Review by Ben for Sigh - Scorn Defeat (1993)

Intriguing yet flawed first effort from this crazy Japanese band.

Sigh have always been a difficult band for me. I'm always impressed with the fearless way they approach song writing. Basically, they take a genre (black metal) that many consider (un)holy and break down all the boundaries of what's acceptable. Even way back in 1993, Sigh included all sorts of wonderful creativity into their work with multiple instruments and bizarre song structures and for the most part they made it work.

The problem for me is that for every awesomely dark section or mesmerizing, beautiful moment, there are awkward misadventures and downright out of place noodling. Tracks like At My Funeral and Weakness Within manage to remain enjoyable and dark throughout their running time, whereas others such as A Victory of Dakini and Ready For the Final War are not so consistent. But I guess I refuse to be too harsh on these crazy Japanese guys because they always (and I mean always) try to do something different to what everyone else is doing.

I will listen to this album every now and then. While it's a flawed experience, it's different and intriguing enough to warrant more time. This is an album for only those black metal fans that contain a level of curiosity and an open mind. Think the simplicity of Samael's early albums mixed in with classical elements and thrashy chaos. Highlight tracks for me are At My Funeral, Gundali and Weakness Within.