Review by Sonny for Shining (SWE) - V - Halmstad (2007)

My only exposure to Shining prior to hearing V-Halmstad was when I bought III-Angst not long after it was released. I didn't like that album back then (although that has since changed), sold it on and never gave Shining another thought for the next seventeen or eighteen years. So when V-Halmstad popped up as an Academy feature release (November 2020) I wasn't especially invigorated by the prospect. Well, more fool I because, as it turns out, this is one of the finest metal albums I have ever heard and as close to a perfect album as it's ever going to get in my view. I must admit to even being a little bit intimidated by actually reviewing it because I am more than aware of my inability to express in words exactly how much the album has affected me and how highly I think of it, but I will give it a go nonetheless.

First, let's get it out of the way - this is in no way a depressive black metal album, in the accepted sense at least. Thematically, it absolutely deals with mental illness, depression and suicide, but the generally accepted tropes of DSBM are almost entirely absent. Listen to the entire roster of a label like War Against Yourself who specialise in DSBM releases and nobody on that label sounds even remotely like this. For a start the production is superb, not for these guys the shitty, treble-heavy, lo-fi approach. The sound clarity is great and has a solidity that enables the band to fully realise their vision without being handicapped by poor production values. Secondly, I'm not even sure if this can properly be referred to as a black metal album at all. For sure, it's roots are in black metal, but it has more in common with bands like Cult of Luna and Isis than Darkthrone and Immortal. There is hardly any focus on riffs and blastbeats, though both are present the emphasis lies elsewhere. Rather the band use the weapons of black metal to weave a tapestry of sound that is intended to evoke a specific emotion and atmosphere, which is pretty much the dictionary definition of post-metal.

The album commences with a weary-sounding intonation of the opening verse of the poem Antigonish, which begins "As I was going up the stair, I met a man who wasn't there", a poem I have always found unsettling and it is delivered in such a way that the listener can clearly tell the speaker has a particularly troubled mind. It is apparent from the outset that this is going to be no ordinary black metal album.

For me, this is an album that can be experienced on two levels. Firstly, it is a fantastic example of progressive/post- black metal from a band who are at the top of their game both compositionally and technically and can certainly be enjoyed as such. On a second and more subtle level, it conveys a real sense of what it can be like to experience mental difficulties. This may only be apparent to those who are able to recognize the allusions due to personal experience. The constant shifts in energies from violent and angry, to contemplative and inward-looking, to frenzied and unfocussed, to bewildered and desperate are more than mere movements in a song, but are representations of the state of mind of the album's protagonist and their inability to maintain an even temperament. Even the short piano piece, Åttiosextusenfyrahundra which is a working of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata is more than it appears. You can faintly hear the protagonist trying to hum along to the tune, as if by so doing he can absorb some of the inate peacefulness that the melody represents into his own soul, something for which he yearns more than anything, yet is denied. The lyrics are sung in the band's native Swedish and I haven't tried to translate them, yet somehow that seems irrelevant because the album's intent is communicated so well that literal meaning seems unnecessary. Kvarforth's vocals here have an unhinged quality, sounding a little bizarre at times, even to the point of parody. There are also a couple of distressed and distressing samples that belie the subtlety of the rest of the album and may put off some listeners. These, along with the ill-advised cover, feel a bit ham-fisted and unnecessary, but are truly the only gripes I have.

However, despite what view you may hold about the the theme and meaning, you really should not dismiss the fact that this is a brilliant metal album, loaded with atmosphere and at times heavy as fuck, for example a couple of minutes into second track Längtar Bort Från Mitt Hjärta the gentle intro subsides and Shining decide to kick your ass, just to remind you that they can. The album also contains some of the best and most frenzied guitar solos I've ever heard on a black metal album.

For me, this is one of the most meaningful metal albums I have ever come across and I have found it a most affecting listen. It is one of those exceedingly rare releases that has made me re-evaluate my listening history and is now firmly ensconced as one of my all-time favourite albums, to rival classics like Watching From A Distance or A Blaze in the Northern Sky.