DOUBLE-DISC EDITION OF SIGH’S FOURTH STUDIO ALBUM OF DARK, EXPERIMENTAL METAL, NOW ON PEACEVILLE. WITH NEW AUDIO REMASTER, BONUS DISC INCLUDING ADDITIONAL NEWLY RECORDED ARRANGEMENTS AND INSTRUMENTATION, AND BOOKLET CONTAINING AN INTERVIEW WITH MIRAI KAWASHIMA.

 

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’. 2025 also saw Sigh remaking their ‘Hangman’s Hymn’ album for a release on Peaceville as part of the band’s 35th anniversary celebrations, in the shape of ‘I Saw the World’s End: Hangman’s Hymn MMXXV’.

 

With the ongoing early line-up of Mirai Kawashima, Shinichi Ishikawa, and Satoshi Fujinami, ‘Scenario IV: Dread Dreams’ was the band’s fourth studio album, originally surfacing in 1999. This was also notably the final title in partnership with Sigh’s then-label, Cacophonous Records. Delving evermore into the experimental side of music to conjure an interlinked gallery of twisted soundscapes; ‘Dread Dreams’ became more of a journey into the realm of psychedelia and rock over black metal, with this Zappa-inspired odyssey acting as somewhat of a direct pre-cursor to what was to follow with the celebrated ‘Imaginary Sonicscape’ opus.

 

‘Dread Dreams’ was once more recorded at Shinjuku On Air Studio with J. Yamada, with a selection of guests including Damian Montgomery of Ritual Carnage lending lyrics plus guest vocals, along with King Fowley (Deceased), and Killjoy (Necrophagia) supplying additional song lyrics. Cover art came courtesy of renowned artist Joe Petagno (Motörhead, Autopsy).

 

Continuing with Peaceville’s re-issues of Sigh’s classic works, this edition of ‘Dread Dreams’ contains a new master created by Patrick Engel at Temple of Disharmony.

 

The release also includes a new interview with main-man Mirai Kawashima conducted by Dayal Patterson of Cult Never Dies, with his thoughts, influences and reflections on the album and its challenges.

 

This special double-disc edition of ‘Scenario IV: Dread Dreams’ includes an extra disc containing the album but with newly arranged parts and freshly recorded instrumentation, made by Mirai Kawashima in 2025.