ALBUM REVIEW: Animal – Shining

2018 is the year of the Animal for Norwegian heavies SHINING. Gone are the Blackjazz days of morphing crushing metal with rousing saxophone solos, the Norwegians herald a new generation of contagious arena rock with eighth album Animal. Fans may mourn the quirky innovation the band has grown attached to through three albums since 2010’s Blackjazz, but this fresh rebirth that wouldn’t sound out of place booming around stadia worldwide is executed masterfully and, most importantly, tastefully.

In their 19-year history, the Oslo outcasts have reinvented themselves twice in order to evade irrelevance and, ultimately, boredom. The decision to drop the song-consuming sax gimmick in each bridge is of no detriment to this year’s studio effort, in fact its absence pushes their remaining instrumentals to centre stage to enjoy some well-deserved glittering moments in the limelight. The noodly backing of My Church and the stunning drum ventures of sticksman Tobias Ørnes Andersen amid Everything Dies demonstrate a cohesiveness to SHINING that was once upstaged by the Blackjazz era.

Front-man, main mastermind and surviving original member Jørgen Munkeby’s authentic vocals play a phenomenal part in keeping the SHINING longboat afloat in this new era. “Nothing’s gonna save us now,” cries Fight Song not long after making a devastating appeal to a higher power in My Church. Munkeby’s gravelly conviction throughout When The Lights Go Out projects its classic rock ethos even further into the stratosphere, not to mention the shattering vocal diversity through When I’m Gone.

Making arena rock look easy comes naturally to the Oslo set, proven almost instantly by the infectious synth of Take Me and the towering presence of Animal‘s lead single and title track. The ’80s called to check their jams are in safe hands and if When I’m Gone is anything to go by, Stranger Things need look no further for a new soundtrack. Even while Smash It Up neatly completes a checklist of generic rock features, the energetic delivery of its instrumental backing and Munkeby’s sincerity dispels any cloud of doubt.

All good things and albums must come to an end, and SHINING know how to draw the curtain in style. “Everything must end” cries the albeit uninspiringly-titled End as a rousing, haunting tune to roll the credits to, but it’s the swan song of Hole In The Sky that blows the entire album away. Featuring a stunning guest appearance by Norwegian songbird Linnea Dale, this beautifully heartbreaking closing ode samples ULTRAVOX classic Vienna and somehow adds another bucketload of emotion on top of all that nostalgia – if this doesn’t make it into the charts, it will be a criminal injustice.

In reinventing themselves for 2018, SHINING have introduced this new guise in the most captivating way possible, taking their future in their own hands and proving that some risks are well worth taking. For hardcore fans, Animal may be a hard listen at first, but on its own merit it proves an unexpected gem in the lore of a band outshining the stagnant scene around them.

Rating: 8/10

Animal is out now via Spinefarm Records.

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