{"id":1184571,"date":"2026-09-03T18:19:19","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T18:19:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1184571\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T18:19:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T18:19:19","slug":"sigh-goh-ka-review-angry-metal-guy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1184571\/","title":{"rendered":"Sigh – Goh-Ka Review | Angry Metal Guy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Great records offer something deeper than what glimmers on the surface, whether conceptual, musical, emotional or otherwise. Without at least one of these tethers, connecting with an album beyond a cursory listen presents significant challenges. Yet the best music, the kind that transforms listening into an experience, extends multiple threads with which to affix. It\u2019s no wonder, then, that I resonate with Sigh<\/strong>\u2019s oeuvre with such soul-plumbing profundity. Their concepts pierce with poignant potency, their compositions astound with instrumental m\u00e9langes that seem unthinkable on paper but coalesce exquisitely in fact, and Sigh\u2019s <\/strong>main man, Mirai Kawashima radiates a charismatic earnestness within his music that I find utterly charming. Now, thirteenth album Goh-Ka is here, and once again we must cast a critical eye toward one of metal\u2019s most singular entities. After thirty-six years, can Tokyo\u2019s wonderfully weird export still Goh the distance?<\/p>\n

Many of Sigh<\/strong>\u2019s albums flaunt high concepts, and their recent output has centered around psychological and mortal themes that prove morbidly fascinating. In Somniphobia<\/a> explores the opaque limbo between the waking world and sleep, Hangman\u2019s Hymn<\/a> details the final thoughts of a sinful man leading up to his execution, and Shiki got personal for Kawashima, where he allegorizes the inevitability of death with the four seasons. Goh-Ka serves as a natural progression from Shiki, its conceptual inspirations drawn from Kuso-zu, \u2018a series of Buddhist illustrations depicting the nine stages of a human body\u2019s decomposition after death, created to encourage meditation on the impermanence of life.\u2019 Although Goh-Ka\u2019s premise of decomposition and the ephemeral nature of existence might seem like it requires a dour soundtrack, Kawashima & Co. instead manifest these themes with competing currents of ebullience and pensiveness.<\/p>\n

\ufeffGoh-Ka by Sigh<\/a><\/p>\n

Sigh<\/strong> sounds as vibrant as ever on Goh-Ka, welding together an eclectic amalgam of instruments and styles that guides listeners through a kaleidoscopic haze of one of their lushest sonicscapes to date. Flitting melodies and crushing riffs crash and congeal on \u201cAnzenshokon,\u201d which starts with layered, modulated vocals recalling Black Sabbath<\/strong>\u2019s \u201cPlanet Caravan,\u201d supported by flute and tribal drumming. Then come the implacable riffs and Mirai\u2019s harsh rasps, inciting a stimulating duality as the track progresses. \u201cJinmenjushin\u201d exhibits another enthralling back-and-forth modality, beginning with a creepy crawl reminiscent of Slayer<\/strong>\u2019s \u201cSouth of Heaven\u201d that quickly ramps up the speed into a hyper-melodic chorus lightly recalling Imperial Circus Dead Decadence<\/strong><\/a>. The performances on Goh-Ka astound with stunning muscle and violent grace, where myriad ideas weave together into a gorgeous tapestry of avant-garde black metal. Mike Heller\u2019s contributions underpin all the tracks with impossibly deft rhythms and grooves, squeezing in rabid fusillades one moment and swinging into a subtle shuffle the next (\u201cKuso-shi 1, 2, and 3,\u201d \u201cJigoku-Zoshi 1: Unkamusho\u201d). Ginzaburo Abe lays down some striking shamisen (\u201cUnputenpu,\u201d \u201cKuso-shi 1, 2, and 3\u201d), imbuing Goh-Ka with a tantalizing folksiness, and Mirai\u2019s keyboards ground the record with classic hard rock heft.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Goh-Ka unquestionably delivers conceptual and musical depth, yet it\u2019s the emotional well I drink from deepest. Despite the macabre backdrop of death and decomposition, overwhelming doses of joy and catharsis saturate Sigh<\/strong>\u2019s latest. Lead single \u201cUnputenpu\u201d is downright effervescent, and Mikael \u00c5kerfeldt furnishes the perfect guest spot on a song that so readily evokes the psychedelic flourishes of 2010s Opeth<\/strong>. \u201cKuso-shi 4, 5, and 6\u201d smolders with seesawing dispositions of pathos and release, electrifying me each listen with its seamless balance between the two. The latter half of \u201cKuso-shi 8 and 9: Mettaijakujo\u201d likewise bubbles with an uplifting spirit even as tumultuous elements buffet the heavily synth-backed passages. By the song\u2019s end, a satisfying finality cements the perfect capstone on an album fraught with essential moments.<\/p>\n

Each time I spin Goh-Ka, I fall in love all over again. After thirty-six years and thirteen albums, Sigh<\/strong> remains unflappably equipped to slap. Their music teems with intricate layers and a boundless eccentricity that allows each release to stand on its own while always adhering to their uniquely fabulous voice. Sure, the slow fadeout from \u201cJinmenjushin\u201d might stretch a tad too long and \u201cKuso-shi 7\u201d feels dispensable compared to the rest, but in the end Goh-Ka leaves me in awe of the depth of Sigh<\/strong>\u2019s vision and daring. If you were worried about Angry Metal Guy\u2019s Law of Diminishing Recordings\u2122 setting its sights on Sigh<\/strong>, don\u2019t. Instead, you can rest easy knowing Sigh <\/strong>continues to Goh the extra mile on their best album since In Somniphobia.<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: Excellent!
DR<\/strong>: 8 | Format Reviewed<\/strong>: 320 kbps mp3
Label<\/strong>: Peaceville Records<\/a>
Websites<\/strong>: Bandcamp<\/a> | Facebook<\/a> | Instagram<\/a>
Releases<\/strong> Worldwide<\/strong>: September 4th, 2026<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:\n<\/p>\n