Shining - VII: Född Förlorare

Depressive suicidal black metal, now that's three malicious adjectives to our beloved genre of music. This sub sub sub genre of heavy metal's existence always intrigued me. Why would a band release music that glorify suicide and self-harm which if taken seriously has the potential to eliminate their own fan-base ? Why are the artists behind such spiteful music still living ? Those were just two rhetorical questions, we all know it is just an artistic expression no matter how hard they try.

My first introduction to depressive suicidal black metal was the Finnish band Totalselfhatred  with their debut self-titled release. The lyrics were despondent as advertised in the band name and the desolate atmosphere the album conjured won me over. In my quest for more hopeless music I stumbled upon the Swedish band Shining and to my joy and surprise they sounded like Opeth of My Arms, Your Hearse era.

 "...Take a long good look at yourself 

because maybe Shining isn't really your thing...."

That's what Niklas Kvarforth the founder, vocalist and the songwriter of the band said among other things in the 2 minute long speech that opens Shining's fourth album The Eerie Cold. Kvarforth goes the distance to send his misanthropic message across but he also goes the same distance to make the music progressive and Född Förlorare is Shining at its progressive best. 

The album also features guests contributions from Swedish metal luminaries like Erik Danielsson of Watain, Christopher Amott of Arch Enemy and Håkan Hemlin of Nordman.

Förtvivlan, min arvedel (Despair, My Inheritance) opens with a girl singing a verse of the song You Are My Sunshine and that's as happy the album gets. Förtvivlan has a background synth melody floating among the riffs like the song Dunkelheit by Burzum and then there is the acoustic breakdown in the middle. Shining knows the importance of dynamics, Kvarforth knows that when every thing is heavy nothing really is. He complements the heavy extreme side of the band with somber interludes and all the songs here has those moments. Acoustic guitar arpeggios, violins and mellotrons introduce Tiden Läker Inga Sår (Time Heals No Wounds) making the transition into harsh vocals and heavy guitar riffs even more stark. The song features Erik Danielsson providing his trademark rasps on the most black metal moment of the album.

Shining is known for featuring bombastic in your face guitar solos especially for a black metal band. Människa o'avskyvärda människa (Man, Oh Despicable Man) features two of those, one by their own Peter Huss and the other by Christopher Amott. The solos are introduced after some mellow string sections and guitar arpeggios with Kvarforth screaming their names when their solo begins. Amott unleashes a wicked solo, shredding his guitar into oblivion and for a moment Född Förlorare almost becomes Yngwie Malmsteen's Arpeggios from Hell. However my favorite solo is on Tillsammans är vi allt (Together We are Everything), it's perfectly phrased starting off with some beautifully executed melodic twin leads and then into absolute shred-fest, it complements the song perfectly almost being the extension of Kvarforth's anguish.

Tillsammans also has a Gothic rock feel helped by Håkan Hemlin singing the chorus whose lyrics in isolation tell a romantic tale.

"För utan mig är du ingenting, är du ingenting 

Och utan dig är jag ingenting 

              Men tillsammans är vi allt"             

(Because without me you're nothing, you're nothing 

And without you I'm nothing 

But together we are everything)

If you know Swedish or if you looked up for the translated lyrics like me, you'll know it's about man having substance issues which can be a metaphor for romantic love. The song ends the way it started, the piano melody bleeds into the opening notes of I Nattens Timma (In the Hour of Night).

I Nattens Timma is my favorite of the album, which is odd because the song is a cover devoid of any metal influence. The song is beautiful nonetheless, it's the kind of song that you long for when you are alone, it has a solemn comforting feel and of course a gorgeous solo in the middle.

Kvarforth gets all personal in the last song Fff  which is dedicated to his mother who died from a heart attack a year before recording the album. The words Fff stands for Från födseln förlorad, Swedish for "lost since birth". In the song he curses his parents for creating a life. Kvarforth proclaims his life as "ett misstag som aldrig borde få ha hänt (a mistake that should never have happened)". When the album ends with a warm chord of a mellotron, I am happy that it happened.   
          

Niklas Kvarforth

All of this hate and anguish wouldn't have worked if not for the vocals of Niklas Kvarforth. There is a reason why I included him on my 7 greatest harsh vocals of metal list. His ardour for what he believes (however flawed that may be) and the vehemence with which he screams may give some second thoughts to some feeble minds but his adherence to quality song-craft makes his music worth living for. Things cannot get anymore paradoxical than that, depressive suicidal black metal band Shining gives another reason for you to live.

Shining released their tenth album earlier this year  X – Varg Utan Flock, an album that mirrors their masterpiece V - Halmstad released 10 years ago. In the last song Mot Aokigahara Kvarforth says

"I was born December 1983 and I died December 2017" 

The album was recorded in December 2017. I know what you are thinking. As I said before, it is just an artistic expression.

   

LINKS FOR YOUR ENLIGHTMENT

Shining   Totalselfhatred   Opeth   Yngwie Malmsteen 

Arch Enemy   Burzum

X – Varg Utan Flock