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A good debut release, but a better reissue well worth purchasing again.-
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| Sigh: Scorn Defeat (2011 Reissue) |
Avant-Garde, Black Metal
Deathlike Silence / Deepsend Records (2011)
1993 / July 19th, 2011
Disc One:
- A Victory of Dakini - 7:08
- The Knell - 4:17
- At My Funeral - 5:42
- Gundall - 5:57
- Ready for the Final War - 9:16
- Weakness Within - 3:10
- Taste Defeat - 7:56
- The Knell (Requiem for Fools EP) (Bonus Track) - 3:18
- Desolate (Requiem for Fools EP) (Bonus Track) - 4:01
- Taste Defeat (Requiem for Fools EP) (Bonus Track) - 7:56
- Suicidogenic (Sigh/Kawir Split) (Bonus Track) - 3:08
- Schizo (Sigh/Kawir Split (Bonus Track) - 3:16
Disc Two:
- Black Metal (Venom cover) (Unreleased) - 2:47
- The Zombie Terror (Far East Gate in Inferno Compilation) - 9:41
- The Seven Gates of Hell (Venom cover) (Vinyl Collectors EP) - 4:33
- Carnage (Mayhem cover) (Vinyl Collectors LP) - 3:14
- Weakness Within (Desolation Demo) - 3:06
- Desolation of My Mind (Desolation Demo) - 3:18
- Mentally Numb (Desolation Demo) - 0:58
- Death Throws (Tragedies Rough Mix) - 2:06
- Sigh (Tragedies Rough Mix) - 2:12
- Mentally Numb (Tragedies Rough Mix) - 5:54
- Desolation (Tragedies Rough Mix) - 2:04
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| Review Information |
Release length: 43:11 / 1:47:58 (2011)
Review posted on August 14th, 2011
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| | Initial Pressing: 7.5/10 |
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| 2011 Reissue: 9/10 |
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| Discography |
Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed. |
| Full-Length(s): |
Scorn Defeat (1993) • Infidel Art (1995) • Hail Horror Hail (1997) • Scenario IV: Dread Dreams (1999) • Imaginary Sonicscape (2001)
Gallows Gallery (2005) • Hangman's Hymn - Musikalische Exequiem (2007) • Scenes from Hell (2010) • In Somniphobia (2012)
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| EP(s): |
Requiem for Fools (1992) • To Hell and Back (1995) • Ghastly Funeral Theatre (1997) • A Tribute to Venom (2008)
The Curse of Izanagi (2010)
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| Split(s): |
Sigh/Kawir (1994) • Sigh/Necrophagia (2003) • Evilized Japan (2004) • Swine of Hades (2011)
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| Single(s): |
Shadowking (1996)
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| Demo(s): |
Desolation (1990) • Tragedies (1990) • Scorn Defeat (1993)
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| Live CD(s): |
The Eastern Force of Evil: Live '92 - '96 (1997)
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| Review |
Back in 1993, Sigh issued their debut album, Scorn Defeat. While the Tokyo, Japan based act has earned a strong modern following with their more Avant-Garde Black Metal approach, back in the day the group had a far more traditional sound to their material. Scorn Defeat showcases that well and is still considered one of the band's finest Black Metal offerings to date, as well as one of the more important traditional Black Metal releases from the nineties. But, are these just bestial praisings from a loyal fan base to the style, or does this album truly capture the Black Metal spirit?
Scorn Defeat start with "A Victory of Dakini" which introduces the album with a nice, clearer production quality, though listening to it, my ears can't help but feel a bit strained from it, like there is some kind of higher pitch or something missing that causes them to tense up that I simply cannot put my finger on. Aside that, there's also a slight airy sound to the audio, that can't really be explained as to where it comes from and why it's like that. This track introduces some sharp sounding guitars and sould crushingly atmospheric bass as well, having them pushed a bit into the background with the drum kit and keyboards. Because of this quality, the song does establish more of a commanding, yet sinister Black Metal approach common to the time it was recorded. The slower pace of the song does continue on, and becomes more of a trait to many songs on here, but it's not until later after a rather chaotic and out of place Heavy Metal-esque guitar solo that the more Avant-Garde elements of the album become clear. However, with that comes some rather poor richness, leaving the song bass heavy and given the sudden shift in approach, the two do not work so well together, clashing to the point that it feels far more awkward then chaotic before branching off into a slower, keyboard focused section that also highlights the click of the drum kit and how the cymbols and snares do add to the haunting sensations that the band creates throughout the recording.
