01) Shining, The Helsinki Tapes (The Sinister Initiative)
The recordings constituting The Helsinki Tapes, a masterpiece to put others to shame, convey such radical evil that I find them almost impossible to endure, yet the notion of turning away from their ravishing charm is just as infeasible. They engulf us deeper in their abysmal darkness upon each and every attempt to dip into their poisonous waters. The six ever so pernicious compositions contained served as the demos for Shining’s eighth full-length album, Redefining Darkness (2012) — a revolutionary classic that was tracked with King Diamond’s Andy La Rocque. The Sinister Initiative — again, the label of Shining’s genius mastermind, Sir Niklas Kvarforth — actually issued the definitive edition of Redefining Darkness this year prior to announcing The Helsinki Tapes, which had been previously confined to secrecy.
Sir Niklas Kvarforth created The Helsinki Tapes together with his then-bandmate Christian Larsson and the self-proclaimed “Supervillain Outcast” himself, Dødheimsgard’s Vicotnik, in a rented apartment in Finland’s capital. An unsurpassed performer, composer, and musical terrorist of the highest order, Kvarforth rouses all of the ecstasy, horror, eroticism, and intrigue that would surely accompany an epic Death facilitated by the most vile forms of torture. The awarded poet speaks of his ravenous hunger — creativity flows from this all too experienced master as he grabs the razor blade and shreds our souls to mere ribbons from “Kanvasduk / Hudkostym” to the very end, “For the God Below.” Whereas I previously believed that Alice in Chains’ Dirt set the gold standard when it comes to igniting the desire for a stinging yet liberating pistol in our mouths, I now know that the gems carved by Kvarforth top even that; he seamlessly weds barbarism and sophistication, ripping open our wounds in the most beautiful, merciless, and surgically precise manner. Unfortunately, Sir Kvarforth, it is with profound disgust that I am obliged to confess: “Without you, there’s no light at the end of the tunnel.” In my opinion, you are truly the greatest man and most insidious plague on the face of this repugnant earth, which I hope that your musical bombs will wipe clean one fine day. I hate everything that breathes, but you’re fantastic!
Therefore, I command readers to furthermore experience the reissue of Shining’s 8 1/2 (2013) — Feberdrömmar (Del Ett), which was unleashed by TSI on the very same grim day, Friday the 13th of December, as The Helsinki Tapes, coincidentally Taccardi’s birthday. Feberdrömmar (Del Ett) includes a fabulous new intro from none other than Mr. Tuomas Tahvanainen, who, we must now add, is a member of Shining and part of TSI’s holy “Trinity.” Like many of TSI’s consecrated offerings, this most excellent expanded version of 8 1/2 was remastered by Andy La Rocque and will be followed by a second part in 2025 in light of the emergence of new material.
