Disbelief – Shine

March 25, 2002 • Massacre Records

It's tempting to say that the early 2000s were Disbelief's "golden period"; their albums Worst Enemy and Spreading the Rage were both classics and it's not surprising they got signed to major European metal label Nuclear Blast around this point (although their music might have suffered because of it). However, when it comes to Disbelief their music is all pretty much the same thing, and although they have a really cool and unique sound the individual songs don't have a lot making them distinct from each other. Since Shine was actually one of the last albums by them I heard, that was an issue for me: Even though, by their standards, it's a good album, there isn't a lot about it that makes it stand out above the rest.

All the elements are there, though, the excellent guitar work being the standout bit, as always; the riffs are up there with most of their other stuff from around this period. It's still got that melancholy-yet-heavy style to it that I really enjoy, and there are some really great almost-headbanging-inspiring moments. The piano intro on "Me any My World" is kind of a shocker; piano is something you never hear in death metal, and it's a pretty nice piece too, although unfortunately it's pretty much the only spot in the whole album where there is some sort of unusual element thrown in.

The album does drag about two-thirds of the way through, and some of the songs buried near the end have some generic riffs and melodies, so the album definitely doesn't make good active listening, at least after the first few tracks. But it does make great background music, which is still a good thing.

I am sad to say that Shine is probably for pretty committed fans only; Worst Enemy was more original and fresh while peaked on Spreading the Rage, so those albums are definitely a better listen than Shine even though it has its own merits. Unfortunately it doesn't have enough strengths to really make it stand out, even though it is a fine album as it stands.

6