About.com Rating
The Bottom Line
Black metal meets orchestral instruments to create an awe-inspiring toxic symphony of ungodliness.
Pros
- Orchestration is perfectly placed in the music.
- Wicked guitar solos.
- Kawashima is a musical genius, composing music for all instruments, singing and writing lyrics.
- Middle portion of the album has some of the most epic songs of Sigh's career.
Cons
- Occasionally hard to hear vocals and guitars underneath the cacophony of string/brass instruments.
Description
- Released January 19th, 2010 on The End Records.
- Sigh’s eighth album.
- Cover art by Eliran Kantor (Testament, GWAR).
Guide Review - Sigh - 'Scenes From Hell'
“I am so evil, but who is not?” growls Sigh frontman Mirai Kawashima on the haunting “The Summer Funeral,” one of many dark overtures off of the band’s eighth studio album Scenes From Hell. Every album from this Japanese black metal group has been something completely radical, and Scenes From Hell is no different. Working off the blueprint of 2007’s Hangman's Hymn - Musikalische Exequien, Kawashima and company brought in an actual string quartet and brass players to add authenticity to the orchestrated sections.
The ferocity has not been displaced with the large violin and horn presence, a message the band wanted to make clear from the early going. “Prelude To The Oracle” is the fast descent into ground zero, as the chants of metal fans spawn into a choir of the damned that beckons the listener into the emitting darkness. The band is not bound by any conventional songwriting traits, as instruments come and go at will to fuel the chaos.
This is still black metal though, so the tremolo picking, blast beats, and inaudible bass still hold sway.
Scenes From Hell picks up steam in the second half with a few notable epics that utilize the full potential of the string/brass instruments. The sharp notes on the violins in “The Red Funeral” are a sharp contrast to the dark beauty they emit in the slow-burning “The Summer Funeral.” New vocalist Dr. Mikannibal plays a sultry saxophone solo on “Musica In Tempora Belli,” which mingles well with the sudden orchestrated break in the middle and the bleak spoken word outro. The title track ends the album on a simpler note, lacking the zealous fervor of the strings and brasses, in favor of a straightforward anthem of hate and turmoil. It’s not a shocking conclusion, but works well in the context of the album.
What makes Scenes From Hell so potent is the fact that the band keeps the music grounded, avoiding an over usage of orchestration. The guitar work is still meaty, especially the shredding solos, though the guitar is occasionally buried deep in the mix.
It’s only January, but Scenes From Hell could already be on many “Best Of 2010” lists at the end of the year. The chance for a polarizing opinion of the album is high; Sigh is not everyone’s cup of tea. If getting into the band was hard for some before, this album won’t change any perspectives. Excusing all the doubters, Scenes From Hell does what any Sigh album before it has done; push the boundaries of not only their own sound, but black metal as a whole.