Sigh are the mysterious metal band that nobody's really heard about and for the few in the know, they are the critical choice for discerning tastes. I've never tried them out until this new release on the visible Century Media label. It's an interesting listen of well-played and wildly diversified music. I would have never known reading of previous Sigh descriptions and beholding album covers of grotesque imagery. In brilliant orange line drawings of groovy yet Far Eastern mythology amidst a pastel green background and European typography, Imaginary Sonicscapes, even to consider by album cover alone, is very groovy. I vaguely remember my dad's pop art album covers of Earth Wind and Fire and Isao Tomita - groovy. Album covers do justice to this music: groovy 60s and 70s in addition to metal.

Such is the retro styling of music Japan in the last few years. Walking down Japantown I would be used to seeing glamorous music VCDs and laserdiscs on big screens. Listening to this album I could imagine Sigh here as well. Never mind the raspy vocals and horrific metal that they represent. It's all packaged as if neutralized in glitsy décor for mass consumption. Their reasoning could be that. Imaginary Sonicscapes is a easily taken progressive-rock styled musical. There are old style instruments and old style playing that you might recognize from the classic rock station. There are dramatic theater-circus styled songs like perhaps Arcturus. And then there are the "I feel good cuz I have a revelation" type of song where you could imagine Roger Daltry all joyous and grateful.

I get it. I think its fine once in awhile.

Score : 2.5/5