YMMV / Shining

• Alternative Character Interpretation: Is Niklas a horrible person who wishes others to harm themselves because of his misathropic beliefs? Or is he actually a guy who is severely depressed and holds himself up as the character he is in order to hide his pain?
  • Some fans believe that Niklas suffers from different disorders, hence his misanthropic tendencies, and that it also may be influenced by his cocaine usage (which he has done on stage).
    • This interpretation is partially confirmed with Niklas taking part in multiple documentaries about his struggle with mental illness, as well as the effects that "depressive" music can have on the psyche. Indeed, Niklas has noticably mellowed in recent years - while still sometimes combative on social media with people seeking to pick fights with him, posts and replies on his own accounts and the accounts for both Shining and his label The Sinister Initiative often seem genuinely appreciative of the fanbase his music has accrued.
  • Is Kvarforth a bisexual? Usual theories range from how he's kissed some of his bandmates, the most famous is kissing Hoest of Taake.
    • There's also the fact at one point, he look a picture with him surrounded by several naked woman, with Kim Carlsson (also naked) of Hypothermia and Lifelover on top of his waist. There's even another picture of him caressing Kim's ass!
  • The band's music in general: does it really hurt the fans into doing horrible things to themselves?
• Awesome Music: Holy shit yes. Even their early albums were epic.
• Base-Breaking Character: Niklas Kvarforth. Many hail him as a musical genius, others are mystified by his Mad Artist aspects and Misanthropic beliefs, but others find him to be an unbearable Jerkass and forces his beliefs onto others and find his shtick to be him trying too hard. The fact he constantly wants to harm listeners with his music doesn't help either.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: The fifth track on any album past the third one. An entire album can be heavy, dark, and brooding...and then you're hit with either an electronic-like song or an instrumental. It still manages to stay with the album's theme though.
• Creepy Awesome: The band's music is all about depression and suicide, and has a huge fanbase.
  • Niklas is this for a lot of people.
• Draco in Leather Pants: Niklas will look like this for some people, even though the man is basically a walking psycho.
• Ho Yay: Due to Niklas's debated sexuality, there's a lot of this with Hoest of Taake, his bandmates, and as of late, Kim Carlsson of Hypothermia/Lifelover.
  • Speaking of Kim, this image◊ will usually spark this trope.
  • Maniac of Mayhem also seems to veer into this trope as well with him, especially considering they both have a side project together.
• Fanon Discontinuity: The cover album 8 ½ - Feberdrömmar i vaket tillstånd is largely ignored by fans, due to: 1. It not being an actual album release, just being a Cover Album, and 2. It's basically rehashing old Shining songs and covering them with different artists. While this is a good idea, some of the covers come off as weak and unnecessary.
• Fandom Rivalry: There has been a bit between fans of the Norwegian band and the Swedish band, largely owing to their names and somewhat similar styles in recent years. However, at least judging from last.fm, it's also kind of one-sided, since fans of the Norwegians (or at least of their later work) also tend to like the Swedes, but fans of the Swedes aren't always fans of the Norwegians.
• Not Safe for Work: Let's just say...some things have happened on stage with Niklas.
  • The music video for "Tillsammans är vi allt". Holy shit.
• Nightmare Fuel: Niklas in spades. The guy will hurt himself on stage all to invoke his anger and hatred on life. There's also the fact he wishes to invoke pain and suffering into the band's music to harm the listener. Not that hasn't worked.
• Once Original, Now Common: While Shining is still considered a great band, their style of black metal is usually copied, ranging from the suicidal topics to even the blood cutting period. The same could be said with Lifelover.
  • Discussed by Niklas in an interview, when he denounced the term "Suicidal Black Metal" due to many bands taking his style and misinterpreting it.
• When He Smiles: Despite the controversial output Niklas has, a lot of people to feel he is a decent person, and his whole stance is just for the band's image, especially when he starts doing this stuff to his fans◊.
• Viewers Are Geniuses: "Åttiosextusenfyrahundra" from V. Halmstad will be noticed by fans by being an arrangement of "Moonlight Sonata" by Ludwig van Beethoven.

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