SHINING - III: Angst LP (CLEAR)

Swedish act Shining was formed by Niklas "Kvarforth" Olsson in 1996. Already with a developed sense of direction to his compositions and expression of wholly negative outlook & emotion, Niklas created some utterly oppressive material for the debut release, the"Submit to Self-destruction" EP in 1998, when Niklas himself was still only 14 years old.

 

Angst was Shining's third album and was originally released in 2002. A development of composition was clearly evident here, working in more subtle twists and complexities to the sinister & wholly oppressive suicidal black metal. The work of Shining is intended to reflect the dark & destructive side of the world & human nature.

 

The album was recorded at The Abyss Studios (Immortal, Marduk & Dimmu Borgir), the famous Swedish recording studio run by Peter Tagtgren, The album was recorded by Tommy Tagtgren.

As is somewhat a trademark of the Shining sound, the album retains a hypnotic quality to the riffs mixed with unsettling vocal anguish, along with acoustic passages and expertly handled lead guitar passages. This was also the first Shining album to feature the legendary Hellhammer (Mayhem) on drums.