Sigh - In Somniphobia

I would have to rate Sigh as being the most bizarre band in the world. With their latest album, 'In Somniphobia', the band has yet again shown how they can mix a whole lot of musical elements and execute it perfectly. Dare I say it, their best album yet..

One thing that has always been a hit and miss with Sigh has been their production. This is the first time I have found a Sigh album to have the perfect mix. The balance between the guitar riffs and the other instruments couldn't be better. The electronics, the synth work, even the bass lines all work as one to drive this rich wave of psychedelic metal brilliance, both technically and catchy. None of this comes across as too much or jumbled up one the ears. If anything, each time I listen to this, the focus can change from the guitars to the synths, the saxophone, even the vocals. So much is going on and you want to try and catch as much of it all as you can. It's like walking through a carnival and trying to catch a glimpse at all the different bizarre acts you walk by. Only thing is they are all so interesting that you can't decide which one you want to stay at and watch.

I like the sound of the guitar riffs too. A crisp edge to them and their is a good balance between being technical with the lead work or just breaking out catchy riffs that cross between doom and traditional metal. That solo in 'Somniphobia' is jaw dropping. A bluesy moment that oozes a feel that this carnival you have gone to is one on a hot and humid summers evening.

When the electronic side dominates, particularly in the slower songs. It almost feels mesmerizing. A song like 'Amnesia' almost feels like you have been soothed out at times and each instrument has its moment in the sun as it drifts along. 'Far Beneath the In-Between' can be that moment at the carnival where you come across a group of people putting on a creepy dance. Perhaps the carnival has led you to a masquerade ball full of eerie people.

Then comes a twist in this story when the evil 'Amongst The Phantoms Of Abandoned Tumbrils' introduces the group of masked youths who raid the masquerade ball to vandalize the place. As the piano and guitar leads whisk along, the tables are flipped over, plates and glasses are smashed and the eerie people begin to run away. Oh wait! The thrashing avenger ('Fall To The Thrall') has come to save the night as he blazes the room and takes out the masked youths one by one, only you find it odd that each masked youth is being knocked down by a sharp gust of wind from the fake punches the thrashing avenger is swinging at them.

Suddenly, the crowd begins to erupt in applause and the masked youths and the thrashing avenger stand and take a bow, thus revealing that it was all just an act. The entertainment part of the evening at the ball within the carnivals perimeters. Thus you walk out of the place as the weird 'Equale' plays along like the ending credits theme. You think to yourself 'What the fuck was all this?'

Told you this was bizarre.

Yes, I broke off into a tangent there, but this is just to prove how weird Sigh is. Albums like 'Scorn Defeat', 'Hail Horror Hail' and 'Scenes From Hell' for example are like horror stories that don't come across as horrifying because of quirky elements they add to their sounds. 'In Somniphobia' comes off more as a strange mystery that psyches you out. Even after it's all over, you still can't understand the story at all, but all the twists and turns you found in the story still make it intriguing and you keep watching it over and over trying to work it all out. All I know right now is, Sigh is Japan's best metal band.

Ikil