With seven tracks on the album, and how varied each track winds up being through the actual song, it's hard to say the album sticks to the general atmosphere and ideas established on "A Victory of Dakini". Yes, "At My Funeral" does stick with the slower, hopeless atmosphere of a more traditional second wave Black Metal sound, but "The Knell" starts off pretty slow and continues to escalate to a rather fast paced Black Metal assault that is quite enjoyable, though very short. However, of all the songs, "Gundali" is perhaps one of the more standout tracks to the album, mostly due to it's slower paced darker music that is coupled with a beautiful piano solo at the end that ties it all together perfectly. While "A Victory of Dakini" feels a bit drawn out, the slower paced "Ready for the Final War" lasts far longer but does not seem to falter from that concept with the more Avant-Garde elements the previous song took towards the end. The song's slower, chuggin pace works well to create a commanding, old-school Metal sound to it's sinister Black Metal atmosphere, a pace that exists throughout the track despite the faster passage that hits about half-way through the track. The only complaint with this faster paced section is that the guitars don't quite feel as rich as they do on other tracks and leaves this passage feeling a little more open, and then goes into having a very high pitched noise through the music as the keyboards kick back in with a somewhat gothic era sounding performance, but feels a little too modern pf a organ sound to properly fit the established piano sounds and haunting clearer effects. Scorn Defeat ends nicely with the track "Weakness Within", a faster paced track that isn't afraid to include some slower material with some more beautiful keyboards layered over it. This is really the first time on the album the keyboards seem to really need to be there to really capture the proper atmosphere of the song. Both speeds are transitioned well, though the more menacine atmosphere felt on the song doesn't carry over into the more gothic piano-driven chorus.
There are not really that many elements of the recording that take on a strong Avant-Garde presence. "A Victory of Dakini" is one of them, though at the end it ultimately feels a little tacked on in the sense that the way Sigh spaces the two sections of the song out works to make it feel like they belong, but at the same time it still feels like a whole new song that did not get a proper transition into a whole other track. This really is the first and only major off-the-wall element used in the album, though other concepts like the progression to such fast paced insanity at the end of "The Knell" among other ideas do exist on this recording. These elements help to keep the material varied, but often are pretty blunt and can't really be considered anything too off-the-wall. In no way are they bad additions.
What the album really has going for it moreso is the haunting atmosphere brought on through the music, especially the keyboards. Sigh do a fantastic job of really focusing on all the instruments, and aside the slower part of the closing to "A Victory of Dakini" and "Ready for the Final War", the keyboards really don't act like a crutch to the band. The slower paced music of "Ready for the Final War" could easily stand out on it's own without the added haunting keyboards and still leave a very impressive song with a slight hint of a NWOBHM commanding attitude, as well as the more twisted keyboard performance towards the end of that song. This works well to set up the closing track, "Taste Defeat", another slower paced cut off the album that has a sinister, grim chugging approach to it that sounds pretty intimidating. The closing to the song does have sort of an Avant-Garde approach to it, but it's thanks to the bells utilized throughout the closing that sound like wind chimes, or the bells they use to chime inside during a certain part of the church I would attend as a kid. It's not a bad addition in any way and it sounds interesting, though sometimes they seem to be a bit off beat with the music.
| 2011 Reissue: |
The 2011 reissue of Scorn Defeat is really one of the best reissues you will ever come across. Not only does it come in a nice looking digipack, but you also get an additional seventy one minutes of music across the main disc and the bonus disc. These include some more rare tracks like "Schizo" off the Sigh/Kawir Split EP and "The Zombie Terror from the Far East Gate Inferno compilation, and even some cover tracks of Venom and Mayhem songs, and that's far from all.
First of all you get the songs from the Requiem for Fools EP, which came out prior to Scorn Defeat. Obviously the quality is greatly different here, having a very bass heavy sound with the guitars pretty far in the back of the mix and the drums loud. The vocals have a heavy echo effect, and it all just sounds very chaotic and hellish amongst the three tracks, which include a different version of "The Knell". This atmosphere greatly helps the songs feel nightmarish and sound a bit more unique and suiting to the far more aggressive and angry sound the band gives off in their performance of these three tracks. Of course the only track here not represented on the initial Scorn Defeat album is "Desolation", which is a really crushing slower paced track, but it's also interesting to hear the earlier adaptations of "The Knell" and "Taste Defeat", though only the first really sounds that dramatically different in performance. The first disc also includes "Suicidogenic" and "Schizo" off their spliut with Kawir. These are perhaps among the best audio quality on the release, having a very sinister sound to the faster paced material, showing a bit of an Avant-Garde style more similar to their modern day approach, but "Suicidogenic" is simply aggressive and catchy as hell with those random bells mentioned of in "Taste Defeat" and are about the same performance, though more on key with the beat. "Schizo" is a Venom cover, and it's a great one indeed, fitting that same more intense sound of "Suicidogenic" to work with the split release, and is full of energy. This brings the first disc and it's bonus features to a close, but it's far from done.
