2022 - Black (early), Post-Black/Avant-Garde (now) from Japan
Detailed Description
Eastern Darkness contains a comprehensive collection of Sigh's early rare works showcasing the band's rapid musical evolution. 2CD edition with 12-page booklet featuring an interview with Mirai Kawashima about the early years of the band, along with his recollections of the origins of each title on the release. Cult Japanese black metal legends Sigh formed in 1989/90, featuring mainman Mirai Kawashima, Satoshi Fujinami & Kazuki Ozeki. Following initial demos, Shinichi Ishikawa was brought in to the band, & Kazuki removed from the line-up. It was following this shift that the band set about recording the masterpiece debut 'Scorn Defeat' for Euronymous' Deathlike Silence Productions, going on 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. However, at its core, Sigh has always remained true to its roots of old school metal. 'Eastern Darkness' contains a comprehensive collection of Sigh's early rare works showing their swift musical evolution as well as the strong utilisation of keyboards in their compositional process throughout. The collection includes the band's legendary demo tapes, 'Desolation', and 'Tragedies', plus their EPs and rarities, as well as contributions to various compilation releases in the mid 1990s. Considering Sigh's well-known regard for UK legends Venom throughout their career, 'Eastern Darkness' also contains the band's own tribute to the 1980s black metal pioneers, in the form of tribute 'To Hell and Back', originally released on tape in 1995.