Review Summary: Scenes From Hell balances eclecticism and heaviness until it churns out an exceptional metal release.
Years go by, and creative forces effortlessly repeat what has been done before and therefore what will surely be done again. Some artists will surely try to replicate the creation made by the forefather of a specific kind of artistry. The same rings true for authors and musicians. Currently, the field of innovation struggles to break free from the dry spell that has plagued it for what seems to be an eon. Nevertheless, a shower of rain does fall over this dry, forgotten prairie. Subsequently, innovative, original forms of art are born; Sigh's eighth full-length album,
Scenes From Hell, is just one of the many spawn of these rain showers.
Showing eclecticism at its finest,
Scenes From Hell passes up no opportunity to meld experimentation with cohesion. On “The Soul Grave”, instrumental arrangements similar to Celtic material reappear numerously. However, they are placed atop extreme metal musicianship in such a way that cohesion is not lost. Throughout the album, a jazz ensemble also becomes an evident element of the sound showcased on
Scenes From Hell. Just as evident are the strings, which combine forces to create both eerie soundscapes and rich, classical arrangements that accent the pre-existing composition. Music for trumpet, piccolo, and flute have also been written, but the claustrophobic textures that are on
Scenes From Hell range from keyboard solos to saxophone falls. This is not to say that blackened-death metal characteristics are absent; there are just as many as the characteristics of avant-garde material. “Summer Funeral” begins with a slow, sludgy riff and raspy vocals atop the instrumentation. Call-and-response vocals mesh with blast-beats on “Vanitas”, and unlike “Summer Funeral”, “Vanitas” emphasizes speed as well. Despite the phenomenal take on eclecticism, there are some faults to this record.
The vocals, at times, do become monotonous. Cliché rasps and growls are exemplified on this album, and never used in a very interesting way, save for the beginning of “Vanitas”. The switch of pitch also are very expected, just as the lyrics are. Standard death-metal fare is served on this album incessantly. Gore is referenced as many times as the gates of Hell. Despite the fact that
Scenes From Hell utilizes a theme (each track relates to Hell in some way, hence the name,
Scenes From Hell), nothing interesting is done with it. Rather than Dante's Inferno, Sigh settle for what Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones would have been had it taken place in Hell rather than Heaven. However, the rest of the album is noteworthy. Sigh continually meld genres in unique and, more importantly, interesting ways. The musicianship is technical, but not so overwhelming that it crosses the line of unsettling Sigh have created a superb album that balances eclecticism and heaviness, while still intriguing to the listener. Therefore,
Scenes From Hell is one of the most claustrophobic, experimental metal releases to be released for a long while.
