Review by Allan on December 10, 2002.

It looks like Hellhammer has his hands in just about everything today. Bands like Arcturus, Mayhem, Winds, The Kovenant, and now Shining are all something he is a part of. Those bands are all good, if not great, except for Shining. It looks like after two albums of distasteful black metal, even Hellhammer can’t save Shining from mediocrity on “III Angst - Självdestruktivitetens Emissarie”.

I might as well get the good things out of the way. Due to Hellhammer joining forces with the other two members of Shining after their drummer Wedebrand was “violently kicked from the band” the drumming has improved drastically. He has a unique style and some of the things he comes up with on “III Angst” are absolutely fantastic. The music does have its moments as far as the riffs and atmosphere go. Some of the riffs are very well written, and at times the atmosphere can be very haunting.

Otherwise, you better prepare yourself for one dull, dreary, and repetitious ride. “Angst III” has six songs, which range between 7 to 10 minutes. What it comes down to is that Shining’s riffs just don’t have the quality in them to be repeated so many times. That repetition is what makes the songs so long, quite like being stuck in a waiting room. You simply can’t wait to get it over with and get out. There is nothing on “Angst III” that stands out as being particularly engulfing. If you’ve heard one song on “Angst III,” you’ve pretty much heard them all.

Shining is what I call a half-decent band, where just about everything is half-assed. The riffs are half-assed, the atmosphere is half-assed, the musicianship is half-assed, and just about everything else is too. Unless you crave all and everything that Hellhammer has put his talent into, I can’t give you a good reason to look into Shining.

Bottom Line: Mediocre black metal is all you’ll find in “Angst III”. Nothing revitalizing, original, or even well done can be found.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Originality: 4
Musicianship: 6
Atmosphere: 5
Production: 6
Overall: 5

Rating: 5.2 out of 10