SCORN DEFEAT

SIGH was actually one of the first non-European black metal bands having formed in 1989. After sending out demos they caught the attention of original Mayhem singer Dead and then after his suicide ended up in the hands of Euronymous, guitarist of Mayhem. Having caught his attention they were signed to his label Deathlike Silence Records and their debut album SCORN DEFEAT was released in 1993. Unfortunately Euronymous was murdered shortly thereafter and they moved over to Cacophonous Records after this release.

The album became a cult classic.This is their so-called traditional black metal album before they started experimenting eventually reaching avant-garde heights with IMAGINARY SONICSCAPE, however even on this debut release SIGH sounded like no one else.

As with many of the black metal acts that graced the early 90s, the influences appear to be the early old school black metal / thrash bands of the 80s like Venom, Mercyful Fate, Celtic Frost and also of the early second wavers like Darkthrone and Mayhem. In fact the title of the album is taken from a line off of Venom's 'Welcome To Hell.'

SIGH incorporated classical piano on this release making them one of the first to incorporate keyboards into the black metal mix which would influence bands such as Emperor, Dimmu Borgir and Cradle Of Filth and the countless symphonic black metal bands that followed.

The inchoate ideas that SIGH present here are interesting for their historical significance in the development of black metal scene however what's really missing here are some outstanding songs. This debut album is definitely worth a listen but it's obvious that despite the wealth of ideas they had yet to assembly them into interesting concoctions.