Shining "Redefining Darkness" Cassette

I am not a huge Shining fan at all. Hell, I'm not even that into depressive suicidal black metal. The only band of that nature that I listen to is Imperium Dekadenz, and they are amazing at what they do. I checked this out purely out of boredom and curiosity. I had listened to Shining's earlier albums, but I hadn't really paid much attention to them for some reason. One day, I just got curious and decided to check out Redefining Darkness, their latest album. I'm actually listening to the last track right now as I'm typing this review.
Well, first of all, Niklas has to be one of the most interesting vocalists in black metal that I've heard in a while. I always knew that he was a good vocalist, but I think that the man outdid himself on this one. His vocals go from blood curdling screams to Mortuus-like screams to clean vocals. I honestly am a bit ashamed that I hadn't paid attention to this guy earlier when I first checked out Shining's earlier works. Niklas sounds anything but typical, and he definitely makes the music all the better with the accent of having his vocals over it.
The music itself is amazing. It is quite melodic (not in the Naglfar or Lord Belial sense, either) but still black metal. Since it's depressive black metal, the music tries to create a depressive atmosphere, and it works completely. The first time I heard the opening track I was definitely taken aback at how well the music works in creating this depressing atmosphere. It puts Silencer and, unfortunately, Imperium Dekadenz to shame in this department. The songs themselves are sort of long and drawn out, so you have a lot of time to really let the depressive music engulf you and cause you to want to blow your brains out on your neighbor's new white picket fence (okay, maybe not).
Overall, I give this album a 97 percent, mainly because I really can't pick out anything specifically wrong with it. It isn't a perfect album and it is not the best thing I've ever heard really, but it is a very good album and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in black metal, depressive suicidal black metal especially.

Sample: