SHINING Mastermind Denies Suicide Rumor Was Publicity Stunt

Metal Sickness recently conducted an interview with SHINING mastermind Niklas Kvarforth. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

Metal Sickness: Is SHINING only controlled by you, I mean are you the only one who writes the lyrics and the music or do you let the other members taking part of the creation?

Kvarforth: Yes, up till today I've been the only one creative in the band, yet again, you have to remember SHINING is but a portrait of Kvarforth, or the most deranged parts of his psyche to be more percise, the others are merely tools that he uses in order to get his vision through. Some minor contributions here and there of course, like John Doe did write a riff or two for the fourth album and Casado, Nattefrost and Mörkkh have all contributed with one lyric each.

Metal Sickness: Hellhamer is no more taking part of SHINING? Was he too busy with his numerous projects? Can you talk about your new drummer Ludwig?

Kvarforth: He was fired after the recording of the fourth album when we very forced to cancel various gigs and such because of his time schedule, Witt came into the picture but had to just recently leave us for other non-musical obligations, something which is rather sad considering the genius he is and what he managed to put into SHINING the two years he spent with us. He has now been replaced by Jarle Byberg of URGEHAL which is without doubt one of the absolute best drummers one could find today and we all know him since we've toured together before.

Metal Sickness: Would you agree if I told you that SHINING is like the OPETH of black metal?

Kvarforth: Not really, yet I consider this a great apprecitation, as OPETH are great musicians and I'd rather be compared with the likes of them than with the likes of for example black-metal-band-next-door who are so cult and evil you know.

Metal Sickness: There are a lot of rumours about you… Last summer you simply disappeared from Earth's surface, you just let a message to the band saying that for SHINING's next show a new singer called Ghoul will join the musicians? Many people think you killed yourself. Is it true? If yes why did you do that? Was it a joke?

Kvarforth: It was never a promotional stunt as some seem to believe but the situation in Halmstad got completely out of hand and the whole thing became both physiologically as well as mentally unbearable, thus, I decided to leave everything/everyone behind and really didn't care what happend to either the band or anything inbetween, which is a quite usual reaction in horrific times you know. I went to Oslo and there I got the support and help I needed in order to get back on my feet again, started working in a bar and just went astray on the usage of drugs, alcohol and promiscious sex for three-four-five months or something, a period when I didn't have any contact whatsoever with either label, band members, management and what-not. During this period people "close" to me obviously started figuring what might have happened and those who truly know me, Niklas Kvarforth, wouldn't exactly determine the possibility of a self-afflicted death but noone of them never said I was dead, this is entirely made up by YOU, meaning the media and each mongoloid black metal kiddie with an access to a computer and some message-board URLs, misquoting the statement our manager posted on the website, however, go and have another look and you'll probably notice my "death" never being stated.

Read the entire intervire at Metal Sickness.