Review by Adam M on May 29, 2011.

This is an album that occupies a reasonably raw, yet ferociously aggressive corner of the Black Metal genre. The music here has an undeniably evil sound that is bolstered by dissonant sounding riffing on the part of the band. This isn’t unusual for the genre and the mood is created in a good enough fashion. With this act, the emphasis is indeed placed on atmosphere over any kind of technical musicianship. The music has a tendency to sound a little dry for my tastes because of this, though I’m sure many Black Metal lovers will eat it up for the dark atmosphere it creates. The production is decent, but sounds hollow and muddles the instruments a bit.

Still, there are definitely moments that the music will drown you in the bleak template it attempts to create. At times I found myself lost in the mood that was created by the guitars in particular, as seen from 'De Wanderer'. Notes are extended for a long period of time to have an impact and this is part of what makes the album somewhat successful. Instrumentally the band is competent, but unspectacular and complemented by mediocre rasps that Black Metal purists might nonetheless enjoy. A few sparse acoustic riffs are thrown into the equation on 'Nihilistic Vision' to add some variation to the mix. The album maintains the same dreary palette for the most part, however.

This band is definitely for someone that likes an evil aura to have precedence in their Black Metal. For this reason, I don’t think I’m as qualified for this review as some might be. I found "Rauhnacht" to be moderately enjoyable, but nothing more than that. The style here is cold and convincing, but almost mundane at times. This is definitely an album that is geared towards fans of a certain style of music.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 6.5
Atmosphere: 7
Production: 6
Originality: 6.5
Overall: 6.5

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Review by Allan on December 10, 2002.

It looks like Hellhammer has his hands in just about everything today. Bands like Arcturus, Mayhem, Winds, The Kovenant, and now Shining are all something he is a part of. Those bands are all good, if not great, except for Shining. It looks like after two albums of distasteful black metal, even Hellhammer can’t save Shining from mediocrity on “III Angst - Självdestruktivitetens Emissarie”.

I might as well get the good things out of the way. Due to Hellhammer joining forces with the other two members of Shining after their drummer Wedebrand was “violently kicked from the band” the drumming has improved drastically. He has a unique style and some of the things he comes up with on “III Angst” are absolutely fantastic. The music does have its moments as far as the riffs and atmosphere go. Some of the riffs are very well written, and at times the atmosphere can be very haunting.

Otherwise, you better prepare yourself for one dull, dreary, and repetitious ride. “Angst III” has six songs, which range between 7 to 10 minutes. What it comes down to is that Shining’s riffs just don’t have the quality in them to be repeated so many times. That repetition is what makes the songs so long, quite like being stuck in a waiting room. You simply can’t wait to get it over with and get out. There is nothing on “Angst III” that stands out as being particularly engulfing. If you’ve heard one song on “Angst III,” you’ve pretty much heard them all.

Shining is what I call a half-decent band, where just about everything is half-assed. The riffs are half-assed, the atmosphere is half-assed, the musicianship is half-assed, and just about everything else is too. Unless you crave all and everything that Hellhammer has put his talent into, I can’t give you a good reason to look into Shining.

Bottom Line: Mediocre black metal is all you’ll find in “Angst III”. Nothing revitalizing, original, or even well done can be found.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Originality: 4
Musicianship: 6
Atmosphere: 5
Production: 6
Overall: 5

Rating: 5.2 out of 10

Review by Allan on December 10, 2002.

It looks like Hellhammer has his hands in just about everything today. Bands like Arcturus, Mayhem, Winds, The Kovenant, and now Shining are all something he is a part of. Those bands are all good, if not great, except for Shining. It looks like after two albums of distasteful black metal, even Hellhammer can’t save Shining from mediocrity on “III Angst - Självdestruktivitetens Emissarie”.

I might as well get the good things out of the way. Due to Hellhammer joining forces with the other two members of Shining after their drummer Wedebrand was “violently kicked from the band” the drumming has improved drastically. He has a unique style and some of the things he comes up with on “III Angst” are absolutely fantastic. The music does have its moments as far as the riffs and atmosphere go. Some of the riffs are very well written, and at times the atmosphere can be very haunting.

Otherwise, you better prepare yourself for one dull, dreary, and repetitious ride. “Angst III” has six songs, which range between 7 to 10 minutes. What it comes down to is that Shining’s riffs just don’t have the quality in them to be repeated so many times. That repetition is what makes the songs so long, quite like being stuck in a waiting room. You simply can’t wait to get it over with and get out. There is nothing on “Angst III” that stands out as being particularly engulfing. If you’ve heard one song on “Angst III,” you’ve pretty much heard them all.

Shining is what I call a half-decent band, where just about everything is half-assed. The riffs are half-assed, the atmosphere is half-assed, the musicianship is half-assed, and just about everything else is too. Unless you crave all and everything that Hellhammer has put his talent into, I can’t give you a good reason to look into Shining.

Bottom Line: Mediocre black metal is all you’ll find in “Angst III”. Nothing revitalizing, original, or even well done can be found.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Originality: 4
Musicianship: 6
Atmosphere: 5
Production: 6
Overall: 5

Rating: 5.2 out of 10