Shining : "One One One"

I have never made a secret that I was prejudice against this band due to the fact I liked the Swedish band who held the same name but was depressive suicidal black metal so being their fan I could not listen to a band of the same name. Only metal heads will understand this sort of retarded devotion. How ever feeling betrayed by the Swedish band's turn into Opeth like pussydom I decided to give the Norse band a shot as have been surprised . They are less mall metal than i though a more like a heavier version of muse. Though they never have claimed to be cvlt or

The other point of Intrest bout the band which helped serve as an entry point for me is the fact main man and saxophonist Jorgen Monkeby also has contributed the sax parts to Ihshan's solo albums which is the bands closest ties to black metal.

"I Won't Forget" sounds like what I had originally expected Chinese Democracy turn out like. There's a off kilter guitar that builds into a very Muse like punch before the sax of chaos stirs the pot. Monkeby's vocals fall ofme where in between singing and screaming. By its just screaming that is more thought out in its rhymthmic placing giving it the illusion it is being sung. It makes the chorus pretty catchy and I have found it stuck in my head.

Their flirtation with prog rock can be seen in the first few measures which they go into a King Crimson like roll, that is repeated at various points in the song so, they aren't just letting bloated Dream Theater part flap a out , but every thing remain tightly coiled and focused in its attack. The vocals on " the One inside" don't have the same infectious Quality as they did on the first song.

The industrial undertones flourish, much I. The same way their trapping were used by bands like Stabbing Westward in the nineties."My Dying Drive" finds a little more commitment to the industrial elements like say Static x but there's also an element that reminds me of the cock rock bands of the minties like Faster Pussycat who on their "Whipped" album dipped into some Marilyn Manson elements when grunge wiped hair metal off the map. The guitar and drum interplay retains its adventurous streak and keeps it from becoming to rock.

Monkeby comes closer to singing on "Off the Hook" and this raises the Guns N Roses comparisons again. The Muse styled syncopation still present keeps the cock rock in check and it's this blend of influences which keeps these guys inn a middle ground safe from them falling into one sub genre. I think in America this could play to their favor if they put on tour with a band with at least the clout of an Opeth, Muse has to commercial of a following whose listening habits is to mired in the mainstream for these guys.

They have one foot firmly planted in the nineties on " Black Jazz Rebels" though it comes together as something which could have emerged back in 2004. I don't think that while it tries to be anthemic in some sense this ong really plays up to the bands strength and sounds like some the Wildhearts of Therapy would have done in 96.

The sax parts are this albums strength and the intro to "How your Story ends" highlights this fact. They delve back into more genuine prog when the rest of the band falls in behind the sax. The vocals assume the more Taime Downe type of inflection, which I can live with as I like Faster Pussycat back in the day. The band goes int some impressive Mathy breaks beneath his screeching and sax solos.

The straight forwardnineites style punk metal on " The Hurting Game" doesn't play to what they do best, though it finds some breathing room on the choru only to revert back into it. There are some prog leaning that weave in and out of the shouting over these tenuous drum pattern but it isn't until the sax comes to save their asses that this really comes to together into something noteworthy. They are great players, I get the point loud and clear and earlier I. The album experienced them as not too shabby in the song writing department so not sure why the filler.

The chaos ensues for the spastic beginnings of "Walk Away" the verse seems a little loose though it congeal into the cyber rock normal feel of the what I'm assuming is the pre chorus, the song title shout must be the chorus, they try to emulate the approach that's worked really well on the first song but comes up a little flat here. Their are some Korn like children's rhymes in one part before the guitar solo, which I would like to hear these guys cut loose into a shredding solo as I suspect they are capable of it.

"Paint the Sky Black" duels between the industrial colors they paint themselves with vs the more Muse side, while the bass player and drummer indulge their prog metal leanings. I don't hear them as a jazz band really at any point on the album as all the bag of tricks pulled from are more King Crimson, though without the Fripp ambiance. On this one I find myself wanting a little more to hook me in as a listener otherwise some of it comes across in a manner that might appeal to fans of djent but other than the dexterity involved leaves me a little bored by the monotony , this isn't to say the songs don't have twists and turns. They have it in spades but to pull it all together into a working song requires melody that isn't Monkeby's forte as a singer and he chooses not to go the blatant route as a saxophonist.

I wish there was more sax on this and I think aside from the Muse comparisons, which come it the feel of some of the riffaveratherthan a shared love of Radiohead, I think overall these guys will have some appeal to a broader audience. I will round the score up to an 8 as when I was scoring this album as I went along the impressive opener could have used an extra knod, though I'm not sure how much longevity this one will have , round this down a point if you have a total aversion to mall metal and only like your Cvlt with a hipster snicker as there is nothing ironic to this as they only go big on both preformance and production.