Metal Reviews

This is actually pretty good. I think I thought it was bad originally, b/c it had a power metal label on it, so I was expecting some power metal.

Well, after listening to it a couple more times, I'll give it more of an 80/100. It has some killer riffs, and once you get passed the vocals the choruses are damn good.

It's not Power Metal per se, but wouldn't you agree it has a lot of PM elements, enough to be considered an Avant-garde version of the genre?

seems like the sound samples aren't working for some reason. :cry:

I guess. But in a very extreme way. I would have went with something more like Blackened Power metal, haha, just joking.

I will always like and respect Sigh. But this album went too far for me. Glad some like it.

Give it time, it will grow.

Greetings all. This is Ongaku, webmaster (and creator) of the Slaughtergarden, which is basically Sigh's official website.

I'm in regular contact with Sigh's Mirai Kawashima (Vocals/Keys/Synth/ etc.) and I have come here to clear some things up for you all.

First of all:



No, the (rmx) label issued by Seasons of Mist records does not mean that the production is being improved. The 'rmx' is referring to the version of Gallows Gallery that includes the David Harrow mixed version of "The Tranquilizer Song" (As track 11). The sole purpose of Gallows Gallery being on Seasons of Mist is to improve distribution of the album, as being on a large and familiar label such as Seasons of Mist would definitely make it easier for people to acquire the album. I have had this fact confirmed with Mirai himself.

Sigh has had a rough past with record labels, particulary their four album contract with Cacophonous records in which their releases were horribly distributed. It is pleasing to me to finally see Sigh get more respect these days.

Also, the cause of the slightly off production stems from the implementation of sonic weapons. Although Mirai cannot go into specific detail on this (As it is a tough subject for him to speak about), he has said that production simply needed to be this way. I can say that the album would be completely different had the sonic weapons technology not been used here on this album.

Lastly I shall say that those left disappointed by Mirai's change in vocal styles is not the end. Check out his other project Cut Throat in which he and guitarist Shinichi play alongside the fellow Japanese legends Yasuyuki and Youhei of Abigail and Barbatos. Mirai retains his old singing style in this thrash/punk project, although records are hard to obtain.

Also be sure to check out Mirai's work in Necrophagia, most recently Harvest Ritual vol. 1 which was released earlier this year. Mirai also works with Killjoy of Necrophagia in a horror soundtrack oriented project called Enoch which has a second album coming soon. And lastly, Mirai is working with Shane Embury of Napalm Death for a revival of his Blood from the Soul project.

Didn't mean to ramble on here, but just wanted to let you all know this. Let me lastly say that hardcore fans of Sigh can obtain access to rare Sigh material (such as concerts and unreleased tracks) by joining the Slaugtergarden forums here: http://sigh.gospel-virus.net/forums

Don't want to go off topic here, which was of course Gallows Gallery. The review of Gallows Gallery here was great. I enjoyed it very much.

-Ongaku

Cut Throat fucking rules Ongaku, is there any hope to see a rerelease of Rape Rape Rape ?

I know Cut Throat will be releasing a new EP soon. A rerelease of Rape Rape Rape is always possible, but I'll ask Mirai about it the next time we talk.

Cut Throat isn't really taken seriously by any of its members. They simply play in it for fun, all of them paying homage to the music that inspired them. That explains why the records aren't difficult to obtain.

But yes, I shall ask Mirai. Cut Throat material is so difficult to get. I don't even have a copy of their last EP "Anal Electrocution" myself (And neither did Mirai!).

I should also mention to Sigh fans as well as Abigail fans that Abigail's Tribute to Sigh vinyl EP came out a month or two ago on Nuclear War Now! productions. It's got two covers of the Sigh classics "Taste Defeat" and "Desolation." Check it out, Abigail did a great job with it.

I found the remix to be very average, I was expecting more.

I heard that Mirai helped with keyboards on The Meads Of Asphodel's new album, is this true?

And thanks, I shall certainly join the forums!

Thank you very much for dropping by and sharing all this cool info with us Ongaku.

Oh and you've got a PM.

Yes, this is correct. Mirai plays all keyboard/synth on the track "The Gods who Mock Us" which is filled with Mirai's signature sound
all through it. Definitely be sure to check this album out! As with Sigh, the Meads of Asphodel have always pleased me with every release.

God, I love this album, but i wished the production was better!
This is truly some insane music! Good job!

I decided to drag this thread up since I finally got ahold of and got around to listening to this album recently.

Am I the only one that was really dissapointed with this? The production right off is terrible, of course. The songs all run together (no doubt due, at least in part, to the production), the keys have a tendency to be overbearing and utterly unnecessary (the word incessant comes to mind, find a new setting will you?), there is almost no stylistic variation, let alone the great range of styles, genres, and sounds that made up Sonicscape. The vocals are kind of cool, but I would have liked some of the old vocals if for nothing more than the sake of variety. I guess variety is my main complaint here, along with the production of course, which compounds the problem. I mean, Sigh has always had iffy production, but this doesn't just make it sound bad, it totally obscures the things that are going on.

This probably could have been a decent, if still dissapointing, album without the glaring flaw of the production and outright abuse of the keys but as it is it's barely worth listening to.

It sucks, two excellent avant garde metal bands came out of hiding last year and both released dissapointing albums. At least Arcturus' album was still listenable. I think Solefald took the awesome from everyone else in order to make Red for Fire or something.

No. But it's hard for me to knock this band because of what they did in the past.

This is the first sigh album i have bought, and i like it a lot. Id say youre right about the production rc, it does obscure stuff a lot. But i dont find i want more variation when listening to this at all. What are the others like? I want more, where should i start? The older stuffs more BM right?

Yeah, the farther you go back to more black metal you'll get.

I'd suggest Imaginary Sonicscape, the one right before this, but you may not be prepared for the weirdness if you don't listen to a lot of avant garde. Still, if you like this, I would highly suggest you give it a chance or two.

I'd suggest Hail Horror Hail, personally, but Imaginary Sonicscape is good.

Never found the time to give thisyere release a serious listen.

this was my first Sigh album and i really liked it. the production isn't the best but fits well in the album. the avant-garde PM tag is spot on as far as i'm concerned.

my favourite in the album was Silver Universe.

and btw... is that "say goodbye... to the silver... univeeeeeeeeerse" thinng from a movie or something?

Maybe it's a lot easier to like this album if you haven't heard any other Sigh. It'll be interesting to see how people now react working backwards into the band's other releases.