Sigh have always gotten by on a certain eclectic restlessness, an ADD amalgam of dichotomous moods and paraphrased genres. At times their sheer adventurousness has threatened to get the best of them (most notably on 2005's Gallows Gallery, the head scratching, unmarketable aesthetic of which got the band kicked off of Century Media).
If anything, the Japanese quintet – having gradually worked their way up from a trio – have struggled to establish a consistent identity over the past 19 years, the early black metal quickly giving way to keyboard-laced Maiden worship (Hail Horror Hail), the weird Mr. Bungle-meets-Entombed of Gallows Gallery, and most recently the blackened death filtered through carousel synths of Scenes from Hell. Quality has varied greatly from one release to another, regardless of what side of the psychedelia / brutality imbalance you may be partial to; yes, Sigh are legitimately schizophrenic enough to degenerate into a soupy mess of half-baked ideas from time to time.
In fact, it's this very penchant for well intentioned slop that thwarts any consensus on which album is their masterpiece… they each have their merits but none are in any way above criticism. Happily, In Somniphobia has finally broken the consistency curse, a high powered, inspired opus that successfully melds all of the previous experimentation into a coherent whole. Sigh are now a band working at the peak of their powers.
"Amnesia" illustrates this newfound mastery of songwriting prowess, a pastiche of torch song melody, piano bar solos and dixieland horns filtered through an extreme metal context, complemented with a healthy undercurrent of frazzled electronics that eventually usurp the song altogether.
The band revive their love of 80's power metal as they rambunctiously romp through "The Transfiguration Fear Lucid Nightmares", juxtaposing handclaps and Ennio Morricone-styled whistling over noodly prog synths and a Beethoven-via–Iced Earth stalagmite chorus.
The point, though, is not that they've topped themselves in terms of bouillabaisse influences; it's that they've finally managed to fashion their kitchen sink ethos into a dependable succession of actual songs, whereas in the past the band have been guilty of settling for mere sonic experimentation. Best of both worlds this time around, folks. Sigh finally have their bona fide masterpiece.
In Somniphobia is out now on Candlelight.
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