Mark Boals should be a pretty well-known name in Metal circles after his two stints as the singer for Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force (Trilogy from 1986, Alchemy and the mildly spoken underwhelming War To End All Wars, 1999 and 2000 respectively) and Royal Hunt without too many people going “who?”. Olaf Thorsen, on the other mind, is probably not the most famous guitarist in the world. At least I didn’t really know who he was until I got myself the promo link to this album. Thorsen is a member of bands such as Labyrinth and Vision Divine, none of which has left a lasting impression on me. I have reviewed an album by Labyrinth but I can’t say it set my world on fire – fact is, I don’t really remember much of it. I gave that record – Architecture Of A God (2017) 7/10 and finished the review by saying I was impressed by how strong it was. So why hasn’t I listened to it more then, I wonder three years later…
Boals and Thorsen has known each other since 2014 when Labyrinth singer Roberto Tiranti couldn’t make ends meet with his music career and his personal dito and the band needed a replacement – and that spot went to Boals. However, things took longer than expected and Boals schedule made sure he couldn’t commit fully to the band and when all was said and done, Tiranti was back in the band again. However, the split was without any bad blood and Thorsen and Boals kept in contact throughout the years and when Frontiers came with the suggestion that they should do an album together, the stars aligned and both could take the time off to do the project. With Thorsen in charge of the song-writing, Boals brought forth lyrics and vocal-melodies and voila, Shining Black was born.
Opener “The House Of The Fallen Souls” is an uptempo rocker that throws Metal, Hard Rock and Melodic Rock in a blender and goes off with a straight-forward rhythm. It’s a heavy song by all means but with Oleg Smirnoff’s big keyboard sound, it takes the edges off some and makes it a bit more smooth – and that’s not a bad thing, I might add. The chorus is definitively on the strong side which makes for some humming on my part when the song ends. A good start. Latest single “The Boogeyman” might be a little shamey lyrically but this upbeat pop-rocker is a winner musically, at least partly. The somewhat laid-back verses are quite immediate and brings on a hope for a refrain that will kill but unfortunately, it never reaches the goal-line. More Hard Rock than the verses albeit with lots of keyboards and an AOR-like vocal-melody, it never really lifts the way I had hoped to. Great verses, bland chorus.
“My Life”, an “official audio” taster, is fast-tracked, upbeat rocker with kicking drums and a ballsy bass-line. The verses is a bit slower (not slow) and the vocal-melody in the chorus comes with big pop-hooks that goes into Melodic Rock territory. It’s a rough Hard Rock stomper with a glance towards Heavy Metal but also very smooth and easy on the ear when it comes to the chorus. I like this one. “A Sad Song” is a slow and bombastic ballad that climbs on the threshold to power-balladry. The orchestration brings on a symphonic ambience but there’s also a haunting darkness that rests over the arrangement. The song speeds up a bit halfway through and takes on a more power-pop-AOR touch before it returns to balladry again. It’s smooth and a bit slick but never cheesy or saccharine and the chorus is absolutely fantastic. Great song.
The album’s title-track, moreover the band’s/project’s name, is next up and this one’s a big AOR-rocker with its feet right in the mid 80’s albeit built on a heavy foundation of heavy drums and a pumping bass. It’s also quite riff-happy with the main riff somewhat reminiscent of Ghost’s “Dance Macabre” with keyboards inserted and blends in splendidly with the guitars. The chorus is massive and dwells at the crossroads where AOR and Melodic Rock meets. Great stuff indeed. Another official audio taster, pre-released three months ago, “Just Another Day” is an uptempo Melodic Rock track injected with a Metal influenced, steady rhythm. The verses holds a more held-back tempo with some beefy bass-riffing but speeds up when it’s time for the striking and immediate, AOR-laden chorus that’s catchy as damn with a whole bunch of hit-potential included. Very good.
The main-riff to the punchy and direct rocker “Where Are Your Gods” is not a far cry from Ozzy’s “Bark At The Moon”. It’s a straight-forward mix of Metal and Hard Rock where the solo-part gets slightly symphonic with a Melodic Rock melody and a distinct refrain that tries its best to etch itself to the brain. That said, it’s easy to sing along to but it doesn’t really stay. It’s a pretty good song, though. The upbeat “The Carousel” brings on a punchy and edgy rhythm and goes down on a slight Yngwie-like neo-classical route, fast-tracked and heavy with a big soundscape and a catchy refrain. There are some symphonic arrangements also which works well into the song’s dynamics. A really good song.
The power ballad “The Day We Said Goodbye” brings on more 80’s vibes and comes across as a forgotten Yngwie Malmsteen ballad from 1988 or something. Mind you, that’s not a bad thing as Yngwie wrote some stellar ballads back in the day. It’s quite smooth yet not sugary or mawkish, more so on the big and bombastic side. The musical landscape is broad, the hooks are direct and effective and the chorus is one of those that could have shipped this record platinum back in the days of MTV reign. I’m a sucker for those so I’ll give my thumbs up for this one. The album closes with “We Fall”, a mid-paced rocker with a symphonic piano on a straight forward groove. Thorsen delivers some edgy, crunchy and heavy guitar parts and the rhythm section kicks up some hard-rocking dust with one eye glancing towards classic Metal. I do appreciate the heavy grit but as a whole, the song falls on the wayside as its a bit forgettable and nothing really sticks. I wouldn’t call it bad though.
As a whole, this album sure has its ups and downs with some really good tracks but a few fillers too many. In all honesty, when it comes to Mark Boals, the fact that he has an impressive set of pipes isn’t even under debate, however when with Yngwe, I always found his high-pitched voice somewhat annoying, especially in his second stint with Rising Force. That’s why it feels great to state that his voice comes across a lot better on an album like this, where he don’t have to sing in his highest register all the time – here he feels more relaxed which makes his voice a more enjoyable experience. Also, even though this project is approached as a band – Nik Mazzucconi (bass), Matt Peruzzi (drums) and Oleg Smirnoff (keyboards) plays on the whole album – the over-all feeling of the production and outlook don’t bring out any band-feel at all. But there are shitloads of potential here and it’ll be interesting to see if this is just a one-off or if Shining Black is a real band. Time will tell…
5/10
Tracklist:
1. The House Of The Fallen Souls
2. The Boogeyman
3. My Life
4. A Sad Song
5. Shining Black
6. Just Another Day
7. Where Are Your Gods
8. The Carousel
9. The Day We Said Goodbye
10. We Fall
CD & Festival reviews 