Review: Sigh – Goh-Ka
Artwork by: Maciej Kamuda
Style: Progressive Metal, Folk Metal, Avant-Garde Metal, Black Metal (Mixed Vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Thy Catafalque, Diablo Swing Orchestra, Arcturus
Country: Japan
Release date: 4 September 2026
My familiarity with Japan’s long-standing avant-garde black metal act Sigh began with 2022’s Shiki, so to say I’m a newcomer would be a generous understatement. I’m not even entirely sure what put Shiki on my radar, though if memory serves it was an impulse buy at a (semi-)local record store; I make it a habit to buy at least one album from a band I’m unfamiliar with so I guess Sigh won the lottery that day. Point is, if you’re reading this looking for insight from a long-time fan, then I’ll have little to offer. But, if you’re like me and perhaps just discovering this band for the first time, then hopefully what follows will help you decide if their latest, Goh-Ka, is worth your time.
Goh-Ka is a beautifully robust-sounding record. The mix / master job by Lasse Lammert affords a wonderful punch to contributing drummer Mike Heller’s kitwork while never burying the more gentle elements, like the bevy of traditional Japanese instruments brought to bear by (mostly) Mirai Kawashima and Dr. Mikannibal. Guitars rip, tear, and soar uncompromised, placed perfectly amidst their fellow instruments (and Kawashima’s vocals) that even in the chaos of Goh-Ka’s more black metal-infused moments (“Jigoku-Zoshi 1 – Unkamusho”, “Jigoku-Zoshi 2 – Tokatsujigoku”) clarity is never sacrificed at the altar of raw primal force or heaviness. Which is great, because Goh-Ka is filled with all sorts of flourishes, tight performances, and sonic textures—whether that’s the Sevenfold-ian guitar drama laid down by Nozumu Wakai, the breathy flutework, or the multi-layered percussions—the loss of any to a torrid mix job would have crippled the album.
This is normally the part of the review where I’d start divvying out critiques or nitpicks, but the truth is Goh-Ka makes a strong case for just being a rock-solid, engaging, and downright fun record. Yes, there’s some unnecessary interludes like “Shoso” and “Kushukankyo”, and “Kuso-shi 7” borders on the sort of Tool-like filler that, while somewhat unsettling, doesn’t really add much to the overall experience. And sure, “Kuso-shi 4, 5, and 6” brushes up against the grating edge of repetition at times. But none of these things ever once derailed my enjoyment of the album. In the case of “Kushukankyo”, I find the instrumentation to be a pleasant delight, its intersplicing of Japanese flute-playing with strutting percussion and acoustic strumming immersing me in imagery of a lone ronin riding out into the sunset across fields of verdant green, shamisen strapped to their back, swords rattling at their hip, ready to face whatever journey lay ahead.1 Not every track has the immediate lift-off and playlist-ready stylings of “Unputenpu” (complete with guest solo by metalheads’ favorite Swede, Mikael Åkerfeldt) or the “Jigoku-Zoshi” duology, but that only serves to make Goh-Ka feel more vital when experienced as a whole. Some rev you up; others, like “Kuso-shi 8 and 9 _ Mettajiakujo” ask that you sit back in contemplation.
Sigh make that easy to do with their spirited blend of metal and traditional Japanese instruments. Rather than construct compositions in a way that put a spotlight on these diverse instruments (and so risk making gimmicks of them), Sigh treat them as holistic elements, partners on equal footing with the guitars, bass, and drums. They are part and parcel of a song, not some isolated moment to be pointed at as a unique musical moment in an otherwise bog-standard metal composition. This makes Goh-Ka a delight to revisit, as with every spin I’ve heard some new wrinkle to the music that I missed before, like a puzzle box with untold permutations to be unlocked. Add to that Sigh’s ability to craft catchy melodies and structures within an avant-garde framework and replays are inevitable.
Perhaps long-time fans will share a different view on Sigh’s modern era—thirty-six years is a long time to be in operation, and I’m sure the band were even more expressive in their youth. For a relative neophyte such as myself, however, Goh-Ka feels representative of the sort of veteran craftsmanship one would hope for: confident and polished while still teeming with inspiration and energy. Despite the idea that being a progressive band invites thoughts of never-ending creativity, the sad fact is that ruts can capture anyone. Three decades is a long time to be doing anything, to say nothing of making music. Yet Sigh sound far from tired here. In fact, I’d wager there’s plenty of breath left in those lungs.
Recommended tracks: Kuso-shi 1, 2, and 3; Unputenpu; “Jigoku-Zoshi” (1 + 2)
You may also like: SubMasq, Kraanerg, Solefald, Unexpext, Oranssi Pazuzu
Final verdict: 7.5/10
Related links: Facebook | Instagram
Label: Peaceville Records
Sigh is:
– Mirai Kawashima (vocals, keyboards, flute, shinobue, shakuhachi, koto, hichiriki, taishōgoto, sheng, hulusi, shruti box)
– Dr. Mikannibal (vocals, saxophone, shamisen)
– Nozomu Wakai (guitars)
With guests:
– Million Kano (backing vocals)
– Billion Kano (backing vocals)
– Yukiko Shibutani (bass, backing vocals on “Unputenpu”)
– Ginzaburo Abe (shamisen on “Kuso-shi 1, 2, and 3” & “Unputenpu”)
– Mikael Åkerfeldt (lead guitar on “Unputenpu”)
– Frédéric Leclercq (bass)
– Mike Heller (drums, bongos, conga, timbales, bells, wood block, steel drums, maracas, tambourine)
– Jill (violin on “Kuso-shi 4, 5, and 6”)
– Hiroshi Yamanaka (vocals on “Kuso-shi 1, 2, and 3”)
– Masayoshi Takanaka (Wadaiko, Surigane on “Kuso-shi 1, 2, and 3” & “Kuso-shi 4, 5, and 6”)
- It probably doesn’t help that I’ve been playing Ghost of Yotei again, too. ↩︎
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