Cult Japanese black metal legends Sigh formed in 1989/90, featuring mainman Mirai Kawashima, Satoshi Fujinami & Kazuki Ozeki. Following initial demos, Shinichi Ishikawa was brought into the band, & Kazuki removed from the line-up. It was following this shift that the band set about recording the masterpiece debut Scorn Defeat for Euronymous’ Deathlike Silence Productions, going on to become one of the country’s greatest & most revered metal exports. With a journey through the strange & the psychedelic, incorporating a whole eclectic mix of genre styles & experimentation throughout their career, Sigh has remained a vital creative force in the avantgarde field. However, at its core, Sigh has always remained true to its roots of old school metal.
Eastern Darkness contains a comprehensive collection of Sigh’s early rare works showing their swift musical evolution as well as the strong utilisation of keyboards in their compositional process throughout. The collection includes the band’s legendary demo tapes, ‘Desolation’, & ‘Tragedies’, plus their EP’s & rarities, as well as contributions to various compilation releases in the mid 1990’s. Considering Sigh’s well-known regard for UK legends Venom throughout their career, Eastern Darkness also contains the band’s own tribute to the 1980s black metal pioneers, in the form of tribute ‘To Hell and Back’, originally released on tape in 1995.
This edition of Eastern Darkness is presented on double disc CD format & includes a 12-page booklet featuring an interview with Mirai Kawashima about the early years of the band, along with his recollections of the origins of each title contained within the release, three decades on from Sigh’s formation.
DISC 1
1. Weakness Within (Desolation - Demo) (June 1990) (03:02)
2. Desolation Of My Mind (Desolation - Demo) (June 1990) (03:17)
3. Mentally Numb (Desolation - Demo) (June 1990) (00:58)
4. Death Throes (Tragedies - Demo) (6th December 1990) (04:56)
5. Sigh (Tragedies - Demo) (6th December 1990) (02:07)
6. Mentally Numb (Tragedies - Demo) (6th December 1990) (01:05)
7. Desolation Of My Mind (Tragedies - Demo) (6th December 1990) (04:33)
8. The Knell (Requiem For Fools EP - 1992) (03:15)
9. Desolation (Requiem For Fools EP - 1992) (04:00)
10. Taste Defeat (Requiem For Fools EP - 1992) (07:20)
11. The Zombie Terror (Far East Gate In Inferno - Compilation) (09:32)
DISC 2
1. Suicidogenic (Split EP with Kawir) (1994) (03:04)
2. Schizo (Split EP with Kawir) (1994) (03:15)
3. Carnage (Vinyl Collectors LP) (03:11)
4. The Seven Gates Of Hell (Vinyl Collectors LP) (04:33)
5. Black Metal (Vinyl Collectors LP) (02:37)
6. The Shadowking (Vinyl Collectors LP) (07:16)
7. Black Metal (To Hell & Back: Sigh`s Tribute To Venom - 1995) (02:31)
8. The Seven Gates Of Hell (To Hell & Back: Sigh`s Tribute To Venom - 1995) (04:28)
9. Schizo (To Hell & Back: Sigh`s Tribute To Venom - 1995) (02:58)
10. Welcome To Hell (To Hell & Back: Sigh`s Tribute To Venom - 1995) (02:47)
11. Poison (To Hell & Back: Sigh`s Tribute To Venom - 1995) (03:49)
12. Witching Hour (To Hell & Back: Sigh`s Tribute To Venom - 1995) (02:24)
