BLACKENED THRASH MEETS CLASSICAL MUSIC, SET FOR RELEASE ON PEACEVILLE ON JUNE 13th 2025
This year, Japanese black metal legends Sigh celebrate 35 years of existence. With a career that has seen the release of 12 studio albums, countless worldwide shows, and a relentless dedication to pushing musical boundaries, they have firmly cemented their status as one of the most revered and influential cult acts in extreme metal.
To celebrate, Sigh have decided to revisit their 2007 opus, Hangman’s Hymn. A compositional powerhouse in its own right, Hangman’s Hymn was notably Sigh’s first concept album, blending fast 80s thrash metal influences from bands like Wehrmacht, Sarcofago, and Repulsion with classical music, particularly German symphonies. However, Hangman’s Hymn was often seen as not fully meeting the band’s own standards in terms of execution and production.
As a result, frontman Mirai Kawashima has taken it upon himself to do justice to this at times overlooked masterpiece of intricate songwriting by re-recording it with the current Sigh sound and delivery, under the title I Saw the World’s End – Hangman’s Hymn MMXXV. Set for release on Peaceville on June 13th.
I SAW THE WORLD’S END (HANGMAN’S HYMN MMXXV)
Introitus / Kyrie (MMXXV) [04:30]
Inked in Blood (MMXXV) [03:13]
Me-Devil (MMXXV) [03:19]
Dies Irae (MMXXV) [00:40]
The Master Malice (MMXXV) [04:46]
The Memories as a Sinner (MMXXV) [03:30]
Death with Dishonor (MMXXV) [03:08]
In Devil’s Arms (MMXXV) [04:32]
Overture (MMXXV) [01:14]
Rex Tremendae / I Saw the World’s End (MMXXV) [05:18]
Salvation in Flame / Confutatis (MMXXV) [05:22]
Finale: Hangman’s Hymn / In Paradisum / Das Ende (MMXXV) [04:47]
Mirai himself explains the background to the project:
“Hangman’s Hymn, which was released in 2007, is one of my best compositions of my whole career, but it does not necessarily mean that this is my favorite Sigh album. The excessively monotonous drumming must be the biggest issue. The guitars are sloppy. The production is far from the best. And my orchestrations and vocals could have been much better. So what if we re-record this with better musicians and today’s production?”
“The idea was always in my head, and finally the time has come to make it happen. I do know that re-recording can be the double-edged sword. “Scorn Defeat” has some flaws. So does “Imaginary Sonicscape”. But I will never ever re-record those albums as I am sure that it would lose their magic. But “Hangman’s Hymn” is an exception. You can easily tell what I mean if you listen to this completely re-recorded version”.
With Nozomu Wakai on guitar and the returning Mike Heller on drums, I Saw the World’s End – Hangman’s Hymn MMXXV is by far the fiercest, most brutal, and the most symphonic Sigh album to date, with the added flawless delivery of the new members and new orchestration with real orchestral instruments. The production by Lasse Lammert also brings a whole other dimension to the album with cover artwork courtesy of Eliran Cantor.
Japanese black metal legends Sigh formed in 1989/1990. The genre-classic debut Scorn Defeat followed on Euronymous’ Deathlike Silence Productions in 1993, and with each subsequent release, Sigh grew 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 avantgarde field, whilst maintaining their old school roots, as witnessed with the stellar 2022 album, Shiki.
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