Metal Reviews

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.

I heard bits from Imaginary Soundscape, but this was my first full-length, and I love it. Like 70's psychedelic rock gone wrong. They've definately moved along a path with their releases, I think eventually they'll end up a keyboard-heavy weird rock band, like The Gathering or Amorphis. Interesting to see, Mirai said in an interview that he wasn't into modern BM much ,so I doubt we'll be seeing anything along that path...

Indeed, I was just hoping they would keep going in a way that wouldn't find them carving themselves a little niche and riding it until the end of time. Maybe Mirai will make more avant garde stuff sometime, maybe not. I can only hope.

And, he isn't into modern black metal much, or isn't into black metal much anymore? Because just being disinterested in what other bands are doing with a genre is one thing that leads people to improve/expand it in the first place.

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.

To give this thread a bump and draw your attention to the fact the album has been remastered and reissued. Here is my note from the PS to Daniel's review.

I did not write this review and wanted to leave it intact, but our review format allows me to write you all a note that in a month the album will be available as a totally remastered reissue from The End Records. It also includes a bunch of bonus tracks, mostly different mix styles of the album's best songs. Personally, it was this album's production that really held me back from fully embracing it a couple of years ago. If you come from the same crowd, give Gallows Gallery another try. Mirai Kawashima certainly wanted it this way.

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.

Because Century Media was disappointed that the band had not gone in a more black metal direction with the album, the band was forced to find another label to distribute Gallows Gallery. To hide this story, the band engineered a different reason as to why Century Media would not release the album: their use of sonic weapon techniques on the album. A warning was issued about the new album, saying it could do harm to one's health due to the implementation of such techniques. Mirai was apparently hospitalized while working on the album, which was one of the reasons it took the album so long to be released. This elaborate, but fictitious plot helped conceal the fact that the album was also cheaply mastered.

From Sigh's official biography:


So it turns out it was just a shitty mastering job the whole time. No wonder they wanted it remastered so quickly. Personally I have no beef with the production.

Anyone heard the remaster? A noticeable improvement?