Review: Sigh – Goh-Ka
As epic and entrancing as it is obtuse and wild
Sigh is a Japanese extreme metal band that, regardless of how deep you are into metal music, will never fail to perplex. Originating as one of the first black metal bands from Japan at the time the Norwegian scene started gaining infamy, the band then transitioned into an avant-garde black metal style that’s unapologetically Japanese in aesthetics and overall sound, rarely if ever releasing the same album twice while maintaining their singular identity. Suffice to say, Sigh are indeed a fascinating band, and they’ve now released their 14th LP Goh-Ka and are still going strong after 35 years and counting.
While I’ve been familiar with Sigh in passing or by seeing them in various lists of “international black metal,” I’ve never actually heard one of their albums in full. Though I was also aware of how they’ve long since evolved their style of black metal into progressive and avant-garde directions, I was simply unprepared for what the band did here, namely how they blend black metal, prog, psychedelic rock, Japanese folk music and Neo-classical metal. The end result is an album that violently shifts from ornate, lush suites that combine metal guitars and Japanese folk instrumentation, to pure melodic black metal savagery, to classic heavy metal with electronic flourishes and so on.
As a whole, the record is an unholy amalgamation of so many different and wild elements, all filtered through the band’s culture and metal music. The output is downright admirable, but also very scattershot due to each song being completely different from the others, with only the Japanese vocals and instrumentation tying everything together, as well as the band’s concept because yes, this is also a concept album. Per the album’s promo, the overarching theme is “Kuso-zu,” described as a series of Buddhist paintings that depict the aftermath of death; the rot and the decay. In filthy westerner terms, this is similar to memento mori: remember that you will die, but with the added description of how the body will rot away regardless of how beautiful one was in life.
With such an expansive concept and with music to back it up, one could make comparisons to Opeth—good ol’ Mikael Åkerfeldt even guests for a guitar solo on track 6. Aside from Åkerfeldt, the album also features Frédéric Leclercq (Kreator, ex-DragonForce) on bass and Mike Heller (Malignancy, ex-Fear Factory) on drums, boosting the core lineup of lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mirai Kawashima, saxophonist/vocalist vocalist Dr. Mikannibal, and guitarist Nozomu Wakai. The sheer talent shared between the band and their guests is heard loud and clear throughout Goh-Ka‘s runtime.
However, despite this great display of talent, ambition and unique artistry, my main gripe with this album is how it’s so overwhelming. The album is not one you can just listen to passively or leave playing in the background; it demands your attention and it completely overwhelms you and because of how expansive and complicated it is, it takes a while to finally meet the record where it’s at. Between the various instrumental interludes and wild swerves across different genres and styles this is simply not a good entry point into the band, and I ended up checking their other albums after my first two listens; even then, I still felt lost because none of them are comparable.
But I do have to stress, this is by no means a bad album—far from it—and people who are more inclined to prog or avant-garde music may enjoy it more than I did, and I do admire how a 30+ year-old band can still make music this adventurous. As a whole this is one of those records that’s on hard mode; even while admiring the technical skill and masterful production, it still feels like a sonic assault that will leave you disoriented, for better or for worse.
3.5/5 Flaming Toilets ov Hell
Goh-Ka releases later today?? through Peaceville Records.
