| Blackjazz | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 18 January 2010 | |||
| Genre | Avant-garde metal, extreme metal, alternative metal, industrial metal, progressive metal | |||
| Length | 57:15 | |||
| Label | Indie Recordings | |||
| Producer | Jørgen Munkeby | |||
| Shining chronology | ||||
| ||||
Blackjazz is the fifth studio album by the Norwegian band Shining, released through Indie Recordings on 18 January 2010. It marks a shift into the avant-garde metal genre, with extreme metal, industrial and progressive influences.
As on Shining's two previous albums, the music draws elements from many different genres. The album's title, Blackjazz, is meant to describe the band's sound. [1]
The instrumentation is far simpler than on the two previous albums, with Jørgen Munkeby focusing on guitars and saxophone. This has made the album's sound closer to how they sound live, as songs from previous albums needed to be simplified for live performances. [2]
According to Munkeby, a big inspiration in the development of the Blackjazz genre, was his work with In Lingua Mortua in 2006/2007. To quote Munkeby: "Lars' refreshing blend of an impressive intellectual display and direct raw power has been a big inspiration for me. Lars is a true pioneer. He was the first person to invite me to play sax in a black metal setting, and in so doing, contributed strongly to SHINING's later development of the Blackjazz genre." [3]
Another big influence on Blackjazz is Shining's collaboration with Enslaved, [4] with whom they composed and performed a 90-minute ″Armageddon Concerto″, Nine Nights in Nothingness – Glimpses of Downfall, at Moldejazz 2008. In fact, the concerto's second movement is an early version of Blackjazz Deathtrance, the seventh movement is an early version of the song "Fisheye", and a studio version of the first movement, "RMGDN", is a bonus track on the vinyl edition of Blackjazz. The concerto was commissioned by Moldejazz after the programme committee saw a video of the two bands performing a cover of King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man" on their 2007 tour. [5] A new version of the same song forms the final track on Blackjazz, featuring guest vocals by Enslaved's Grutle Kjellson.
The song "Fisheye" features the repeated mention of "1-3-7-5"; Munkeby explained that his inspiration for the song was kabbalah and gematria. [6]
Shining performed the world premiere of the song "Fisheye" live on Store Studio, a culture talk show on NRK, 10 October 2009. Their performance was later released on YouTube, and as a free mp3 download from NRK. [7]
An extended version of "Fisheye" and the single "The Madness and the Damage Done" were released on iTunes prior to Blackjazz release. The Singles were well-received, with "Fisheye" named Best song of 2009 by a critic in NRK's Lydverket, [8] and giving Shining a place on Time Out New York's list the Stars of 2010. [9]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | (83/100) [10] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [11] |
| PopMatters | (8/10) [12] |
| The New York Times | (favorable) [13] |
| Rock Sound | (7/10) [14] |
| The A.V. Club | (favorable) [15] |
| Pitchfork Media | (7.7/10) [16] |
The album was well received by critics. Notably, it was one of the few new releases ever to get a perfect five-star rating in its initial review by Allmusic, although its rating was later downgraded to four and a half stars.[ citation needed ]
All tracks written by Jørgen Munkeby except "21st Century Schizoid Man" written by Greg Lake, Ian McDonald, Michael Giles, Peter Sinfield and Robert Fripp.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Madness and the Damage Done" | 5:20 |
| 2. | "Fisheye" | 5:07 |
| 3. | "Exit Sun" | 8:35 |
| 4. | "Exit Sun" | 0:57 |
| 5. | "Healter Skelter" | 5:34 |
| 6. | "The Madness and the Damage Done" | 3:23 |
| 7. | "Blackjazz Deathtrance" | 10:50 |
| 8. | "Omen" | 8:45 |
| 9. | "21st Century Schizoid Man" (King Crimson cover) | 8:40 |
| Total length: | 57:15 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Fisheye" (Extended Version) | 6:59 |
| 11. | "RMGDN" | 12:37 |
| Total length: | 01:16:51 | |
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Norwegian Albums Chart [17] | 9 |
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norway | 18 January 2010 | Indie Recordings | CD | INDIE 045 CD |
| double LP | INDIE 045 LP | |||
| Europe | 25 January 2010 | Indie Recordings | CD | |
| United States | 2 February 2010 | The End Records | CD |
Enslaved is a Norwegian extreme metal band formed by Ivar Bjørnson and Grutle Kjellson in Haugesund in 1991. They are currently based in Bergen. The band's lineup has changed many times over the years, and Bjørnson and Kjellson have been the sole constant members. The current lineup also includes lead guitarist Arve Isdal, keyboardist/singer Håkon Vinje, and drummer Iver Sandøy.
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Shining (stylized as SHINING) is a Norwegian experimental band from Oslo. Thirteen musicians have been a part of the band's lineup in its history, with singer, guitarist, saxophonist, and songwriter Jørgen Munkeby as its leading force and only constant member. The band is also called SHINING (NOR) to avoid confusion with the Swedish black metal band of the same name.
Where the Ragged People Go is the first album by the Norwegian band Shining. It was released in 2001 on BP Productions.
Kjetil Tvedte Grutle, better known as Grutle Kjellson, is a Norwegian musician, best known as the bassist and vocalist of the Norwegian extreme metal band Enslaved. Kjellson and guitarist Ivar Bjørnson are the founding and only constant members of the band, as well as the main songwriters. He has released sixteen studio albums with Enslaved and won five Norwegian Spellemann Awards with the band.
Ivar Skontorp Peersen, best known by his stage name Ivar Bjørnson, is a Norwegian musician and composer. He is a founding member and the main songwriter of the extreme metal band Enslaved, and has previously been a member of the metal band Borknagar and collaborated with Einar Selvik on several albums. Bjørnson has released sixteen studio albums with Enslaved and won five Norwegian Spellemann Awards with the band.
Apollyon is a black metal/thrash metal multi-instrumentalist, formerly associated with Dødheimsgard, Cadaver and Immortal, now playing in Aura Noir. He has done guest vocals on the Darkthrone albums Plaguewielder and Sardonic Wrath, and also on Audiopain's EP 1986 (2000). He was a live guitarist for Gorgoroth from 2003 to 2004, and performed at Gorgoroth's infamous Kraków show in February 2004 and later released on the video album Black Mass Krakow 2004.
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Animal is the eighth studio album by Norwegian rock band Shining. It was released on 19 October 2018 through Spinefarm Records. It is their final album with drummer Tobias Ørnes Andersen, keyboardist Eirik Tovsrud Knutsen, and guitarist Håkon Sagen. It marks a departure from their jazzy metal-oriented sound for what frontman Jørgen Munkeby describes as "more Muse than Meshuggah, more Ghost than Gojira, and more Biffy Clyro than Burzum!" The title track was released as a single on 10 August 2018.
Det er klart at samarbeidet med Enslaved har inspirert oss, og det har også påvirket soundet på den nye skiva.
Det var etter at programkomiteen i Moldejazz fikk høre et live-opptak av Shining og Enslaveds felles tolkning av King Crimson-låten "21st Century Schizoid Man" at man bestemte seg for å gi banda utfordringen å lage et bestillingsverk til festivalen.
