SIGH
Eastern Darkness

Marking 35 years of Sigh, a 2025 fully re-recorded edition of the band’s classic 2007 opus, Hangman’s Hymn (the band’s first concept album).

The resulting work is by far the fiercest, most brutal, and most symphonic Sigh album to date.

Blackened Thrash meets Classical music.

THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY EDITION OF SIGH’S SECOND STUDIO ALBUM OF MASTERFULLY CRAFTED EASTERN ATMOSPHERIC BLACK METAL, NOW ON PEACEVILLE, WITH NEW AUDIO MASTER. PRESENTED ON DOUBLE CD.

Japanese black metal legends Sigh formed in 1989/1990. The genre-classic debut ‘Scorn Defeat’ followed on Euronymous’ Deathlike Silence Productions in 1993 & with each subsequent release, Sigh grew to become one of the country’s greatest & most revered metal exports. With a journey through the strange & the psychedelic, incorporating a whole eclectic mix of genre styles & experimentation throughout their career, Sigh has remained a vital creative force in the avantgarde field whilst maintaining their old school roots, as witnessed with the stellar 2022 album, ‘Shiki’. 2025 also saw Sigh reimagining their ‘Hangman’s Hymn’ album for a release on Peaceville as part of the band’s 35th anniversary celebrations, in the shape of ‘I Saw The World’s End: Hangman’s Hymn MMXXV’.

Marking thirty years since its original release & kickstarting a string of reissues of Sigh’s revered yet hard to find classic early catalogue, this edition of ‘Infidel Art’ contains a new master created by Patrick Engel at Temple of Disharmony, featuring a new transfer from the original DAT source. The release also includes a new interview with main-man Mirai Kawashima conducted by Dayal Patterson of Cult Never Dies, delving into the history & legacy of the album.

This edition of ‘Infidel Art’ is presented on double CD format, including a rare first mix of the entire album, as well as additional tracks ‘The Zombie Terror’ from the ‘Far East Gate In Inferno’ compilation, plus songs originally included for a split release with Kawir, having also received a new transfer from the original DAT source.

Japanese black metal legends Sigh formed in 1989/1990. The genre-classic debut ‘Scorn Defeat’ followed on Euronymous’ Deathlike Silence Productions in 1993, and with each subsequent release, Sigh grew to become one of the country’s greatest and most revered metal exports. With a journey through the strange and the psychedelic, incorporating a whole eclectic mix of genre styles & experimentation throughout their career, Sigh has remained a vital creative force in the avantgarde field whilst maintaining their old school roots, as witnessed with the stellar 2022 album, ‘Shiki’. 2025 also saw Sigh remaking their ‘Hangman’s Hymn’ album for a release on Peaceville as part of the band’s 35th anniversary celebrations, in the shape of ‘I Saw the World’s End: Hangman’s Hymn MMXXV’.

With the ongoing early line-up of Mirai Kawashima, Shinichi Ishikawa, and Satoshi Fujinami, ‘Scenario IV: Dread Dreams’ was the band’s fourth studio album, originally surfacing in 1999. This was also notably the final title in partnership with Sigh’s then-label, Cacophonous Records. Delving evermore into the experimental side of music to conjure an interlinked gallery of twisted soundscapes; ‘Dread Dreams’ became more of a journey into the realm of psychedelia and rock over black metal, with this Zappa-inspired odyssey acting as somewhat of a direct pre-cursor to what was to follow with the celebrated ‘Imaginary Sonicscape’ opus.

‘Dread Dreams’ was once more recorded at Shinjuku On Air Studio with J. Yamada, with a selection of guests including Damian Montgomery of Ritual Carnage lending lyrics plus guest vocals, along with King Fowley (Deceased), and Killjoy (Necrophagia) supplying additional song lyrics. Cover art came courtesy of renowned artist Joe Petagno (Motörhead, Autopsy).

