Sigh | Artist

Sigh is a Japanese experimental metal band formed 1989 in Tokyo by Mirai Kawashima (bass, vocals, keyboards, flute), Satoshi Fujinami (guitar, bass, drums, percussion), Yuko K. (keyboards) and Kazuki Ozeki (drums). The present day lineup comprises the mainstay Mirai Kawashima along with Dr. Mikannibal (vocals, alto saxophone), Satoshi Fujinami (bass), Junichi Harashima (drums) and Nozomu Wakai (guitar). Initially founded as a Nordic-influenced black metal band, they gradually shifted from a traditional extreme metal sound to a more experimental, avant-garde style employing symphonic, world music, and progressive elements. Their early demo's attracted the attention of Norwegian black metal musician and producer Euronymous, from the band Mayhem, who signed Sigh to his label Deathlike Silence Records. That label also released Sigh's first full-length album Scorn Defeat in August 1993. Prior to the album's release, Euronymous was murdered by fellow musician and former bandmate Varg Vikernes. Following a series of strong early albums, Sigh found greater recognition with their excellent fifth release Imaginary Sonicscape, which was praised for pioneering a new genre of 'surrealist black metal', with one reviewer enthusing: "A really fantastic collection of trippy, weird Japanese metal. The instrumentation is equally colorful and heavy but also really catchy. Love this album." To-date, Sigh has released 13 consistently strong studio albums to-date, with the most recent,I Saw the World's End (Hangman's Hymn MMXXV), being released in 2026. Standout albums include Hail Horror Hail (1997), Imaginary Sonicscape (2001), In Somniphobia (2012), Shiki (2022), and I Saw the World's End (2025). The titles of the band's major releases follow an acrostic pattern of the word "SIGH" repeated: Scorn Defeat, Infidel Art, Ghastly Funeral Theatre, Hail Horror Hail, etcetera. Female singer and saxophonist Dr. Mikannibal, who is married to Mirai Kawashima, and is indeed a real doctor with a PhD in Physics. Before joining Sigh in 2007, she sang in Japanese bands 29Jaguar and Providence, and recorded with bands such as Taake and Sinsaenum.

Artist Website: wikipedia/Sigh_(band)

Featured Albums: Sigh

Related Artists: Mirai Kawashima, Hellchild