review by: Roberto Martinelli

John Gossard, the genius behind San Francisco's Weakling, unquestionably (at least around Maelstrom HQ) one of the greatest black metal bands EVER, is noted for having said that "black metal is supposed to be boring." There's a lot of truth to that. Take Shining's new album, Angst III, for example. The first time I listened to it, I wasn't sure what I had even heard, even while I was listening. It just sort of went by and then ended and I wasn't even totally aware of that, either.

But on consecutive listens I discovered that there was more to this record than uninteresting tedium. And so if you can relate to the seemingly paradoxical quality of being boring and good, then you'll understand what I'm trying to get at with Angst III. Much of the music is very simple and progresses in an equally simple manner, but it is the delivery and thickness and stagnation of the chords that make it effective. As (almost) always, Hellhammer's drumming gives a bunch to enjoy in itself with its trademark flourishes on the ride cymbal. So Shining ends up being a reasonably good album in its tedium, but not nearly as good as the version Silencer does.