Continuing with Peaceville’s re-issues of Sigh’s classic works, this edition of ‘Dread Dreams’ contains a new master created by Patrick Engel at Temple of Disharmony.

The release also includes a new interview with main-man Mirai Kawashima conducted by Dayal Patterson of Cult Never Dies, with his thoughts, influences and reflections on the album and its challenges.

This special double-disc edition of ‘Scenario IV: Dread Dreams’ includes an extra disc containing the album but with newly arranged parts and freshly recorded instrumentation, made by Mirai Kawashima in 2025.

Japanese black metal legends Sigh formed in 1989/1990. The genre-classic debut ‘Scorn Defeat’ followed on Euronymous’ Deathlike Silence Productions in 1993, and with each subsequent release, Sigh grew to become one of the country’s greatest and most revered metal exports. With a journey through the strange and the psychedelic, incorporating a whole eclectic mix of genre styles & experimentation throughout their career, Sigh has remained a vital creative force in the avantgarde field whilst maintaining their old school roots, as witnessed with the stellar 2022 album, ‘Shiki’. 2025 also saw Sigh remaking their ‘Hangman’s Hymn’ album for a release on Peaceville as part of the band’s 35th anniversary celebrations, in the shape of ‘I Saw the World’s End: Hangman’s Hymn MMXXV’.

With the ongoing early line-up of Mirai Kawashima, Shinichi Ishikawa, and Satoshi Fujinami, ‘Scenario IV: Dread Dreams’ was the band’s fourth studio album, originally surfacing in 1999. This was also notably the final title in partnership with Sigh’s then-label, Cacophonous Records. Delving evermore into the experimental side of music to conjure an interlinked gallery of twisted soundscapes; ‘Dread Dreams’ became more of a journey into the realm of psychedelia and rock over black metal, with this Zappa-inspired odyssey acting as somewhat of a direct pre-cursor to what was to follow with the celebrated ‘Imaginary Sonicscape’ opus.

‘Dread Dreams’ was once more recorded at Shinjuku On Air Studio with J. Yamada, with a selection of guests including Damian Montgomery of Ritual Carnage lending lyrics plus guest vocals, along with King Fowley (Deceased), and Killjoy (Necrophagia) supplying additional song lyrics. Cover art came courtesy of renowned artist Joe Petagno (Motörhead, Autopsy).

Continuing with Peaceville’s re-issues of Sigh’s classic works, this edition of ‘Dread Dreams’ contains a new master created by Patrick Engel at Temple of Disharmony.

The release also includes a new interview with main-man Mirai Kawashima conducted by Dayal Patterson of Cult Never Dies, with his thoughts, influences and reflections on the album and its challenges.

Japanese black metal legends Sigh formed in 1989/1990. The genre-classic debut ‘Scorn Defeat’ followed on Euronymous’ Deathlike Silence Productions in 1993, and with each subsequent release, Sigh grew to become one of the country’s greatest and most revered metal exports. With a journey through the strange and the psychedelic, incorporating a whole eclectic mix of genre styles & experimentation throughout their career, Sigh has remained a vital creative force in the avantgarde field whilst maintaining their old school roots, as witnessed with the stellar 2022 album, ‘Shiki’. 2025 also saw Sigh remaking their ‘Hangman’s Hymn’ album for a release on Peaceville as part of the band’s 35th anniversary celebrations, in the shape of ‘I Saw the World’s End: Hangman’s Hymn MMXXV’.

With the ongoing early line-up of Mirai Kawashima, Shinichi Ishikawa, and Satoshi Fujinami, ‘Scenario IV: Dread Dreams’ was the band’s fourth studio album, originally surfacing in 1999. This was also notably the final title in partnership with Sigh’s then-label, Cacophonous Records. Delving evermore into the experimental side of music to conjure an interlinked gallery of twisted soundscapes; ‘Dread Dreams’ became more of a journey into the realm of psychedelia and rock over black metal, with this Zappa-inspired odyssey acting as somewhat of a direct pre-cursor to what was to follow with the celebrated ‘Imaginary Sonicscape’ opus.

