Shining

International Blackjazz Society

One of the many things we in the AP bunker admire about Norway’s Shining is how disparate elements combine so seamlessly—vocalist Jørgen Munkeby’s screeching saxophone, industrial-inspired textures and Tobias Ørnes Andersen’s tendency to ride his hi-hat like a ’70s disco superstar. Everything gets pureed by daring song structures that make their avant-garde electro-metal appear as natural as a Sunday stroll. The pacing and WTF-factor have been scaled back album number seven, but discordant anger still bubbles (“Burn It All”) and primal jazz rules (“Last Day” with its quick Blues Brothers homage). “House Of Control” is slow-burning, Nine Inch Nails-ian emotional seething, while “House Of Warship” sees noisy call-and-response slapping constraint in the face as one of extreme music’s most adventurous bands continues blazing its own path. (SPINEFARM; spinefarmrecords.com) Kevin Stewart-Panko

GO DOWNLOAD:  “Last Day”

SPINEFARM http://www.spinefarmrecords.com/