SIGH

SIGH     “I Saw The World’s End” (Hangman’s Hymn MMXXV)

By Dr. Abner Mality

Mirai Kawashima, mastermind of SIGH, is well known as a meticulous perfectionist when it comes to his band’s complex and idiosyncratic work. He was so dissatisfied with the band’s 2007 opus “Hangman’s Hymn” that he decided to redo and re-record the entire album from top to bottom with his current band and oversee everything himself. The result is “I Saw The World’s End”.

I went back to my own 2007 review of the original album and saw that I was pretty satisfied with it at the time. But I’m not Mirai. So now we have “I Saw The World’s End” and right off the bat it’s obvious this is a more symphonic and lush record. The original was considered the “Hammer horror” version of SIGH and that ante has been upped considerably here. Throughout this record, the cinematic aspect is more pronounced, but you’ve probably never heard symphonic instruments done in such a manic, almost lunatic way. This album is FAST...probably the fastest of all SIGH’s work and almost every track seems to be fleeing monsters in a frenzy to escape. “Me-Devil”, “Death With Dishonor” and “In Devil’s Arms” in particular are a wild mix of thrash, black metal and insane symphonic instrumentation.

The vocals are often a barrier to those trying to understand SIGH. Here they are really over the top...evil cartoon cackling, shrieking, screaming and machine gun jabber. Everything here is clearer than it was on the original “Hangman’s Hymn’. A word must also go out to drummer Mike Heller, a guy who is very quietly becoming one of the most eclectic and prolific drummers in metal. His crazed battering is way above what was on “Hangman’s Hymn” and has to be the biggest, most obvious change here.

If you like things over the top, challenging and drowned in baroque atmosphere, SIGH is always a good choice. Even if you enjoyed the original “Hangman’s Hymn” like I did, “I Saw The World’s End” is an interesting listen.

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