Description
Chinese triple vinyl set on splatter vinyls with OBI-strip, gatefold cover and tons of bonus tracks
Sigh shows no signs of turning back on their strange, evil ways with their fourth album, aptly titled as it does evoke a palpable feeling of dread and unfolds with all sorts of illogical, bizarre (and thus dream-like) twists. Most of the main ingredients of their previous album, Hail Horror Hail, are still intact, from the scratchy black metal vocals and ’80s-flavored thrash riffs down to the lush string interludes and occasional solo piano or vocoder touches. The song structures are not quite as bizarre as a few of the more collage-like tracks on Hail…, but they’re certainly not conventional either. “Black Curse,” for example, derails into a faux-country section midway through, then cuts abruptly into a funk breakdown, in the process sounding quite reminiscent of John Zorn’s Naked City. The instrumentation — including handclaps, harpsichords, and an array of vintage synth tones — offers surprises throughout the album, but, at the same time, the music ultimately centers on a really raw, down-to-earth metal foundation, which makes for a strange contrast. Helping tie it all together are the consistently well-written guitar riffs, calling to mind influences ranging from old Black Sabbath to Venom, Motorhead, and Iron Maiden. Shinichi Fujinami’s guitar solos, which have a dirty and at times even bluesy quality to them, are another highpoint. Scenario IV may be a tad more accessible than its predecessor, mainly because of all the catchy guitar parts, but it is still out on a limb compared to most other metal. No one else sounds like Sigh.
Track listing:
1. Diabolic Suicide-remix
2. Infernal Cries-remix
3. Black Curse-remix
4. Iconoclasm In The Fourth Desert-remix
5. In The Mind Of A Lunatic-remix
6. Severed Ways-remix
7. Imprisoned-remix
8. Waltz: Dead Dreams-remix
9. Divine Graveyard-remix
10. Diabolic Suicide-original mix
11. Infernal Cries-original mix
12. Black Curse-original mix
13. Iconoclasm In The Fourth Desert-original mix
14. In The Mind Of A Lunatic-original mix
15. Severed Ways-original mix
16. Imprisoned-original mix
17. Waltz: Dead Dreams-original mix
18. Divine Graveyard–original mix
19. Black Curse-unreleased version early mix