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SIGH “Goh-Ka”
SIGH “Goh-Ka”
By Dr. Abner Mality
Although SIGH mastermind Mirai Kawashima insists his band remains black metal, I think SIGH has been more properly categorized as progressive rock for a while now. The willingness to use almost any instrument and incorporate any style of music into the band’s songwriting is the very essence of prog. That tendency is plainer than ever with “Goh-Ka”.
Truth is, SIGH has always existed in its own world and Mirai wouldn’t have it any other way. With “Goh-Ka”, he continues his meditation on death and decay that began on last album “Shiki”. And like “Shiki”, the Japanese component of the music remains very strong. The lyrics are all in Japanese and a wide variety of traditional instruments like shamisen, shikachu flute and Taiko drums appear throughout. The music is an alchemist’s blend of that Japanese folk aspect with 70’s prog, 90’s black metal, pop music vocal lines, electronics, classical music flourishes and the doominess of early SABBATH and PRIEST. I honestly don’t know where the constant comparisons to CELTIC FROST come in, as very little here sounds like FROST. The description I just gave sounds like an unholy and unlistenable stew, but SIGH amazingly build something coherent out of it, although it definitely takes more than one listen to soak it all up.
The prog aspects are very apparent on 9 minute plus opening cut “Kuso-Shi 1,2 and 3”, which meanders through a lot of territory including fast black metal with blast beats, analog synth soundscapes and remarkably catchy vocal lines. That sets the pattern for the whole album and I could spend 10 pages talking about the idiosyncrasies of each song. “Anzenshokon” has such a dreary slow trudge to it, like a dying animal crawling along, that it is almost unendurable. “Unputenpu”, featuring a guitar solo from OPETH’s Mikael Akerfeldt, has one of the breeziest and catchiest choruses I’ve ever heard from this band. And “Jinmenjushin” is a real horror movie soundtrack with its cackling vocals and menacing pace.
It’s a fascinating challenge. Those expecting pure and straight metal will not find it here, except for the raging “Jigoku-Zoshi 2: Tokatsujigoku”. This is a jigsaw puzzle that you put together carefully, not something immediate. Although I do kind of wish that SIGH would inject a bit more metal, they remain the absolute essence of progressive music.
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