Sigh

No strangers to fusing other revered genres to a doomy combination of black metal and thrash, Japan's Sigh uses its eighth studio album to deliver symphonic, epic metal that calls upon classical instrumentation to top its rock foundation.

Brass, woodwind, and string instruments — as well as organ and piano — accent as well as lead sinister melodies that take surprising turns through fanciful themes. Raspy, menacing vocals coat each track, resulting in a dramatic presentation that isn't much at odds with its complex backdrop.

Fans of Estradasphere, Diablo Swing Orchestra, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Emperor, and Gonin-Ish would do well to check this out. With grade-A melodies that would sound at home with orchestras and chamber ensembles, Scenes From Hell is one of the first great albums of 2010.

Sigh: "The Summer Funeral"
Sigh: \"The Summer Funeral\"

Colorlist: A Square White Lie LP (482 Music)

A Square White Lie, released via heavyweight vinyl and MP3s, is the first album in two years from Colorlist, an ambient improvisational duo from Chicago that texturalizes sound by utilizing delayed, echoing loops, mounting tension, harmonic and dissonant layers, and germane percussion.

The four-tune album is a soothing, shifting sea of sound that finds Charles Gorczynski, with sax, harmonium, and electronics, building full melodies out of fragments, accompanied by the beats, brush strokes, and accents of drummer Charles Rumback.

Gorczynski and Rumback are staples in Chicago's younger circle of improvisers. With groups such as Silences (Sumire), Leaves, the Charles Rumback Quartet, and L'Altra already in their portfolios, the duo uses A Square White Lie to further supplement its distinguished body of work.

Colorlist: "The Lows"
Colorlist: \"The Lows\"

RJD2: The Colossus (RJ’s Electrical Connections)

Following a divisive album that saw the introduction of poppy, soulful vocals, producer RJD2 returns with something of a split release — an album that leaves no shortage of accessible, vocal-driven tunes but that emphasizes some inventive instrumentals.

Notably, one of those instrumentals, "Let There Be Horns," opens the disc. In addition to sporting a music video with a protagonist minotaur, "Let There Be Horns" is a grooving instrumental that, at times, sounds vaguely Indian while dousing the listener in synth horns, rock guitar, and squiggly keyboards.

"Games You Can Win," featured below, is a vocal jam that follows and glistens with an apparent glockenspiel or chimes. "Giant Squid" then returns the funky instrumentals, leaning on fuzzy bass, harpsichord, and spacey effects.

Fellow electro-crooner Kenna makes an appearance on The Colossus, and RJ gets more vocal assistance from Phonte Coleman, Aaron Livingston, and others. But whether or not you dig the soulful RJ, there's no doubt that the music on The Colossus is some of his best to date.

RJD2: "Games You Can Win"
RJD2: \"Games You Can Win\"

Honorable mentions

Good for Cows: Audumla (Mimicry)
Worm Ouroboros: s/t (Profound Lore)

Secret Chiefs 3

Having covered Indian, Persian, surf, metal, spaghetti Western, and electronic music — and so much more — Trey Spruance's unparalleled Secret Chiefs 3 has now set its sights on the Italian giallo horror/erotica genre of the 1960s and '70s.

Translating to The Severed Right Hands of the Last Men, this album encapsulates 30 brief, often abstract film cues that sonically invoke images of bloodcurdling terror — as well as moments of passive tranquility — inspired in part from the works of Bruna Nicolai, Ennio Morricone, Goblin, and other noted giallo composers.

It also represents the first release from Traditionalists, a subset of the SC3 umbrella that finds inspiration in fanciful cinematic scores.  It's impossible to know whether the next release will be the long-awaited Book of Souls or rather a full-length affair from another subgroup, but regardless, it's sure to cover uncharted (or neglected) territory.

Secret Chiefs 3: Le Mani Destre Recise Degli Ultimi Uomini preview
Secret Chiefs 3: Le Mani preview

Coalesce: OX (Relapse)

After 10 years, multiple reunions, and talk of resurfacing as a new entity, the hardcore maelstrom that is Coalesce has returned with a new full-length disc.

Following an outstanding two-song seven-inch in late 2007, OX finds the four-piece demolishing ear drums while treading new ground, edging into bits of acoustic melancholy, heavy blues, harmonized vocals, and spaghetti Western.

The softer moments aren't actually new; the Coalesce / Boy Sets Fire split included a thematic revamp of the Coalesce vibe, and There is Nothing New Under the Sun included a few true-to-form renditions of Led Zeppelin classics.  Here, however, the moments are interspersed or used as intros/interludes.

The upcoming OXEP, a seven-song addendum, branches out further, featuring vocalist Sean Ingram's preteen daughter screaming on a part of "Through Sparrows I Rest."  If that doesn't grab you and force your head to bang, OX surely will.

Coalesce: "Dead is Dead"
Coalesce: "Dead is Dead"

Busdriver: Jhelli Beam (Anti-)

Delivering his rhymes in a melodic, fast-talking, pinched-nose intonation, Regan Farquhar can be compared to few contemporaries.  And after a recent collaboration with jazz-rock group Kneebody, fans could have predicted another dose of indescribable idiosyncrasy on this, his newest full-length.

With beat/producing assistance from Daedelus and a host of others, Jhelli Beam winds through piano melodies, famous classical samples, synthesized dance grooves, and electronic hip hop.  And though the disc name drops everyone from Michael Richards to Idi Amin, Busdriver can be enjoyed without picking up one full sentence.

The Horse's Ha: Of the Cathmawr Yards (Hidden Agenda)

Layered over a mellow folk backdrop with country undertones, The Horse's Ha pairs the complementary vocals of James Elkington (The Zincs) with Janet Beveridge Bean (Freakwater).

The group also features the lofty talents of cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm (Vandermark 5), drummer Charles Rumback (Colorlist, Leaves), and bassist Nick Macri (Jeremy Enigk).  Though The Horse's Ha has been around since '02, this is its debut disc — a pretty, laidback affair that doesn't break any molds but will be enjoyed by those who dig the vocals.

The Horse's Ha: "The Piss Choir"
The Horse\'s Ha: \"The Piss Choir"

Stian Westerhus: Galore (The Last Record Co. / Rune Grammofon)

A presiding member of Jaga Jazzist, Monolithic, Puma, and a handful of other endeavors, Norwegian guitarist Stian Westerhus has expanded his scope and influence over the past decade in the Scandinavian Peninsula.

Limited to 500 copies, this vinyl-only release finds Westerhus partaking in noisy, effected meanderings. Experimental listeners and vinyl fanatics should be into this one.

Blue Ribbon Glee Club, Grun-Tu-Molani, Leaves @ The Empty Bottle

Have you ever wondered how it would feel to hear Fugazi's "Waiting Room" sung a'cappella by 30-some people, with little more than a back beat to keep it going?

The Blue Ribbon Glee Club, a punk-inspired makeshift choir, tackles that and other independent and mainstream rock classics, including selections from Pixies, Dead Kennedys, the Clash, and David Bowie. The result is a rollicking good time.

Melodic, down-tempo jazz/rock quartet Leaves opens this show at the Empty Bottle. Leaves features a pair of regulars in Chicago's avant-garde music community, saxophonist Charles Gorczynski (Silences Sumire) and drummer Charles Rumback, both of whom participate in Colorlist, an ambient assortment of electronic and jazz influences.

Grun-Tu-Molani also performs, mixing slow brass instrumentation with synthesizers, distant guitar effects, and deceptively laid-back beats.