‘Dread Dreams’ was once more recorded at Shinjuku On Air Studio with J. Yamada, with a selection of guests including Damian Montgomery of Ritual Carnage lending lyrics plus guest vocals, along with King Fowley (Deceased), and Killjoy (Necrophagia) supplying additional song lyrics. Cover art came courtesy of renowned artist Joe Petagno (Motörhead, Autopsy).

Continuing with Peaceville’s re-issues of Sigh’s classic works, this edition of ‘Dread Dreams’ contains a new master created by Patrick Engel at Temple of Disharmony.

The release also includes a new interview with main-man Mirai Kawashima conducted by Dayal Patterson of Cult Never Dies, with his thoughts, influences and reflections on the album and its challenges.

This edition of ‘Dread Dreams’ is presented on limited marble vinyl.

THE EPIC NEW STUDIO ALBUM FROM THE LONG-STANDING JAPANESE METAL PIONEERS, INCLUDING GUEST APPEARANCE FROM OPETH'S MIKAEL ÅKERFELDT.

Japanese metal pioneers Sigh formed in 1989/1990. Their genre-classic Black Metal debut ‘Scorn Defeat’ arrived in 1993, & with a subsequent journey through the strange & the psychedelic, incorporating a whole eclectic mix of genre styles & ideas throughout their career, Sigh has remained a vital creative force in the avantgarde field whilst maintaining their old school roots, as witnessed on the 2022 album (& first for Peaceville Records), ‘Shiki’. This was followed by the remaking of their ‘Hangman’s Hymn’ album as part of the band’s 35th anniversary celebrations, in the shape of ‘I Saw The World’s End: Hangman’s Hymn MMXXV’ (2025).

Considered as somewhat of a natural evolution, yet an even more diverse leap over the already compositionally & dynamically accomplished ‘Shiki’ opus, Sigh returns with ‘Goh-ka’; a new highlight of atmosphere, technical mastery, & meticulously arranged epics of metallic grandeur.

Main-man Mirai Kawashima notes this as being as equally personal an album as ‘Shiki’, both musically & lyrically. From a musical perspective, if you were to place the main ingredients of Celtic Frost, Voivod, Black Sabbath, horror movies & Japan into a cauldron & stir it, you will get ‘Goh-ka’. Numerous additional spices such as psychedelic rock, prog rock & classical music are also evident over the album’s close to one-hour duration.

The primary theme permeating the album is Kuso-zu; a series of Buddhist paintings or illustrations depicting the nine stages of a human body's decomposition after death, created to encourage meditation on the impermanence of life, the inevitability of death, & the detachment from physical beauty & worldly attachment. It openly shows the harsh reality that no matter how beautiful you are, you’ll be dead & rot sooner or later. And Kuso-shi is a poem based on these paintings. The artworks on the cover & in the booklet of ‘Goh-ka’ are therefore Kuso-zu themselves.

Among the additional contributors to the album, Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth notably delivers a special guest guitar solo on the track, ‘Unputenpu’.

This black double vinyl edition of ‘Goh-ka’ is presented in a gatefold sleeve and includes an alternative version of ‘Unputenpu’.

THE EPIC NEW STUDIO ALBUM FROM THE LONG-STANDING JAPANESE METAL PIONEERS, INCLUDING GUEST APPEARANCE FROM OPETH'S MIKAEL ÅKERFELDT.

Japanese metal pioneers Sigh formed in 1989/1990. Their genre-classic Black Metal debut ‘Scorn Defeat’ arrived in 1993, & with a subsequent journey through the strange & the psychedelic, incorporating a whole eclectic mix of genre styles & ideas throughout their career, Sigh has remained a vital creative force in the avantgarde field whilst maintaining their old school roots, as witnessed on the 2022 album (& first for Peaceville Records), ‘Shiki’. This was followed by the remaking of their ‘Hangman’s Hymn’ album as part of the band’s 35th anniversary celebrations, in the shape of ‘I Saw The World’s End: Hangman’s Hymn MMXXV’ (2025).

