Black metal from Japan

Last night I saw Sigh play the Knitting Factory in Hollywood. The black metal band from Japan has been around for more than 15 years, but this is their first headlining tour of U.S., and I believe this was their first show in L.A.


The group started off as a Venom cover band and got signed to the infamous Deathlike Silence album, gaining instant metal cred around the world. When I was buying up albums to prepare for the Sigh interview in GR46, I bought the Scandanavian import of Hail Horror Hail, a Russian bootleg of , and an overpriced cut-out of Imaginary Sonicscape. (I still haven't found Scorn Defeat or Ghastly Funeral Theatre.) Now you can get the last three or for albums re-mastered for a decent price from The End Records. In the interview, Mirai gave me a bunch of great quotes including this one: "Someday a maniac will be arrested and confess to listening to my songs, but that hasn't happened yet." When I finally met him last night, he was stoked to be handed the magazines. "This is cool," he said.


For years, I've been wondering how the band sounds live. On album, they are known for incorporating symphonic flourishes, banjo music, soundtrack effects, or just plain weird psychedelic touches into the blast beats and heavy riffs. It turns out the live sound is purely guitar based. Even though Mirai stands behind a keyboard, its use is pretty restrained. They crushed out a tons of my favorite songs--"Hail Horror Hail," "Death With Dishonor," "Me Devil"--and more. (Check out Shinichi's nice Mentors T-shirt on the left.)


The vocals are pure death metal, Cookie Monster style, and the newest member Dr. Mikannibal contributed almost half of them. I was totally shocked by her awesome singing and her sax is used in a dark, noisy, and complementary style--not at all in a "New York's alright if you like saxophones" manner.


The band didn't go on until midnight and played about 40 minutes before coming back for some Venom covers. Mika stood by the side and watched as their rendition of "Black Metal" inspired a circle pit. Awesome.


Afterward, I went by the merch table to pick up the band's latest release, A Tribute To Venom. The seven-song covers EP is an edition of 1,500 with vinyl in black, red, and peppermint, each coming with a CD. One side of the vinyl is etched with the cover art.

If you like metal, don't miss Sigh. Seriously, who knows when they'll come back?

09/06/08 Sat @ Jumping Turtle - San Marcos, CA
09/07/08 Sun @ Chain Reaction - Anaheim, CA
09/08/08 Mon @ Knitting Factory - Hollywood, CA
09/09/08 Tue @ The Clubhouse - Tempe, AZ
09/10/08 Wed @ Launch Pad - Albuquerque, NM
09/11/08 Thu @ Ridglea Theater - FT. Worth, TX
09/12/08 Fri @ White Rabbit - San Antonio, TX
09/13/08 Sat @ Meridian - Houston, TX
09/14/08 Sun @ The Muse - Nashville, TN
09/15/08 Mon @ Jaxx - West Springfield, VA
09/16/08 Tue @ B.B. Kings Blues Club - New York City, NY
09/17/08 Wed @ FouFounes - Montreal, QC
09/18/08 Thu @ Jubilee Centre - Sudbury, ON
09/19/08 Fri @ Wreck Room - Toronto, ON
09/20/08 Sat @ Peabody's - Cleveland, OH
09/21/08 Sun @ The Pearl Room - Mokena, IL
09/22/08 Mon @ Station 4 - St. Paul, MN