DOLORIAN / SHINING

Dolorian / Shining is a split 7 inch vinyl EP release by Finnish blackened doom metal act Dolorian and Swedish suicide black metal act Shining. The split was co- released in 2003 by Unpleasant Wax & Perverted Taste.

There are only two tracks on the split, which have a total playing time of 10:21 minutes. Both tracks are slow, ambient and atmospheric black metal tracks. Ekstasis by Dolorian is a really great track in my book. Very atmospheric. Through Corridors of Oppression by Shining is a reworking of Chopin's Marche Funèbre. The song sounds pretty different from Shining´s usual material, but what a great surprise. Just as Ekstasis, Through Corridors of Oppression is a great atmospheric track rather than a raw black metal ditto. There are still heavy distorted guitars and raspy vocals but both tracks emphasize atmosphere with heavy use of ambient keyboards.

The Dolorian / Shining split is a great release. Both tracks are well produced, the musicianship is good and the two tracks go well together. A 3.5 star rating is well deserved. The split was only released in a very limited amount of copies, but the Shining track is also available on the Through Years of Oppression (2004) compilation which is more readily available.