Posted on: February 8, 2010 Posted by: anfnewsacct Comments: 0

There seems to be an entire side of the music that is coming out of Japan that few individuals know about. Every few years, it seems like a band like The Willows or X Japan becomes part of the American music discussion and fades out. Sigh is a band, with their “Scenes From Hell”, that will be former without having the latter happen to them. The band has been around for 20 years, having first gotten together all the way back in 1990. “Prelude to the Oracle” is the disc’s opening track, setting up quite well each effort that is to follow.

This is due to the absolutely energetic and frenetic tempo that this track takes, with links together speed and black metal into a cohesive unit that is further explored during “L’art De Mourir”. It is really during this second track of “Scenes From Hell” that there is a shift away from the earlier, more circus-like atmosphere that pervaded “Prelude to the Oracle”. “The Soul Grave” may just be one of the best tracks on the album, as there seems to be a harmony present in this track that far outstrips anything else to be found on the track. The deft marriage of metal and classical harmony is enough to draw in new fans to Sigh as well as those that have been blown away by them for the last twenty years. “Musica In Tempora Belli“ has the guitar and drum element of Sigh strive for dominance, even as the vocals angrily tear across the surface of the disc.
By the time that “Scenes From Hell” finish up, listeners will be forever changed. Where there are some comparisons that could be made to bands in the death and black metal genres both in the United States and in Europe, I feel that Sigh comes forth with their truly unique style of music that will undoubtedly be seen as a blueprint for something new in later generations of music.

Top Tracks: Prelude to the Oracle, Musica in Tempora Belli

Rating: 7.9/10

Sigh – Scenes From Hell / 2010 The End Records / 8 Tracks / http://www.sighjapan.com / http://www.myspace.com/sighjapan / http://www.theendrecords.com

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