CHURCH OF MISERY
CHURCH OF MISERY “Born Under A Mad Sign”
By Dr. Abner Mality
Japan’s serial killer worshipping doom freaks are back in action after a prolonged layoff and not much has changed in MISERY-land. The shadow of old BLACK SABBATH and ELECTRIC WIZARD looms large over the band and each song on the new album is dedicated to a serial killer in the fashion of MACABRE All you need to know is that the smoke-flavored doom riffs keep rolling in like waves from the sea.
If anything, this is the bluesiest C.O.M. album yet...you can hear that in every track here. There also seems to be more pace, more “boogie” to the music. I know these guys hate the term “stoner rock” but when listening to the upbeat “Spoiler” with its peppy organ or the heads down power boogie of “Come And Get Me, Sucker”, it’s hard not to think of the term. On their first couple of albums, CHURCH churned out a really grinding, ugly kind of doom...things seem brighter here (although the album is still dark).
The SABBATH and WIZARD influence is very blatant and you’ve heard everything here before, but wow, “Murder Castle” and especially “Butcher, Baker” have fat riffs for days and you just can’t avoid shaking your head and swaying like a reed in a stiff wind when you hear them. That essentially makes CHURCH OF MISERY critic-proof...they’ve put a bit more blues and boogie into the doom, but not enough to change the general formula, which works really well. Music to murder someone to…