by Derric Miller
— Managing Editor —
The debut of the self-titled Shining Black, featuring Mark Boals and Olaf Thorsen, is really the playbook too many bands creating “projects” don’t follow. Rule #1: Make sure the songwriting is top notch! No one really cares if you can play a kajillion notes a second or have a singer with a 12 octave range (hyperbole) if the songs … suck. This is singer Mark Boals–who you know from myriad bands but unfortunately or not always goes back to Yngwie Malmseen–at his absolute best. And the maestro behind the curtain, guitarist/songwriter Olaf Thorsen (Vision Divine, Labyrinth), shining that dark light on his songwriting skills along with his musicianship. In short, everything works.
Launching the onslaught is “The House of Fallen Souls.” It’s so damn catchy, even as heavy and throbbing as it can be, subdued by Oleg Smirnoff’s seamless keys. With a great song at his vocal chords, and when Boals decides to sing through the notes and not use vibrato, Boals sounds better than ever.
Well, not every single song is a home run. “Boogeyman,” musically, pulls the plow, but the lyrics are somewhere between clumsy and questionable. “I’m the boogeyman, I’m here under your bed, I’m the boogeyman, hear the thoughts inside your head …” It’s gets a little sillier, a song begging for sympathy for this feared monster. Strong song, childish lyrics.
You know they are going to slow it down for the ladies with this formula of musicians, and they do just that on “A Sad Song.” The track breathes, it’s atmospheric and haunting, and you’ll marvel at Boals’ brilliant vocals on the chorus. One of the best songs by Shining Black, a song you’ll play again and again. You could see the European crowds filling up a festival, all singing along, or the 16+ American fans who appreciate this kind of music doing the same. (Not a knock on the band, it’s just that when Godsmack and Five Finger Death Punch are considered “good,” you can’t expect those fans to understand a masterpiece like Shining Black.)
It’s always iffy when a band writes a song about their own name, yet here we have “Shining Black.” Again, it’s just heavy, Melodic Metal, with chugging riffs and some powerful and intricate drumming from Matt Peruzzi.
“Where Are Your Gods” tears shit up. This is the fast, most heated composition on the release, and it covers about 30 years of Metal movements, somehow sounding like Classic yet Modern Power Metal at the same time. Existential songs in general are always begging to be dug into, and this one defines the end of everything with lyrics like, “the child has come, to bring the curtain down.” Again, the musicianship will amaze–any player here can hold his own during a solo and make you want more. Second best song on the release? Perhaps …
“The Day We Said Goodbye” is another slower, mid-tempo dirge, dripping with melody and melancholy. It has a hue of Led Zeppelin, from the storytelling aspect, and the sparse (at times) passages. Interesting track, showing another side to the already laudable songwriting.
The lights go completely out on “We Fall,” a blistering, guitar heavy track while the rhythm section shakes you to the core. Knowing how great a guitarist Thorsen truly is, he’s even better knowing he purposefully plays within the context of the song, not throwing masturbatory solos and leads at you for no apparent reason. You know, the opposite of Boals’ time with Malmsteen.
Look … if you like anything by any of these guys previous bands, Shining Black is AT LEAST ITS EQUAL. Everything just flows, everything gleams, every musician is at the top of their games and as stated, the songwriting is top-tier. If Boals keeps burying that vibrato away where it belongs, people are going to start realizing his skills need to be in spotlight (not black light) as much as any Melodic Metal singer today.
Too soon to ask but … the next Shining Black release is in the works, right? Right?!
Genre: Melodic Metal
Band:
Mark Boals – vocals
Olaf Thorsen – guitars
Oleg Smirnoff – keyboards
Nik Mazzucconi – bass
Matt Peruzzi – drums
Tracklisting:
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
Label: Frontiers Records
Online:
www.facebook.com/ShiningBlackband
Hardrock Haven rating: 
(8.8 / 10)
