Church of Misery

Church of Misery is a Japanese doom metal group from Shinjuku, Japan, active since 1995. It is known for a heavy, groove-led style that is often described as stoner doom, with roots in 1970s heavy rock and a psychedelic edge. The band has also made clear its dislike of the “stoner” label, despite the way its sound is commonly classified.

Style and lyrical themes

The group plays doom metal with stoner rock and stoner metal elements. Its material is described as raw and groovy, and much of its lyrical content focuses on notorious serial killers and murderers. Alongside original songs, the band also records cover versions of songs by artists such as Blue Öyster Cult, Cactus, Iron Butterfly, Pentagram, Saint Vitus and Sir Lord Baltimore.

Formation and early releases

Church of Misery begins in Tokyo with bassist Tatsu Mikami and guitarist Tomohiro Nishimura. The initial line-up is completed by singer Nobukazu Chow and drummer Hideki Shimizu. The band’s first recording, Volume 1, is made live in Tokyo in 1996 for Doom Records, but the planned release is cancelled and it circulates first as an unofficial bootleg before later appearing as an official vinyl release.

In 1998, three songs appear on the Doomsday Recitation compilation, followed by the split release Born Too Late with Canadian band sHEAVY. That same period also includes a live recording from Osaka, with two songs later issued on a split video-tape with the Japanese doom metal group Millarca. The EP Taste the Pain follows on Bad Acid Records and includes a version of Iron Butterfly’s “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”.

Albums, EPs and label history

In 1999 the band issues a split record with Iron Monkey on Man’s Ruin and also releases the 10-inch EP Murder Company on the Man label. During this period it also records cover versions for tribute compilations by bands including Death SS, Trouble and Black Widow.

Southern Lord Records signs the band and releases its first official full-length, Master of Brutality, in 2001. This album introduces vocalist Yoshiaki Negishi and drummer Junji Narita, and includes a cover of Blue Öyster Cult’s “Cities on Flame”. The rest of the record is built around songs about mass murderers.

The band follows with the Boston Strangler EP in 2002 on Kult of Nihilow, issued in different vinyl and CD configurations. In 2003, Game Two gathers archive material for a split album shared with the British psychedelic/stoner doom band Acrimony.

Its second full-length, The Second Coming, appears in 2004 on DiwPhalanx Records. The album features a cover of Cactus’s “One Way... Or Another” and songs about five more serial killers. It also introduces Hideki Fukasawa on vocals and synthesizers, and guitarist Takenori Hoshi.

Later releases include the double-CD Early Works Compilation, issued by Leaf Hound Records in 2004, and several split recordings with American doom bands Sourvein and Deer Creek. In 2006, the band also issues video releases including Houses of the Unholy and Live in Red, Eurotour 2005, the latter documenting footage from its first European tour.

The band reworks and releases Houses of the Unholy through Rise Above in 2009 after being dissatisfied with the original mastering. The album continues the band’s established format of serial-killer-themed songs alongside a cover of Sir Lord Baltimore’s “Master Heartache”.

A live album, Live at Roadburn 2009, appears on Roadburn Records in 2010.

Line-up changes and touring

Church of Misery does not play outside Japan until 2005, when it begins touring Europe in support of European editions of The Second Coming. The line-up changes several times over the years and includes, among others, Kazuhiro Asaeda, Hideki Shimizu, Tomohiro Nishimura, Tatsu Mikami, Nobukazu Chow, Yoshiaki Negishi, Junji Narita, Takenori Hoshi, Hideki Fukasawa, Tom Sutton, Kensuke Suto, 川辺育磨, Yasuto Muraki, Hiroyuki Takano, Junichi Yamamura, Fumiya Hattori and Yasunori Takada.

Tom “Satan” Sutton joins on guitar in the period after Takenori Hoshi, and Negishi later returns on vocals after Hideki Fukasawa leaves following recording of Houses of the Unholy.