Sigh has long been a point of fascination for me as an, admittedly, very tenured music
listener.
When you listen to (or create, for that matter) music for an incredibly long time,
you start to pick up on song structuring, and, specifically, where your average musician
is going to go in terms of progression.
I never get that feeling with Sigh. Every album manages to, almost intentionally, redirect
away from what I would consider "traditional" songwriting, and it is always to the
project's benefit.
'Goh-Ka' is the band's 13th project (14 if you consider the re-recording of Hangman's
Hymn) but strangely feels the most personal.
Mirai, their songwriter, seems to associate his mental health with his sonic palette, and,
to me, it feels like the records became more hyper-focused on traditional Japanese
instruments and sounds as their lyrical basis become more and more concerned with what I
perceive to be the descending layers of his psyche.
The further down into the depths we go, the further that traditional Japanese sound
expands.
And that's an interesting concept.
Ultimately 'Goh-Ka', despite its best intentions to consistently befuddle its listeners,
provides the clearest portrait yet of the man who shaped the project for now more than 30
years, and is, in my opinion, more confirmation that the band is still one of the most
thought provoking, engaging, and intelligent acts in the wider metal net.
True confirmation of legend status.
4 Bumps | Bump |
