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SCENES FROM HELL

Sigh

Experimental/Post Metal


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Sigh Scenes from Hell album cover
4.04 | 41 ratings | 5 reviews | 29% 5 stars

Excellent addition to any
prog rock music collection

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Studio Album, released in 2010

Songs / Tracks Listing

- Scenes from Hell :
1. Prelude to the Oracle (4:10)
2. L'art de Mourir (4:55)
3. The Soul Grave (3:59)
- Musica in Tempora Belli :
4. The Red Funeral (6:54)
5. The Summer Funeral (7:06)
6. Musica in Tempora Belli (5:59)
7. Vanitas (6:24)
8. Scenes from Hell (3:35)

Total Time 43:02

Line-up / Musicians

- Mirai Kawasima / vocals, orchestrations, piano, organ, synths (Minimoog & Prophet-5), clavinet, theremin, recorder, glockenspiel, whistle, sitar, tabla, tambura
- Shinichi Ishikawa / guitar
- Dr. Mikannibal / vocals, alto, tenor & baritone saxophones
- Satoshi Fujinami / bass, tambourine, vibraslap, percussion
- Junichi Harashima / drums

With:
- Kam Lee / vocals (2)
- Frederic Viennot / keyboards solo (6)
- David Tibet / spoken word (4,6)
- Orchestra / clarinet, bass clarinet, accordion, flute, piccolo, French horn, oboe, trombone, trumpet, tuba, euphonium, viola, violin, cello

Releases information

Artwork: Eliran Kantor

CD The End Records ‎- TE141-2 (2010, US)

Thanks to birdwithteeth11 for the addition
and to projeKct for the last updates
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SIGH Scenes from Hell ratings distribution


4.04
(41 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(29%)
29%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(39%)
39%
Good, but non-essential (24%)
24%
Collectors/fans only (7%)
7%
Poor. Only for completionists (0%)
0%

SIGH Scenes from Hell reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by Marty McFly
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars Absolutely furious, yet enjoyable depiction of hell. The main thing that will probably attract you is this orchestrated arrangement of songs (piano, some horns and most importantly [and mostly being heard], trumpets). They really improves otherwise boring music this way. Well, it's 21th century, it's even new decade and one have to find new directions in which he makes music. This reminds me Diablo Swing Orchestra a little bit with its Dance Macabre cabaret feeling. There are some parts reminding Hawkwind's Edge of Time (spoken parts) and also endings sounds like mixture of Ska & Brass music at times. On the top of it all, this is absolutely furiously melodic music (how desperately are they trying to be melodic. Sad thing is that this band, being Japan (which is quite unusual for such kind of music) is virtually forgotten.

4(+), alive and kicking for next decade.

Review by Warthur
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars The first Sigh album to include the scintillating contributions of Dr. Mikannibal on saxophone and vocals, Scenes From Hell continues the band's explorations of symphonic avant-black metal frenzy. David Tibet of Current 93 is an unexpected but welcome guest this time around, offering spoken word recitations on The Red Funeral and Musica In Tempora Belli (roughly translating to "Music In Times of War"). It's all gruesome, rough fun, though I do wonder whether a more lively production job wouldn't have teased out all the ingredients of Sigh's bizarre stew a bit more evenly. That said, the air of murkiness does harken back to Sigh's earliest releases, setting this in a continuity of musical development that began in the second wave of black metal and has fruited in this bizarre hybrid.
Review by UMUR
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars "Scenes from Hell" is the 8th full-length studio album by Japanese progressive/experimental metal act Sigh. The album was released through The End Records in January 2010. Itīs the successor to "Hangman's Hymn: Musikalische Exequien" from 2007 and features one lineup change since the predecessor as Sigh welcomes a fifth member to their ranks in female vocalist/saxophonist Dr. Mikannibal...

...and just as you thought Sigh couldnīt get any weirder or more boundary seeking, they turn the symphonic black metal style of "Hangman's Hymn: Musikalische Exequien" (2007) on its head (or at least twist it), and returns to a more raw basic speed/thrash/black metal style on the guitars, bass, and drums, but everything else is kept weird to the maximum. Somehow maintaining the occasional symphonic edge to their music, but using a lot of brass instrumentation/orchestration. As always itīs almost impossible to describe Sighīs music in a way which ensures that the reader gets a good picture of whatīs going on. I apologize in advance...

Few other artists are able to combine as different stylistic elements as Sigh do and make it work. Itīs pretty bizarre listening to classical orchestration mixed with aggressive blackened speed/heavy metal and harsh snarling blackened vocals. Acts like Dimmu Borgir and their ilk have released symphonic black metal before Sigh started doing it, but itīs the unpolished rawness of the metal part of the music and the almost organic sounding classical orchestration which create a major contrast to the more polished and clean sounding symphonic black metal acts, and make Sigh stand out as unique.

"Scenes from Hell" features a raw and organic sounding production job, which suits the rawness of the music well, and the musicianship is on a high level on all posts, so upon conclusion itīs another intriguing, original, and distinct sounding release by Sigh, who continutes to be one of the most unique acts on the scene. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)

Latest members reviews

5 stars "Fire is so cold though my blood is boiling in my veins. Vice on virtue, victory on vanity. Answer me now, I will laugh in pain." Few bands can claim to be as eclectic as the Japanese extreme metal band Sigh. While the band's main sound is based in black metal, the band has made use of a wide var ... (read more)

Report this review (#1602546) | Posted by Pastmaster | Saturday, August 27, 2016 | Review Permanlink

4 stars This review was originally featured on my music blog, Styrofoam Boots. For a link to the site, send me a PM!(I can't put it in the review text because it screws with the HTML, I think) I'll be up front: In terms of extreme metal, you generally have to put a little bit of a spin on your music ... (read more)

Report this review (#293542) | Posted by 40footwolf | Friday, August 6, 2010 | Review Permanlink

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