SIGH - IN SOMNIPHOBIA CD Review

ARTIST: Sigh
TITLE: In Somniphobia
LABEL: Candlelight Records
YEAR: 2012
REVIEWED BY: Steve Miller

When most people think of Japan, they think of innovation, skill, and well... how bloody bizarre things can be over there. Let's just say if you haven't heard them before (and good on your for reading this and trying something new), Sigh are a combination of the three previous thoughts. The group is exceptionally talented and forward thinking, with each album taking a step in the next unpredictable direction, and oh yes, they are indeed bizarre. With an almost circus-like approach to Blackend Extreme Metal, it's pretty hard not to be entertained. Dueling saxophone / guitar solos played over top a Hammond B3 organ? Yes please, and this is just in the first 2 tracks so far. Now friends, let's move on to the usual condensed play by play:

As previously stated, the first 2 songs are crazy! "Purgatorium" has your traditional "Me Devil" (to those who are already familiar with this outfit) pumping drum beat, with the addition of some accordion-like elements. "The Transfiguration Fear Lucid Nightmares" is when we get into the first Saxophone/Guitar Duel of this record.

Eventually, you'll get to "Lucid Nightmare", which as the title states, is pretty much a nightmare. Though only a short interlude, it invokes fear into the listener, if the listener has ever used a fax machine. Trust me on this, you'll be using the skip function, otherwise you will, in fact, suffer 90's flashbacks. Do people still use fax machines today, or is everything finally in PDF formats?

Somniphobia gets an evil middle eastern vibe going. It looks like Melechesh rubbed off on them a bit during the North American tour (that is, if Melechesh went to the circus under the influence of psychotropic drugs and listened to a shitload of Uriah Heep and Moontower, which actually sounds really fun).

I kind of zoned out on the guitar playing for the next few tracks (because it's so completely unreal, no wonder dudes like Paul Gilbert and Marty Friedman move to Japan). Shinichi Ishikawa keeps upping his game from album to album, just getting his freak on and delivering satisfying lead after lead, and groove after groove. It definitely helps that the rest of the musicianship is top notch to keep each other going.

"Amongst the Phantoms of Abandoned Tumbrils" reminds me of something out of a mid 2000's Final Fantasy Game. Actually, there are a lot of times where I can hear video game like influences, which makes sense, as you know... Japan happens to churn out a lot of them, and like a lot of nerdy musicians, influence can creep in (or be blatantly plagiarized, that's right Dimmu Borgir, I'm looking at the original Stormblast).

Seems we lucked out and got some Orchestral Trance beats. My Odin is this band so lucky to have an awesome keyboard player. "Ending Theme" is almost goose-bump inducing.

For the purists, we hit some more traditional early Sigh with "Fall to the Thrall", with some excellent fist pumping (and not in the Jersey Shore way) black metal, only to be thrown into our final track " Equale (a. Prelude, b. Fugato, c. Coda)", which a total prog out.

To sum things up, once again Sigh throw us all over the map to keep us on our toes, with nary a dull moment (minus the fax machine, that's really getting to me. I might just hook up my all-in-one to get one quick fax out of my system). I just can't help but wonder, what's next? I asked that after Scenes from Hell, now we have In Somniphobia, so at least that question's answered. On March 13th, check it out and imagine what Sigh will give next round, I'm sure it will blow your mind!

TRACKLISTING:

01. Purgatorium
02. The Transfiguration Fear Lucid Nightmares
03. Lucid Nightmare
04. Somniphobia
05. L'excommunication a Minuit
06. Amnesia
07. Far Beneath the In-Between
08. Amongst the Phantoms of Abandoned Tumbrils
09. Ending Theme: Continuum
10. Fall to the Thrall
11. Equale (a. Prelude, b. Fugato, c. Coda)