There have been many daring blends of musical genres before. Genres pieced together that make almost no sense on their own let alone put together. Jazz and metal however have long gone together. Even Helmet displayed their clean guitar chops numerous times throughout their career. But, free jazz? Not exactly the most accessible form of music to toss into the mix. But Norway’s Shining has pushed all the chips to the center of the table and gone all in on their new LP International Blackjazz Society. Sadly, as the gambling analogy follows, the band has folded, gone belly up and ended up homeless in a dark alley in Vegas shooting lighter fluid into their veins.

Shockingly, it’s not the frees jazz aspect of International Blackjazz Society that makes the record unsuccessful. In fact, the jazz elements, particularly the saxophones, reminiscent of the overblown tone of Ihsahn album After, are downright fantastic. Especially on tracks like “The Last Stand” where the drums and music fully support the near Joe Henderson like squeaks flying from the alto. But the album suffers from so much over production, lack of inventiveness and just plain formulaic and pompous songwriting. Nothing about this album is free, certainly not the price you pay listening to it repeatedly.

What makes the album near unlistenable at times is a combination of both the vocals and an incessant leaning towards 90’s Soundgarden-like hard rock. A list of the awards the band has been nominated for should be enough to tip the listener off that they are in the presence of a commercially overproduced album hellbent on international tours supporting bands like Monster Magnet and Fear Factory. It’s the drive for success outside the music that leads to such a hollow shell inside the music. There is simply nothing to grab onto or take hold of. The tracks are insufferably pretentious and pop-oriented, especially the vocals which would be more at home on a Velvet Revolver record than in a metal setting.

To even call Shining metal is a beyond a stretch. There’s a bunch of ‘core’ elements to it. And sure, the hard rock aspect can get heavier than hard at  times, but the album is simply not a metal record. Perhaps less clear vocals and more chaotic drumming, rather than the Bleach-era Nirvana like drumming would make the album more successful. The travesty is that the album doesn’t go far enough in either of its promises. It’s not nearly heavy enough and it’s not nearly brave enough on the free jazz front. The free jazz label is more of a gimmick than anything else as true “free jazz” only appears as an intro to the album. Free jazz is not merely a guitar taking a solo, that’s just a solo. An interesting concept that will certainly grab the attention of musicians everywhere, it’s back to the drawing board on this one.

– Manny-O-War

International Blackjazz Society will be available 10.23.2015 via Spinefarm Records. For more information on Shining head over to their artist page.