This album is the production of Shining, which fancies itself as a DSBM act. There are very few similarities to the walls of noise and haunting ambiance bands like Xasthur produce; rather, Shining follows the trail blazed by other Swedish black metal acts, and its own contribution to the subgenre is excellent.
As you might guess from the title of this review, a few songs from this album reminded me of Rammstein (or at least, what I have heard of Rammstein). In particular, "Besvikelsens dystra monotoni" has a distinctly Rammstein like sound, although Kvaforth's strangled yells add a certain feel to it that no mainstream rock band can emulate. Powerful, aggressive guitar work and relatively clean production make each part of this song stand out, and the extended ballad-like midsection is of particular interest to me. It's chilling, and cold, and malicious, and mind-opening, and it takes me to a different place than black metal tends to.
An aspect of this album that I really enjoyed was how varied the songs were. Each had its own sound, and this is despite a relatively small, stable lineup of musicians. The creativity of Shining is really displayed well here, and each song is a masterpiece in its own right. I'm not sure if the album as a whole has a message or even good organization, but each song is so superb that it can stand by itself.
There were a few very minor weaknesses, and one is that there are some times in the album when there's just not enough going on. A mournful guitar, occasional growls, repeated bass work, and percussion that's almost jazz-like in nature just isn't metal enough for me. While such passages can give the listener a chance to "breathe", there's just a hair too much at some points.
Overall, this is one of the best contributions to Swedish black metal I have heard recently. The creativity, variance in the songs, how well composed each song is, and the surprising usage of cellos and other instruments made this album really stick with me for a while. It's a must-listen for anyone who likes the darker side of metal.
Sample:
youtube.com/watch?v=wamF3Mcslws&list=RDwamF3Mcslws&start_radio=1
