Sigh - Scenes from Hell (2010)

My first experience with Japanese Avant-garde metalers, Sigh, was back in 2001 through their then new full-length, 'Imaginary Sonicscape.' I remember back then just constantly scratching my head in confusion and probably making weird faces as each song came and went through my ears. Indeed, it is true that Sigh has made their mark on the metal underground through their strange and often times unexplainable sound and while they have a few albums where they went completely overboard (Scenario IV: Dread Dreams being the best example) with the eccentrics, I've always thought that old 2001 release was the band at their vest best.

Unfortunately most of what has followed since then has ranged from being passable (Gallows Gallery) to basically just boring (Hangman's Hymn). So, we've got a band that was losing their edge, wasn't writing as good as they previously did and had fans that were moving onto the next bunch of weirdos out there. The solution you ask? Ahh, yes, get a hot Japanese gal who fancies calling hereself, Dr. Mikannibal and watch your band suddenly gain interest again. In fact soon as she joined the band in 2007 the music really didn't matter that much anymore. Most fans just drooled and made random comments about how hot she was and how they'd like to stick their pecker in her and so on. I'd imagine its tough being a Japanese woman.

In any case she joined just in time to lay down the vocals for Sigh's, 'A Tribute to Venom' EP, which was just dandy musically, but vocally she offered nothing new or exciting and as a fan of music before pussy I really questioned Mirai's decision to place her in his band.

2010 marked the release of, 'Scenes from Hell,' Sigh's ninth studio album and fortunately the best record they've released since 2001.

Scenes from Hell is a very, very orchestrated album and in fact at first I thought most of it was synthesized, but as it turns out thirteen different individuals (one being Zoltan from Hungry black metalers, Sear Bliss) were brought in to fully create this heavily symphonic based sound. The orchestration is grandiose, epic and just plain bizarr-o sounding for the entire duration of this release and it surprisingly moves just as fast as the metal portion of the music. In fact the orchestration is almost always present and when mixed with Mirai's wacky keyboard doodles and a much thrashier sounding Sigh the results are quite good.

It's true that the last album had a bit of this as well, but on that last one it seemed like they hadn't quite figured it out just yet, but here it works, but it takes a few listens before it will make sense. Truly, some sort of mind altering drug might be a nice thing to have around when listening to this thing. With a couple of sprained ribs and a prescription from my doctor for some muscle relaxers I'm finding this album to be even more engaging then ever before (BTW apologies if some part of this review makes no sense).

So, I can tell you first hand that the orchestrated side of this album is quite awesome, but what about the metal side or the Doctor? Well, as I've already said Sigh sounds much more thrash based here, with some truly kick ass riffs as well as some superb solos that just excel the music even further. You can actually head bang like a mad man/woman while listening to this beast, which is something I never felt inclined to do when listening to old Sigh records.

The vocals are usually performed in a trade off between Mirai and Mikannibal, with Mirai using his typical raspy scream while Mika uses a low growled voice and the results are quite good too. Kam Lee of Massacre fame makes an appearance on, 'L'art de Mourir,' which kicks entirely too much ass and I have to say its great to see him growling again. David Tibet of Current 93 also makes a guest spoken vocal appearance on a few songs and since I'm quite the C93 fan its interesting to hear his voice and lyrics amongst this chaos. I have to also admit Mika doesn't sound half bad on this record either and her saxophone solos are totally rocking too.

All in all this is a tough record to describe, but imagine the most epic fast paced movie score you can think of mixed with thrash metal, harsh vocals and a whole lot of weirdness and you'll be about ready for, 'Scenes from Hell,' and the awesomeness within. And if you've got the pills, herb or booze then try mixing them with this record for even more fun... o.0