Sigh

Japan's best-known black metal band Sigh has, over the years, also progressed into one of the genre's most experimental and simply unusual bands regardless of whereabouts. Their 1993 debut Scorn Defeat incorporated keyboards into lo-fi black metal, and would end up being the most straightforward release of the band's catalog, as their music grew more theatrical and complex with subsequent albums like 1997's Hail Horror Hail. By the time they released the acclaimed breakthrough Imaginary Sonicscape in 2001, their sound had become surreally eclectic, featuring dub breakdowns, piano sonatas, jazz fusion keyboards, ELO-esque arrangements, and much more. The band embraced more symphonic elements, choral vocals, and even saxophones on progressive metal albums like 2012's In Somniphobia. 2018's Heir to Despair and 2022's Shiki incorporated a variety of Central Asian and Middle Eastern influences, as well as several traditional Japanese instruments.