Following the announcement of the band’s new live album, “Live: Eastern Forces Of Evil 2022” and first single “Mayonaka Νo Kaii”, Japanese Black/Avant-garde Metal legends SIGH, have unveiled a live video for “A Victory Of Dakini”, the second single of their upcoming album. “Live: Eastern Forces Of Evil 2022”, will be out on June 16th via Peaceville Records.
The track is taken from the band’s visionary album “Scorn Defeat”, which the band will be performing in full, later this year at the UK’s Damnation Festival. The track, reminds us of the band’s beginnings and explores their more primitive style that would come to progressive into the fully fledged SIGH sound we know now.
The song details the story of a Japanese goddess Dakini that rides on a white fox, according to Buddhist religion. Kujaku-Ou is a Japanese manga published around 1988 – 1991 and in it featured a lot of oriental occultism and were often the inspiration behind SIGH’s early material. Originally Dakiki is a goddess from India that would eat human flesh, however in Japan she is considered to be the goddess of sexual lust.
Mirai elaborates below: ” ‘A Victory of Dakini’ is the opening track of our debut album ‘Scorn Defeat’. I believe the first track of the first album is something special for most bands, and this is true to our case, too. Of course the song is way more primitive and simpler than what we are doing today, but obviously it’s got a magic feeling, which we will never ever recapture. Dakini is a goddess riding on a white fox in Buddhism. I wrote this song inspired by a Japanese manga, ‘Kujaku-ou’.”
“A Victory Of Dakini” kicks off the live performance with ominous chanting before SIGH’s signature Death Metal crawl begins, conjuring all manner of otherworldly entities. The song itself is a masterful blend of Japanese culture with angular Death Metal precision, a style that has only been improved upon with each release right up until 2022’s “Shiki”.
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 & mainman Mirai Kawashima on bass/vocals, Dr. Mikannibal on vocals/saxophone, Nozomu Wakai on guitar, and Takeo Shimoda on drums.
SIGH formed in 1989/90, featuring mainman Mirai Kawashima, Satoshi Fujinami & Kazuki Ozeki. Following initial demos, Shinichi Ishikawa was brought in to 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 and experimentation throughout their career, SIGH has remained a vital creative force in the avantgarde field. However, at its core, 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.
“Live: Eastern Forces Of Evil 2022” track listing:
- Touji no Asa
- A Victory of Dakini
- Purgatorium
- The Transfiguration Fear
- Kuroi Kage
- Shingontachikawa
- Mayonaka no Kaii
- Shoujahitsumetsu
- The Soul Grave
- Introitus
- Inked in Blood
- Me-Devil
- Satsui
- Evil Dead
You can watch the live video for “A Victory Of Dakini” below:
