Church Of Misery - Live At Roadburn 2009 (2010)

Church Of Misery, those crazed serial murderer obsessed doom sludge maniacs have finally come out with their first live CD and it was recorded live at Roadburn in 2009. This is a essential purchase for all fans of the band as well as doom maniacs everywhere because not only is the sound and production great but the set-list on display here is equally as impressive. Here you get selections from Master of Brutality, The Second Coming, Houses of the Unholy and "Taste The Pain" from the Early Works Compilation. Church of Misery holds the distinction of being one of the first doom metal bands to emerge from Japan. Formed during the late ‘90s and influenced by the usual suspects (Black Sabbath, Kyuss, St. Vitus, etc.), Church of Misery was originally comprised of members Yoshiakki Negishi (vocals), Tomohiro Nishimura (guitar), Tatsu Mikami (bass), and Hideki Shimizu (drums). It was this line-up that issued a pair of independent EP's – 1998's Taste the Pain and 1999's Murder Company – before Negishi was replaced with Nobukazu Chow. The Chow-led line-up debuted on their very first full-length album in 2001, Master of Brutality. Since then they have established themselves as one of the leaders in heavy, no-holds barred dirty sounding sludge metal. Musically while they have remained in the more sludge side of the doom metal spectrum and the lyrics have always been about serial killers, some bands have also been doing this but Church Of Misery have managed to keep this approach fresh while other bands have become tedious. When Tom Sutton joined the band in the later half of the last decade, they took on a even more brutal sound and became tighter and more focused than ever before. This live album is a perfect documentation of the band in action and being recorded so well, it puts you in the front row or at least that is what it feels like when listening to this album. Most of you would know most if not all the songs but if not, they follow the Sabbath blueprint of down-tuned sludged-filled grooves but rather than blindly copying the Iommi / Butler riffs, Church Of Misery take it to the next level of brutality. The bass playing of Tatsu Mikami and drumming of Junji Narita come through the mix loud and thick while Tom Sutton's guitar work cuts over the top of the sound making this a explosive live recording. Highlights include "I, Motherfucker", Shotgun Boogie and Killfornia but the whole album is the band at their ear-shattering best. The show was recorded on multi-track and was mixed and mastered by Marcel van de Vondervoort from Torture Garden Studio. He was also at the helm for the Wolves In The Throne Room live album. After releases by Wolves In The Throne Room (2008) and Year Of No Light (2008), Church of Misery - Live At Roadburn 2009 will be the third installment in the Roadburn live series. If you have never seen the band live then this the next best thing, even better than the live DVD's that are available which don't have in my opinion the sound that this CD has. Those DVD's are good from a visual perspective but the sound isn't as crushing as this live CD album. Highly recommend this one. 9/10.

~ Reviewed by www.doommantia.com