I was just reading the band's bio note that can be found on the back of the promo CD I've got in my hands right now. While reading, I was thinking stuff like what the fuck are these guys talking about? or how the fuck did they came up with this one? and at the same time laughing my ass off. This has nothing to do with the band's music, just with stuff I will explain below...
So, Blackshine is a band that seems to have confused many people with their approach on music. They were formed in 1988 and were formerly known as Hetsheads. They have up to now released one demo CD and three full-length albums under the name of Blackshine. The most amazing thing with this band is that their diverse music style has helped them play with different kinds of artists such as Bruce Dickinson, Entombed, Lacuna Coil and Sentenced.
While surfing across the web, I noticed many sites giving Blackshine very different tags for their music. They were mentioned as a Death Metal band, a Power Metal band, even a Goth & Roll band! And that's what I was talking about in the introductory paragraph. Their bio note says that they are a Goth & Roll or Power Goth band! Let's be more serious guys! This tag thing has become a bit annoying. Anyway, in my humble opinion, Blackshine's music could be best described as a mixture of Sentenced, The Haunted and Soilwork. Basically, if Sentenced played Thrash, they would sound exactly like these guys over here! Don't get confused. There is no way I am going to compare these guys to Sentenced. Anyway, Blackshine have this catchy Rock & Roll feeling that unfortunately seems to be a bit fake. They pointlessly try to sound and look evil and bad guys with songs like Face The Bastard God and photos that they look like somebody just killed their families. The eleven songs this album contains are nothing more than mediocre compositions. The production is very nice but this doesn't help a lot in the final outcome. Sorry, but I can't find anything interesting in this release. And by the way, if Sentenced was a Thrash Metal band, it would definitely suck!
I don't want to end by saying stuff like don't buy this album, it's a waste of money or bullshit. Don't forget that it's up to you to judge an album. The listener is always the best judge. As for me, I'll put this album aside and listen to much more interesting stuff.