Considered as somewhat of a natural evolution, yet an even more diverse leap over the already compositionally & dynamically accomplished ‘Shiki’ opus, Sigh returns with ‘Goh-ka’; a new highlight of atmosphere, technical mastery, & meticulously arranged epics of metallic grandeur.

Main-man Mirai Kawashima notes this as being as equally personal an album as ‘Shiki’, both musically & lyrically. From a musical perspective, if you were to place the main ingredients of Celtic Frost, Voivod, Black Sabbath, horror movies & Japan into a cauldron & stir it, you will get ‘Goh-ka’. Numerous additional spices such as psychedelic rock, prog rock & classical music are also evident over the album’s close to one-hour duration.

The primary theme permeating the album is Kuso-zu; a series of Buddhist paintings or illustrations depicting the nine stages of a human body's decomposition after death, created to encourage meditation on the impermanence of life, the inevitability of death, & the detachment from physical beauty & worldly attachment. It openly shows the harsh reality that no matter how beautiful you are, you’ll be dead & rot sooner or later. And Kuso-shi is a poem based on these paintings. The artworks on the cover & in the booklet of ‘Goh-ka’ are therefore Kuso-zu themselves.

Among the additional contributors to the album, Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth notably delivers a special guest guitar solo on the track, ‘Unputenpu’.

Limited edition light green and blue combination double vinyl. Incl. bonus track

THE EPIC NEW STUDIO ALBUM FROM THE LONG-STANDING JAPANESE METAL PIONEERS, INCLUDING GUEST APPEARANCE FROM OPETH'S MIKAEL ÅKERFELDT.

Japanese metal pioneers Sigh formed in 1989/1990. Their genre-classic Black Metal debut ‘Scorn Defeat’ arrived in 1993, & with a subsequent journey through the strange & the psychedelic, incorporating a whole eclectic mix of genre styles & ideas throughout their career, Sigh has remained a vital creative force in the avantgarde field whilst maintaining their old school roots, as witnessed on the 2022 album (& first for Peaceville Records), ‘Shiki’. This was followed by the remaking of their ‘Hangman’s Hymn’ album as part of the band’s 35th anniversary celebrations, in the shape of ‘I Saw The World’s End: Hangman’s Hymn MMXXV’ (2025).

Considered as somewhat of a natural evolution, yet an even more diverse leap over the already compositionally & dynamically accomplished ‘Shiki’ opus, Sigh returns with ‘Goh-ka’; a new highlight of atmosphere, technical mastery, & meticulously arranged epics of metallic grandeur.

Main-man Mirai Kawashima notes this as being as equally personal an album as ‘Shiki’, both musically & lyrically. From a musical perspective, if you were to place the main ingredients of Celtic Frost, Voivod, Black Sabbath, horror movies & Japan into a cauldron & stir it, you will get ‘Goh-ka’. Numerous additional spices such as psychedelic rock, prog rock & classical music are also evident over the album’s close to one-hour duration.

The primary theme permeating the album is Kuso-zu; a series of Buddhist paintings or illustrations depicting the nine stages of a human body's decomposition after death, created to encourage meditation on the impermanence of life, the inevitability of death, & the detachment from physical beauty & worldly attachment. It openly shows the harsh reality that no matter how beautiful you are, you’ll be dead & rot sooner or later. And Kuso-shi is a poem based on these paintings. The artworks on the cover & in the booklet of ‘Goh-ka’ are therefore Kuso-zu themselves.

Among the additional contributors to the album, Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth notably delivers a special guest guitar solo on the track, ‘Unputenpu’.

This black double vinyl edition of ‘Goh-ka’ is presented in a gatefold sleeve and includes an alternative version of ‘Unputenpu’.

Includes free 10-track Sigh CD sampler.