Cult Japanese black metal legends Sigh formed in 1989/90, featuring mainman Mirai Kawashima, Satoshi Fujinami & Kazuki Ozeki. Their masterful debut ‘Scorn Defeat’, became one of the country’s greatest and most revered metal exports. With a journey through the strange and the psychedelic, incorporating a whole eclectic mix of genre styles & experimentation throughout their career, Sigh has remained a vital creative force in the avantgarde field. However, at its core, Sigh has always remained true to its roots of old school metal. With a deep appreciation for the black metal masters of the 80s such as Celtic Frost and Venom, Sigh would weave intricate keyboard textures and skilled piano composition courtesy of Mirai Kawashima among the Frost-fuelled riffing to create an atmospherically distinctive and dark sound. The lyrical content was also unusual for the time, incorporating strong elements of occultism and eastern mysticism to differentiate them somewhat from their Scandinavian peers.
Mirai Kawashima, Sigh mainman comments “Scorn Defeat” is a magical album. Now we are more mature musicians with much more knowledge about music and better playing ability, but (or maybe I should say “therefore”) if we re-recorded it now, the album wouldn’t sound any better, as all the magic would be lost.
What delights me the most is that the album we recorded almost 30 years ago is still loved and being newly re-released like this, which we never expected back then.
This special release makes me proud and makes my life as a musician something meaningful.
Scorn Defeat will be released as a special 2-cd edition of the 1993 genre classic debut of eastern darkness from Japan’s black metal purveyors. Includes bonus rare demo & rough mix tracks & full live show, plus booklet interview with mainman Mirai Kawashima; and also as a single LP on 180g white vinyl