In the wake of our Re-Issue of "VIII / Redefining Darkness", we are finally able to reveal that this December, SHINING will close the book on one of the more cursed chapters of their career. They have chosen to do so by having us release an additional album that we have only been hinting at before this official announcement! "THE HELSINKI TAPES". Niklas Kvarforth has, on countless occasions, mentioned the month that he spent together with Christian Larsson and Yusaf Parvez (DHG) in an apartment that they rented in Finland's capital. The three resolved to use this space as a base in which to write, experiment and cause various forms of unspecified damage before heading to Varberg to record the new album. For years, the band has wished that these infamous demo tapes could be released officially somehow. We here at TSI, who recently issued the definitive edition of the very album for which these songs were created, feel that the time has now come to release the recording that the band themselves have stressed: "Is in so many ways far superior to the actual album itself". We may or may not agree on that, but there's certainly a mesmerizing rawness and constant feeling of unease contained within this otherworldly material. Not to mention, the tapes serve as an audial retelling of how an obscure Black Metal band from Sweden transformed into something different and ultimately way more dangerous than even those involved ever could have anticipated.
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