Shining "VI / Klagopsalmer" CD

Descripción I'm just gonna say that i am a huge Shining fan! They might be one of those bands for me that can almost do no wrong... so i may be a little biased. Shining V hit me like a ton of bricks when i first heard it. I felt like a little kid again. It sounded so heartfelt and painful and was constructed and performed in such a way that i believed every second of it. Kvarforth had created a suicidal masterpiece. And he had done it with a total disregard for the typical "rules" of the suicidal depressive black metal scene.
So here's the follow up. Great albums are hard to follow. How can you top the best thing you've done? 9 times out of 10 you can't. But when i bought this album i went into it knowing this, and listened to it keeping that in mind. Thinking to myself "this probably won't be as good, but I'm probably still gonna like it." And I was right.
VI starts off with 3 blazing tracks that don't really even resemble anything even close to his depressive roots... in fact it almost sounds uplifting in areas, all except his amazing vocals. They still sound as painful and tormented as ever, only this time set on top of what can almost be described as thrash riffs. And the riffs are simple, but SOOOO effective and infectious. All 3 of these tracks are intensely well put together, all chocked full of great riffs and ups and downs, and all have INSANE lead work. This album is a shred fest and i love it!
After that things slow down a bit. Track 4 is a cover of Ohm by a band called Seigmen. It's fantastic! Kvarforths clean vocals are amazing. Reminecent of Micheal Ackerfelt of Opeth. And they add a little of their own flavor by putting a guitar lead outro that is very emotive.
Track 5 and 6. Here's where things get weird. Track five, as usual, serves as a lead in to track 6, added for a little atmosphere or whatever, and is basically just a one riff acoustic waste of time. Although it serves its purpose which i believe is to just lead you into the next song. Track 6 is a 16 minute long depression fest that at first listen may turn you off, but after a few spins i started to love it. It starts out with the EXACT same riff as the first track on Halmsted. And in the middle of the song they also borrow from themselves again with some of the piano work from the las album. All very weird. But... it works some how. Great leads weave in and out as the song rolls along and then it finishes out the album with a perfect, and very sad sounding cello piece that i could listen to for a week if it lasted that long.
Sample:  Shining -- VI - Klagopsalmer (Full Album) 2009