Live streams are evolving. Bands are realising that there is an opportunity to make “event” shows. Shows that stretch the boundaries of what performance actually is. Tonight “gig” is about as far you can possibly get from the usual fare of rock star strumming acoustic versions of their hits in their designer kitchen. It is a taut, claustrophobic and hypnotic experience that discombobulates as much as it entertains. Shining have always trod the left-hand path and have made a career out of being challenging and often contrary. “BlackJazz”, the record being celebrated here tonight, is the last word in free form jazz reimagined as Black Metal. It is a monumental piece of work. Haunting, pulsating and in many places impenetrable. It’s layers have layers and it twists and turns at a frantic pace, constantly defying the expectations of the listener. Shining had planned on performing it in its entirety (a feat only achieved once before) as part a commemorative tour around Europe. And then this virus struck. So rather than take this sublime and intoxicating record out to the people, they have conceived a way of the people coming to them. 

To match the special nature of this peer-less record they have chosen a very unique venue. Yes, no empty club for Shining. Instead, they are performing inside the Turbine Hall of the Heavy Water Plant in Vemork. It holds a very special place in the Norwegian psyche as during the Nazi occupation heroic teams of saboteurs risked both theirs and their families lives to ensure that the Heavy Water produced within did not leave Norway and form a crucial component of the German’s planned Atomic bomb. It also holds a significant place in my families history, as not only did my great grandfather work there but he also aided and abetted the saboteurs as part of his role as a leader of the Norwegian underground resistance. It also is a stone’s throw away from our hytte high up in the mountains surrounding Rjukan. During my childhood, every journey up there (be it Winter or Summer) was always punctuated by stories of the plant when we passed by it en route.  

The staging is enclosed and oppressive. The band are squeezed together in the confined space between the looming industrial turbines. The bellowing smoke and searing white lights add to the atmosphere. The opening feels more like a scene setting video for a horror themed ride at Alton Towers than does a rock gig. Then it cuts to the band adorned in paper masks of their own faces as they get straight into opener 'The Madness and the Damage Done’. The pace and furiosity is just astonishing. It feels like you are caught in a maelstrom of intense white noise. Second track 'Fisheye' is extended well beyond its recorded length and becomes a twisting and turning cacophony of down-tuned guitar and non-sequential notes. Jørgen Munkeby’s iconic sax also makes its first appearance of the evening. It is fascinating how the addition of the sax’s smooth tones gives the brittle metal a complete new dimension. The two feel really contradictory to each other, yet somehow it works. They combine to create something that sounds alien but also hauntingly familiar.  

Jørgen pauses for breath for the first time and the sheer emotion of the whole event is evident in his voice. This is big, this is a whole new way of trying to connect with their fanbase and to, frankly, earn a living. 'Exit Sun' is next and the visuals continue to stun. There are points where the fluctuating camera angles and dizzying effects makes the whole thing feel like less of live gig and more of a slick music video. However everything is held together by how good the music is. It isn’t watch along with granny and there are times it is downright hostile in terms of its constantly altering time signatures and jagged edges. But god is it emotive and involving. It’s not easy listening, but there is so much in it, so many levels and textures. 

In the breaks that the album affords, Jørgen is keen to involve the viewers back at home. He urges us to bang our heads along and keeps enquiring whether we are enjoying it. He describes 'Healter Skelter’ as the very core of the album and also reveals that it is the first time they have ever played Blackjazz Deathtrance, aside from once before back in 2014. The latter is a monolith of tune. Ten plus minutes in length, there are points where it seems to stand still and others were it seems to consist entirely of never-ending bursts of complex sound. There are snatches of melody, but in the main it feels free-form, eternally altering its shape and consistency. It blends seamlessly into 'Omen' and then with with no fanfare or announcement we are at the records finale, King Crimson’s '21st Century Schizoid Man’. It is less of a cover version and a more complete re-interpretation. There are remnants of the original in terms of scrapes of the familiar tune and lyrics, but in the main it is a brand new track built upon existing foundations.

Due to the limited space there is no entering or exiting of the makeshift stage, but we are in encore territory. We get more thanks from Jørgen for our virtual attendance and then he introduces Vegard Tveitan from a couple of mountains away. He means of course no less than the legend that is Emperor frontman Ihsahn, who strolls out adorned in his signature black shirt and proceeds to let rip with that scream. They plunge straight into a heavier and much more traditional Black Metal version of ‘Madness and the damage done’, with Ihsahn taking on the vocals. It is, as to be honest was every track tonight, terrific and it blisters with energy. Then we have a final wave and with a flurry of thanks this most remarkable of streams is over. As a viewer I am left breathless and just a little disorientated. It is was intense and, in numerous places, all-encompassing, smothering my senses in both sound and vision. Equally astounding and unsettling, they have certainly set the benchmark for future live streams. 

Shining Blackjazz Streaming Show Tickets