Songwriting As on Shining's two previous albums, the music draws elements from many different genres. The album's title,
Blackjazz, is meant to describe the band's sound. The instrumentation is far simpler than on the two previous albums, with Jørgen Munkeby focusing on guitars and saxophone. This has made the album's sound closer to how they sound live, as songs from previous albums needed to be simplified for live performances. According to Munkeby, a big inspiration in the development of the Blackjazz genre, was his work with
In Lingua Mortua in 2006/2007. To quote Munkeby: "Lars' refreshing blend of an impressive intellectual display and direct raw power has been a big inspiration for me. Lars is a true pioneer. He was the first person to invite me to play sax in a black metal setting, and in so doing, contributed strongly to SHINING's later development of the Blackjazz genre." Another big influence on
Blackjazz is Shining's collaboration with
Enslaved, with whom they composed and performed a 90-minute ″Armageddon Concerto″,
Nine Nights in Nothingness – Glimpses of Downfall, at
Moldejazz 2008. In fact, the concerto's second movement is an early version of
Blackjazz Deathtrance, the seventh movement is an early version of the song "Fisheye", and a studio version of the first movement, "RMGDN", is a bonus track on the vinyl edition of
Blackjazz. The concerto was commissioned by Moldejazz after the programme committee saw a video of the two bands performing a cover of
King Crimson's "
21st Century Schizoid Man" on their 2007 tour. A new version of the same song forms the final track on
Blackjazz, featuring guest vocals by Enslaved's
Grutle Kjellson. The song "Fisheye" features the repeated mention of "1-3-7-5"; Munkeby explained that his inspiration for the song was
kabbalah and
gematria.
Promotion Shining performed the world premiere of the song "Fisheye" live on
Store Studio, a culture talk show on
NRK, 10 October 2009. Their performance was later released on YouTube, and as a free
mp3 download from NRK. An extended version of "Fisheye" and the single "The Madness and the Damage Done" were released on
iTunes prior to
Blackjazz release. The Singles were well-received, with "Fisheye" named
Best song of 2009 by a critic in NRK's Lydverket, and giving Shining a place on
Time Out New York's list
the Stars of 2010. == Reception ==