young century. Big, complex rock riffs, twisted through gnarly distortion, form the foundation and support a mass of frantic, whirring synth lines and gut-wrenching black-metal screams. In all, Blackjazz is a new epic — and perhaps the best metal album of 2010.