Sigh – Scorn Defeat (1993)

March 18, 2022

I am very much late to the party here. I saw Sigh in I think 2010 at a French music festival. Before that, my only real experience with the group was seeing their albums advertised inside my copy of Principle Of Evil Made Flesh (I think they may have been on the same label as Cradle Of Filth at one point). Anyways, I wasn’t blown away by the live show (particularly how they piped a whole orchestra’s worth of instruments through the PA), so I never really got around to listening to Sigh properly, despite my friend (and once LIW contributor) Gumpy insisting otherwise.

Scorn Defeat is intense. There is a lot to unpack here, thankfully however this is a task that is almost fun thanks to the old school yet clear production; yes, headphones on, eyes closed, trying to make sense of everything that is being presented to me aurally. Truly, this is blackened thrash at its core, dare I use the term. I’m talking a backbone of Venom and Bathory and even a little bit of Possessed, but then comes the weird and kooky twists, and not to mention, the stunning, catch-you-off-guard keyboard parts and bizarre vocals.