Shining
I: Within Deep Dark Chambers

Once upon a time, there was a boy named Niklas Olsson, aka Kvarforth.

It was the second half of the nineties, and this boy, besides having a strong liking for Burzum, had an obsession: to conceive and write music capable of attracting such negative energies that it could drive anyone who came into contact with it to suicide.

Beyond the "lofty" proclamations, with his Shining (the moniker does not refer to the novel by Stephen King or the film of the same name by Stanley Kubrick, but simply means "the path to Enlightenment"—given the above premises, I don't think it's necessary to specify the concept), our little Swede would contribute heavily to spearheading a new path within extreme music, which would be dubbed "depressive" or "suicide" black metal. According to him, it seems that several people ended their existence because of his music, but it is known that besides writing good music, Olsson likes to say beautiful nonsense.

Olsson certainly isn't charming; he enjoys provoking and playing with lurid themes, and it's not our place to know how much of it is real or an act. Certainly, seeing him live, extinguishing cigarettes on his arms or cutting himself with a blade until he bleeds makes one think that he doesn't have all his marbles in order (he himself proclaims to be mentally ill—another likely nonsense—as well as a fervent supporter of self-destruction in all its forms and with all possible means, alcohol and drugs included). His arrogance doesn't help him, no, the guy isn't really likable, but it probably is all part of a program, and Olsson, aka Kvarforth, evidently understands marketing.

Well, the curtain falls, out come the clowns. Thankfully, there is the music. Over time, as we will see, Shining will embark on a journey that will progressively emancipate them from the expressive forms adopted at the origins (the author himself claims that it wouldn't make much sense to stay anchored to certain stylistic canons when they have been distorted by bands that inappropriately adopted them, betraying the original spirit... so it’s better to change, and this can only do him honor, as well as demonstrate a firm coherence, where the concept of self-destruction he cherishes so much comes to reflect on his own artistic path, aiming to undermine the very premises from which everything began). Precisely because the Shining of today appear so different, it is important not to forget the Shining "not yet self-destructed" from the first two albums, especially those of this seminal first work, released in the year 2000, titled "Within Deep Dark Chambers".

If with the subsequent “II – Livets Andhallplats,” the stylistic clichés of depressive black metal would see a systematization to the point where the album became its manifesto, “Within Deep Dark Chambers” still sounds irreparably black, even though it already exudes the malodorous essence of the emerging genre. The spoken language is therefore still that of fierce black metal with an evident Burzumian influence, from which primarily the vocal agony, a melodic talent that turns to scenarios of absolute sadness, and an introspective effort that is biographical are drawn.

But in between one slash and another, the powerful slowdowns (always measured by a double bass drum that seems to fight against the wind) and the incursions of a darkening doom that beautifully harmonize with the typical black metal sizzling and decay of the tremolo guitars begin to make their way. In other words, despite paying homage to the lack of experience, Kvarforth, with a style not yet so personal, effectively manages to mix the obsessiveness typical of the Burzumian poetic, the monumentality and grandness of works released under the name Burzum (the sinuous riffs and martial tempos constantly bring to mind the most majestic Count of “Det Som Engang Var” and “Hvis Lyset Tar Oss,” albeit in a flattened version), in a context of sonic violence that maintains the threatening tones and epic charge of classic black metal signed by Mayhem, Immortal, Emperor, and Darkthrone.

Six tracks of extended duration (between six and ten minutes) where the drums are still called to rule with furious blast-beats and sumptuous mid-tempos, the ideal rails on which Kvarforth's guitar at the peak of its inspiration can flow fluently.

Moreover, the album contains ideas that have settled over the previous four years, so within it, we find solutions condensed from years of work: that consistency of content only present with the debut of a band that has something to say. Surely, there won't be a lack of naiveties (just look at the titles—“Reflecting in Solitude” and “Stonelands” are just two examples); there are copious smudges in the arrangements, gaudy effects add puerility to several passages, while the integration between electric and acoustic parts, in particular, still designates a rather high level of executive immaturity; however, the robust and powerful sounds (where among other things a titanic bass work stands out) compensate for any shortcomings due to lack of experience, while the immediacy, the impulsiveness that derives from it is the other side of the coin that makes “Within Deep Dark Chambers” a great album, the best of Shining according to the writer's opinion, the best as well for the one who wrote it, according to Kvarforth's statements.

No need for a track-by-track: the compositions, in fact, often expand by following non-structures that support the feeling of the moment rather than stimulate the listener's mind, and all are composed of the same ingredients (fast parts alternating with lacerating slowdowns): the entire album stands on perfectly crafted riffs and on the affected and elemental dynamism of the drums that loves to often change register, often settling on mighty mid-tempos which at several points remind one of the masters Immortal of “Battles in the North.” In short, the references are the usual ones and all are excellent, but in this context of “copy/paste” of the best that nineties Norwegian black metal can offer already stand out the personality and good songwriting skills that Kvarforth will demonstrate in the future.

Be that as it may, Burzum invented everything, Burzum is a poet, Burzum is from another planet; Kvarforth, on the other hand, is an honest craftsman, a flashy extremist in a context where the old Satan no longer scares even kindergarten kids and the Vikings have frankly become annoying: it's the black metal of the third millennium, beauty!