Here’s a trick question for you: Who is the most exciting band in black metal today? If you answered whoever the latest Pitchfork sanctioned group of trust fund kids to incorporate shrieking and tremolo riffing over shoegaze noodling is, you’d be wrong. No, the correct answer is not a band of green-faced newcomers, but rather an underground outfit who has been pushing the boundaries of black metal for well over 30 years now: Sigh. Hailing from Japan (not necessarily a hotbed for black metal, mind you), Sigh have kept self-made metal journalists such as myself on their toes from day one, changing styles not just from album to album, but song to song.
Spearheaded by founding vocalist/bassist/keyboardist/songwriter Mirai Kawashima, the band has flirted with genres as diverse as black metal, doom metal, symphonic rock, psychedelic rock, progressive rock, electronica, and folk, just to name a few. It should also be noted that their debut full length, Scorn Defeat (1993), was released via the infamous Deathlike Silence Productions. Yes, the label founded by Mayhem mastermind Euronymous. For a guy who prided himself on being so “kvlt” and “trve”, he sure had no problem signing a band who rejected the norms of not just black metal, but metal as a whole; a band who is still doing such today, as evidenced by their latest release, Shiki.
Having spent the better part of the past decade on the avant-garde/progressive metal side of the spectrum, Shiki sees Sigh returning to the chaotic black metal sound of their early days. This is made apparent by the miserable blackened doom of “Kuroi Kage”, whose tortured vocals, bleak riffs, and trudging tempos were forged in the fire Hellhammer, as well as the epic metallic wizardry of “Shoujahitsumetsu”. On the latter, as well as cuts like “Fuyu Ga Kuru” and “Shouku”, the soloing and lead melodies come off as traditional metal adjacent, akin to the likes of Mercyful Fate and Angel Witch. That said, which metal bands, extreme or not, weren’t influenced by Mercyful Fate and Angel Witch?
Yet for every blatant flexing of metallic muscle, there’s an equally convincing moment of musical schizophrenia on Shiki that’s bound to enthrall and enchant. The mesmeric “Shikabane” lies somewhere between black, prog, and doom, with an arrangement that’s nothing short of insane. The same can be said for the evil and eerie “Satsui – Geshi No Ato”. Where it stops, nobody knows. Its closing electronic passage only adds to the confusion. And then there’s “Maonaka No Kaii”, whose trippy Floyd derived psych rock meets harsh blackened overtones makes for a truly unique and enriching listening experience.
If you thought there was no new ground to be broken in black metal (and I’m sure I’m guilty of thinking such at some point in time), think again. While their peers go for the jugular, Sigh goes for the mind and soul, wreaking havoc beyond belief with Shiki. Assuming you have the fortitude for such a release, brace yourself for the most refreshing black metal album of 2022. And assuming you don’t, well, there’s always a new Behemoth album on the way.
8 out of 10
Label: Peaceville Records
Genre: Progressive Black Metal
For fans of: Arcturus, Ulver, Hellhammer