SIGH UNVEIL FIRST SINGLE ‘MAYONAKA NO KAII’ TAKEN FROM ‘LIVE: EASTERN FORCES OF EVIL 2022’

18th May 2023 0 By Jon Deaux

Following the announcement of the band’s new live album, ‘Live: Eastern Forces of Evil 2022’, Sigh now give us the first experience of what fans can expect in the form of the performance of ‘Mayonaka no Kaii’.

Taken from 2022’s ‘Shiki’ album, ‘Mayonaka no Kaii’ brings with it a spectral atmosphere which is no coincidence considering Mirai’s frightful experience that informed the song.

At exactly 00:00 am Mirai was woken up and after a quick trip to the bathroom, quickly returned to his slumber. Yet, despite what felt like a few hours, he woke up and was faced once more with the clock face at exactly 00:00 am. Thinking the battery in his clock was dead, he looked at his phone, and to his surprise there it was, 00:00 am as well… A truly otherworldly and inexplicable experience.

Mirai elaborates below:

“Mayonaka no Kaii”, which is based on my eerie experience, is my favorite track off the latest album “Shiki” released last year, and it’s been always on the setlist since it was out. It got all the elements Sigh has from Hammond solo, shakuhachi solo, flute solo, vocoder, and so on. Also, it definitely is a fun-to-play song. The adrenalin starts to flow toward the end!

He continues: “I’m not a person, who easily confuses dreams and reality. I clearly remember going to the toilet at the first alarm, and I took the watch out of the room after the second one, so neither of these was a dream. This was the first experience in my life that I cannot logically explain at all. It was SO scary.If you have a similar story, let me know.”

The video, taken from their live performance, matches the eclecticism of the band’s sound to deliver a theatrical clip that gives ‘Mayonaka no Kaii’ a blood-drenched new lease of life.

With a title referencing the band’s original underground live release ‘The Eastern Force of Evil’ released back in 1997, this new performance captured recently in Japan features the line-up of founder & main man Mirai Kawashima on bass/vocals, Dr. Mikannibal on vocals/saxophone, Nozomu Wakai on guitar, and Takeo Shimoda on drums.

‘Live: The Eastern Forces of Evil 2022’ will be released on a 2-disc CD/DVD set / LP / Digitally

Preorder the album here https://sighpeaceville.lnk.to/liveeasternforces2022

The CD/DVD edition of includes both audio and visual presentations of the show, and also features 2 extra tracks, including a cover of the Death classic, ‘Evil Dead’. The DVD also includes 3 additional promo video tracks in the shape of ‘Mayonaka No Kaii’, ‘Satsui’, and ‘Shoujahitsumetsu’.

‘Live: The Eastern Forces of Evil 2022’ track listing:

OPENING-Touji No Asa (live) [01:31]
A Victory of Dakini (live) [05:59]
Purgatorium (live) [04:48]
The Transfiguration Fear (live) [04:00]
Kuroi Kage (live) [07:46]
Shingontachikawa (live) [04:51]
Mayonaka no Kaii (live) [05:39]
Shoujahitsumetsu (live) [03:54]
The Soul Grave (live) [04:04]
Introitus (live) [03:04]
Inked In Blood (live) [03:07]
Me-Devil (live) [03:06]
Satsui (live) [04:27]
Evil Dead-ENDING (live) [04:07]

The band has announced they’ll be performing at two festivals later this year – Netherlands Samhain Festival and UK’s Damnation Festival (2 different sets) including ‘Scorn Defeat’ in its entirety.

28 / 29. 10. 2023 – NL – Samhain Festival – Muziekgieterij, Maastricht

03 + 04.11/23 – UK – Damnation Festival – BEC Arena Manchester

ABOUT SIGH

Cult Japanese black metal legends Sigh formed in 1989/90, featuring main man Mirai Kawashima, Satoshi Fujinami & Kazuki Ozeki. Following initial demos, Shinichi Ishikawa was brought into the band. It was following this shift that Sigh set about recording the masterpiece debut ‘Scorn Defeat’ for the then-Mayhem guitarist Euronymous’ Deathlike Silence Productions, going on to become one of the country’s greatest and most revered metal exports. With a journey through the strange and the psychedelic, incorporating a whole eclectic mix of genre styles & experimentation throughout their career, Sigh has remained a vital creative force in the avant-garde field. However, at its core, Sigh has always remained true to its roots of old-school metal, and 2022’s ‘Shiki’ album represented a new high point for the band, encapsulating all that was endearing about Sigh, with a perfect mix of styles and injection of eastern flair.