Blackjazz by Shining

Metal is a genre I’m both compelled to and repulsed by, because while it houses a lot of the most overbearing, ridiculous vacuousness the music industry has to offer, it is also a natural breeding ground for music that is transcendently grand in scale while maintaining dense layers of complex sound, rhythm and melody. Blackjazz the latest offering from Norwegian band Shining is the latter type of metal album, a dark concoction of twisted lyricism with virtuosic touches and complex passages that will continue to reward for dozens of listens. Really there’s no better description for it than the album title itself.

This is not an easy record at all; there are passages that I’m still working through with great tribulation. The songs here aren’t often tight, though they tend to keep structure in the earlier part of the record; “The Madness and the Damage Done” (sure Neil Young’s headbanging along) and “Fisheye” feature hummable choruses and verses whose lyrics you could parse through if you really wanted to. These guys aren’t Mastodon; there isn’t any poetry to be contemplated on this record, but they do give you a saxophone which is often just as good. It’s a great way to ease you into the album, though I promise the tracks compromise none of their mire for accessibility.

And then there are the jams. We’re talking big, monstrous jams that only a Nordic metal band can get away with and not be called pretentious or indulgent (“Blackjazz Deathtrance”), a ridiculous King Crimson cover that improves on the original, and reprises! Reprises! How they make it all hold up for almost an hour is a testament to brilliant musicianship. This isn’t Metallica, its neither tuneful enough nor boring enough, it’s more like a demon possessed Coltrane’s great A Love Supreme and made it writhe with a cathartic fury that modern listeners can find fresh and relevant. If Blackjazz doesn’t scare you away, it’ll enthrall you for a good long while. 4/5