Japanese Black Metal band SIGH’s A Tribute To Venom was released today via THE END RECORDS. Limited to one pressing, the album is available in three colors in a special collectible packaging that includes a 12″ LP etched on side B along with a CD. The six-song tribute to legendary Black Metal band Venom features the bass work of Dan Lilker (Brutal Truth, Nuclear Assault) and Shane Embury (Napalm Death, Venomous Concept).
A Tribute To Venom’s opening track, “Black Metal,” is available for download exclusively at Brooklyn Vegan. Get it here:
http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2008/08/this_week_in_me_21.html
The release of A Tribute To Venom comes with SIGH’s first proper US tour just around the corner. Frontman Mirai Kawashima says, “We’ve played several times in the US before, but this is our first full US tour and we’re really looking forward to it! This is going to be a great opportunity for our fans to see a full SIGH set. We hope to see all the SIGH fans out on tour as this has been a long time coming. We’re going to play the songs off Hangman’s Hymn and there will be lots of older songs in our set list — and of course some Venom covers! Come see us or you will regret it forever!”
SIGH on tour with UNEXPECT:
09/06/08 Sat @ Jumping Turtle – San Marcos, Ca
09/07/08 Sun @ Chain Reaction – Anaheim, CA
09/08/08 Mon @ Knitting Factory – Hollywood, CA
09/09/08 Tue @ The Clubhouse – Tempe, AZ
09/10/08 Wed @ Gators – Farmington, NM
09/11/08 Thu @ Lola’s – Ft Worth, TX
09/12/08 Fri @ White Rabbit – San Antonio, TX
09/13/08 Sat @ Meridian – Houston, TX
09/14/08 Sun @ The Muse – Nashville, TN
09/15/08 Mon @ Jaxx – West Springfield, VA
09/16/08 Tue @ B.B. Kings Blues Club – New York City, NY
09/17/08 Wed @ FouFounes – Montreal, ON (*Unexpect not playing this show)
09/18/08 Thu @ Jubilee Centre – Sudbury, ON
09/19/08 Fri @ Wreck Room Toronto – ON
09/20/08 Sat @ Peabody’s DownUnder – Cleveland, OH
09/21/08 Sun @ The Pearl Room – Mokena, IL
09/22/08 Mon @ 4th St Station – St Paul, MN
In other SIGH news, THE END RECORDS will be re-releasing the band’s seminal 2001 album Imaginary Soniscape (originally released via Century Media) later this year. Included in this re-pressing will be bonus tracks, extended versions of songs and a previously unreleased track. More information will be made available in coming weeks.
SIGH BIO:
Since their inception in 1990, Japanese metal act SIGH has continued to push boundaries with each and every release. Often labeled as a black metal band, SIGH’s music has been and continues to be inspired by varied styles such as black metal, ’80s thrash, heavy metal, classical, jazz, ’60s/’70s rock and more.
Following the release of a few demos and the Wild Rags 7†‘Requiem for Fools’ in the early ’90s, the band released their debut album, ‘Scorn Defeat’, on Voices of Wonder in 1993. SIGH then signed with England’s Cacophonous Records in 1995, releasing several albums, most notably 1997’s brilliant ‘Hail Horror Hail’. As SIGH headed into the new millennium they signed to Century Media Records and released 2001’s ‘Imaginary Sonicscape’, a dynamic mesh of black metal, thrashing riffs and monster psychedelic atmosphere.
In 2005 the band released ‘Gallows Gallery’ (Baphomet/Season of Mist Records), a spirited and sonically unique barrage of mesmerizing melodies and creative passages. In the summer of 2007 SIGH released their seventh album, ‘Hangman’s Hymn’ (on THE END RECORDS worldwide; Osmose for Europe), an album that leader Mirai Kawashima described as “thrash-metal-meets-German-symphonies! Fast, heavy, bombastic and majestic!’ The album charted at #11 on CMJ’s Loud Rock Chart as soon as it was released.
Two years after the initial release of ‘Gallows Gallery’, an album that Kawashima has said many times in interviews showcased a poor, muffled production that was beyond their control, the album was finally reissued on THE END RECORDS with a newly re-mastered production (by James Murphy of Death/Testament fame), different artwork and numerous bonus tracks. Kawashima was pleased with the results, excited that ‘Gallows Gallery’ finally sounds like the record they had originally intended.
Now the band is about to unleash ‘A Tribute to Venom’, a ‘thank you’ from the members of SIGH to the black metal masters for taking them to the evil, dark side in their teenage years. The six-song album (in a collectible packaging of LP w/ etching and CD) will be released on September 2nd, 2008 (via THE END RECORDS) and will mark the studio debut of the band’s newest member Dr. Mikannibal (saxophone, vocals). Following its release, the band will embark on their first ever North American headlining tour with Unexpect.
Soon after their return home, SIGH will then begin recording their eighth album, ‘Scene from Hell / Tempore Belli / Vanitas’, for release through THE END RECORDS in early 2009. The album will feature massive orchestrations, including a real string quartet and brass players.
The current line-up:
Mirai Kawashima – Vocals, Keyboards
Satoshi Fujinami – Bass
Hinichi Ishikawa – Guitar
Junichi Harashima – Drums
Dr. Mikannibal – Alto Saxophone, Vocals
Links:
www.sighjapan.com
www.myspace.com/sighjapan