It wouldn’t be too much of an exaggeration to claim that, when they released ‘Blackjazz’ in 2010, the Norwegian Shining were one of the most exciting bands in the world. Their cocktail recipe of avant-garde jazz and industrial metal created incendiary heaviness out of two ingredients that had no place belonging together. Whilst the idea had already been utilised with far more extremity by the likes of Naked City, Shining pulled the mix together into territory that was brain-meltingly obtuse and astonishingly accessible. This was not the sound of a band solely focused on extremity and, as a result, something new was born.
The problem ‘One One One’ has, before it’s even been heard in fact, is that it has to cope with a huge degree of expectation. Lovers of ‘Blackjazz’ are expecting something that is not only a thrilling listen but also a genuine boundary-pusher. Instead Shining have gone in completely the opposite direction. This is an industrial metal album, and a pretty straightforward one at that. The saxophone squalls are still there but their appearances often feel dully mandatory rather than excitingly fresh, and the overall tone of the record feels slightly like a retread of the previous album.
The only real difference in terms of approach comes in the consistent use of pop-oriented song structuring in evidence throughout ‘One One One’. Whereas ‘Blackjazz’ thrived on unpredictability, this album seeks to use the repetitive nature of these more traditional songwriting patterns to take listeners by surprise. In a sense, it works. Taken individually, each track is arguably good enough to be a single. Put together on an album the effect is brain-numbing to the extent that you’re crying out for the band to pull out another deconstructed King Crimson cover by the end. The reason that ‘Fisheye’ and ‘The Madness and the Damage Done’ were so deliriously listenable three years ago was because they were pop metal songs that did almost everything pop songs aren’t supposed to do. The songs here fail to hit the mark in quite the same way.
The vocals don’t help. Frontman Jørgen Munkeby has ramped up the amount of clean singing here, but he spends a lot of the record doing a fairly incongruous Trent Reznor impersonation. He also spends the vast majority of the time singing, meaning that the sax playing takes a far lesser focus here. No tracks are built around the inclusion of jazz elements in the way that first became so enthralling on the ‘Grindstone’ album even before ‘Blackjazz’. This lack of the “avant-garde” side of the band even takes them dangerously close to mere imitation of the likes of Nine Inch Nails at times, especially on, nonetheless fairly enjoyable, tracks like ‘I Won’t Forget’ and ‘Off the Hook’.
Overall, it’s a bit like listening to ‘Blackjazz’-lite. Shining have arguably done the most ambitious thing they could here, by moving away from their previous approach to try and make ‘One One One’ their most insanely interesting release to date, but it’s hard to know who will be won over here. Those who loved ‘Blackjazz’ may accept this record as a fun industrial album, and a few Ministry fans might prick their ears up at the sound of ‘My Dying Drive’, but this is nowhere near as fascinating as many expected to be; a shame.
‘One One One’ is out on Monday 3rd June via Indie Recordings.
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The problem ‘One One One’ has, before it’s even been heard in fact, is that it has to cope with a huge degree of expectation. Lovers of ‘Blackjazz’ are expecting something that is not only a thrilling listen but also a genuine boundary-pusher. Instead Shining have gone in completely the opposite direction. This is an industrial metal album, and a pretty straightforward one at that. The saxophone squalls are still there but their appearances often feel dully mandatory rather than excitingly fresh, and the overall tone of the record feels slightly like a retread of the previous album.
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