SHINETH – 11 Of 10

The Swedish band Shineth was formed in the year 2002, and now with the release of their debut album, 11 Of 10, they pose the question (borrowing from Shakespearian terms) … can two musicians a “band” make? Sebastian Roos and Anders Berlin believe that answer to be “yes.” These two gents play all the instruments by themselves, while also handling the production and sound engineering.

The music on 11 Of 10 is best described as Hard Rock and Pop, but the release tends to tilt more towards the latter of the two. There are occasional moments, e.g., “Leaving Home” (the heaviest track on the release), where the guys flirt with moving solely into the Hard Rock arena, but don’t stay in that space for the entire duration of the track.

The instrumental work is divided as follows: Sebastion handles vocals, guitars, and bass, while Anders handles drums and keyboards. Now, these gents might feel that they excel in all areas that they contribute towards, but to an outsider, there are two distinct “shining” qualities that surface to the top of this release. Those two qualities are Sebastion’s vocals and Anders drumming. Roos does a commendable job on vocals with his predominately Melodic and Pop-sensible voice qualities, while Anders provides some hard-hitting skins, for a predominately Pop release.

This duo has managed to use recording techniques that give the vocals, harmonies, etc. (in some cases) Beatles-like characteristics. For example, in the tuned-down sound of “Leaving Home,” they use a very White Album-like distortion technique on the opening vocals and guitar. Another instance is the lush, multi-tracked Beatles-like harmonies in the cut “Should I …”. Of course, the Beatles used more than McCartney to produce a harmony chorus, whereas here it might be multiple tracks of Roos, but the net effect is the same on disc. The track “Joker” uses a vocal technique that sounds akin to a megaphone and limits Roos’ vocals to the right speaker, while a “flute” fills the left side. As far as Anders’ drumming, he tends to be more over the top than is typical in a traditional 4-4 Pop beat. Anders puts in a lot more drum rolls, quads, double bass, etc.

Bottom line, this one leans more towards Pop than Hard Rock, even though songs like “Leaving Home,” “Like A Human,” and “Requiem – Die Happy” try to breach the Rock barrier. “What Am I Supposed To Do?” commits itself to being a great Pop song, with the catchiest chorus on the disc. In the end, the guys have put together a pleasant and unique Pop sound that incorporates a lot of musical sounds and nuances — there is a lot going on here all at once. In some cases the keyboards are very “epic” sounding, more in line with bands like Yes.

The release is a very commendable Pop/Rock release, and in the right crowd should be extremely well received. It’s just that the “right crowd” probably won’t include the majority of Metal Express Radio listeners.

Lineup

Sebastian Roos – Vocals, Guitars, Bass
Anders Berlin – Drums, Keyboards