On the second disc, you get plenty more "official bootleg" cover tracks, and many other songs. "There are two more Venom covers that appear on the To Hell and Back 1995 EP, as well as a Mayhem cover of the song "Carnage" though I'm not sure where this track has come from and is considered more an unreleased track along with the other two Venom covers. Either way, the songs have a little more of a raw quality to them, though not much in the music and more along the vocals, which feel a little muffled. Either way, "Black Metal" sounds phenomenal and full of enthusiasm. "The Seven Gates of Hell" is a lot catchier with more of the NWOBHM style groove to it then a more foceful energetic Black Metal assault like Sigh used on the previous track, and it works well. "Carnage", of course, is another fast paced assault that finds deep emphasis on the bass to really create a crushing sound from start to finish, and you genuinely feel like you're listening to a song recorded in the early eighties. There's also a track titled "The Zombie Terror" that is off a compilation called Far East Gate, but I can't find information about this anywhere. This is one of the more Avant-Garde tracks, having a really deep and loud bass presence but some gang chant harmonization at times that really gives it a more off-the wall sound throughout the varying faster and slower paced material of the track. The song lasts a little more then ten minutes, but the band does a great job at really making the song a solid effort with plenty of variety to keep the listener happy.
Finally, the last great touch to this reissue is the inclusion of the demo recordings Desolation and Tragedies. Obviously the audio quality on these tracks can be pretty rough, having a very raw sound to them, but more on the part of the time they were recorded and more then likely financial reasons. All the instruments do come through pretty well on the Desolation tracks, though the keyboards sound a little more muffled, which is rough since the guitars are pretty much the same way. The vocals are mostly guttural performances and the quality on them is absolute garbage, sounding more like a dog barking then actual growling vocals on the song "Weakness Within", though they do sound better and have more of a live quality to them on "Desolation of My Mind" and on. The Tragedies recordings are a little clearer, having a more sharper raw guitar sound and a loud bass with much clearer vocals that go between gutturals and higher pitched shrieks similar to "Mentally Numb" off the Desolation demo right before it. This recording also has a stronger Avant-Garde presence to it, though still somewhat minimal, and at times a bit cheesy. The keyboards at the end of "Death Throes" give a much more chaotic vibe to the recording that really establishes a more unique approach to the recording, but then the introductory gut punch exhale sound at the start of "Sigh" just gives the more serious and eerie short instrumental a moment of hilarity that kind of ruins it in the end. This leads into the demo's reprisal of "Mentally Numb" and "Desolation" off the previous demo, which are both good to hear in a clearer production to know what's going on, and "Mentally Numb" sounds great until the song does stop towards the end and kind of shift the way the sound is as if it's a whole new song. "Desolation", however, just is not that great due to the band obviously trying to get an ominous sound to the track, but hindered greatly from the higher pitched razor-like guitars.
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Scorn Defeat is a good album, but sometimes it's a bit hard to get into. The seven tracks that compose the album are still some solid Death Metal with a little of the band's quirky Avant-Garde sound, and the only real issue was that the band did not really have that chaotic representation in some of the songs fine tuned enough to where some of the elements wound up causing problems to the song overall. You'll still find enjoyment after the first few spins, but after a while the album doesn't really offer much to keep the listener coming back time and time again outside maybe some random spins in the future for some of the more solid tracks on here. If you do plan on acquiring this release, it's still an album well worth checking out, and makes for a solid early nineties Black Metal effort, though not really an effort that is as close to a masterpiece as many portray it to be. However, if you're a fan of Sigh, or just want a complete package and hear the band from the ground floor up, then the 2010 Reissue is, by far, the must buy edition of the album. With over seventy minutes of additional material that has gone out of print or just never was made available to a broad audience, it's the best legal way to hear these tracks, and great to have them all in one place like this, really giving a reason for fans who own the album to purchase it again.
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Digital review copy of this release provided by:
Deepsend Records. |
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