Where does Sigh go from here? Only time will tell. For a band that’s always been impossible to predict and at times harder to decipher, Heir to Despair serves as a testament to their abilities.
It’s the mix of all these elements — the willingness to experiment, the grasp of the fundamentals, and the mastery of atmospherics — that make Heir to Despair the kind of release that everyone — and I do mean EVERYone — should experience at least twice (there is simply no way your mind is going to be able to properly take the whole thing in with just one listen).
By nailing prog rock, epic metal and Japanese traditional music, Sigh have probably dug themselves into a niche that could be impossible to get out of. But if any album could, it's Heir to Despair.
In a discography full of records that sound unmistakably like Sigh despite often not sounding anything like each other, Heir to Despair fits in perfectly. The instantly recognizable riffs, inspired songwriting bits, a production that is just a bit muffled and just a little bit off, the passages of black metal aggression, and a general feel of insane joy are all still here and should delight fans.
Day 28/325: Avant-Garde Metal
Finally done with all genres in the letter A. I'm going to take a short brake from the challenge before continuing with B. In the meantime I'm making a list ranking all the albums from best to worst and this record sadly won't make it very far up i think.
As much as the textures vibrate and contort through each track in a very avant-garde metal fashion, when the quality sounds too rich, squeaky, and like generic heavy metal, it ends up sounding more like Avenge Sevenfold than it does black metal or visual kei, (visual kei that's exciting to me at least). Heir to Despair is in whole a quirky record, which makes sense for Sigh. Unfortunately, I fall short from being too invested with this thing because of how quirky and everywhere the outside ... read more
So I definitely didn't love this album, but there were a few songs that were super interesting to listen to. I had expected a more co-ed vocal breakdown, but I still enjoyed this sound. I wouldn't probably listen to anything off this album again, except for maybe a handful of songs (just because there was a lot happening that was kind of cool). It's just not something I especially like.
<3 Heresy I: Oblivium, Heresy II: Acosmism
Musically this is a very cool and unique metal album. I liked the use of electronic elements and the flute. But I could not understand anything they were saying. The creaming in Japanese was exciting though.