Band:	Sigh
Album:	Heir To Despair
Style:	Avantgarde metal, Black metal
Release date:	November 2018

01. Aletheia
02. Homo Homini Lupus [feat. Phil Anselmo]
03. Hunters Not Horned
04. In Memories Delusional
05. Heresy I: Oblivium
06. Heresy II: Acosmism
07. Heresy III: Sub Species Aeternitatis
08. Hands Of The String Puller
09. Heir To Despair

Engaging with a new Sigh album is a lot like being presented with a gigantic trash bag filled with candy. You're not quite sure what's inside, but past experiences have taught you that whatever's in there, it'll probably be pretty sweet.

Sigh are a band who retain a core aesthetic across their discography despite crafting something entirely distinct each time around. While new releases will more or less adhere to their pre-established Avant-garde formula, they are always unique creations unto themselves as well. In this regard, while 2018's Heir To Despair unquestionably has the Sigh mark stamped all over it, it also feels considerably different from the past three or four albums we've gotten out these wacky experimentalists. Seeming to embrace themes of depression and mental instability, it's darker (see the "Heresy" tracks), much more crunchy and catchy in an almost classic heavy metal kind of way ("Hunters Not Horned"), and feels more reflective of the band's cultural background than perhaps ever, with lyrics now in Japanese and more folk instrumentation than usual, notably Taishogoto use from Mirai.

As usual with a Sigh album, it's difficult to really pinpoint the exact sound of Heir To Despair down to a T due to the fact that there are simply so many different influences at play both within and between its tracks. Drawing particular attention is the presence of flute on this album, at times following along with the riffs laid down by the guitar, and at times wandering off into its own melodies as well (this makes Sigh evolve into Fligh, in case you were wondering). Keyboard exploitation, beautiful vocal harmonization, and a whole range of bizarre audio samples abound to help reinforce the album's psychological undertones. And oddly or not, the trademark saxophone of Dr. Mikkanibal is a lot less utilized on Heir To Despair than it was on some of Sigh's previous efforts, which comes as slightly disappointing, but given the sheer quality of the other aspects of the music here gets a pass from this reviewer as forgivable.

A lot of times I like to think of Sigh as something like the metal genre's Frank Zappa, because the overall atmosphere they conjure with their music is very much the same: playful, blatantly out of line with conventional songwriting, and enjoyable from a wide range of perspectives. With its puzzling but memorable fusion of folk, black metal, electronics, and heavy metal type riffage all served in varying doses throughout its tracks, Heir To Despair has something to offer for fans of the lighter aspects of metal, the heavier ones, and everything in between. Sigh have triumphed yet again with this album, and it's simply one more worthy addition to their ever expanding, multidimensional, and fun-as-all-hell saga.

Well don't just sit right there, go get the despair.