Rise Above Records is reissuing some of the early albums from Japanese doom outfit Church of Misery, and here we have their 2001 release Master of Brutality. As you can tell by the title, these guys show lots of love for the early Black Sabbath sound, and though this is certainly not polished doom, the raw & powerful nature of it is certainly a lot of fun.
Lyrically, the band are all about writing tunes about mass murderers and serial killers, so add that to a formula that includes gravelly vocals (sounding like Lemmy at times), crushing doom riffs, and pounding rhythms, and you have a pretty heavy end result. Best tracks here are "Megalomania", "Killifornia", and the amazing cover of Blue Oyster Cult's "Cities on Flame", which really cranks up this legendary song to even heavier heights. The title track is a brusing death march of epic proportions, and the bonus tracks "Boston Strangler", "Candy Man", and "Lucifer Rising" are raw, dirty, and monstrous doom/stoner numbers in full blown Sabbath/Saint Vitus mode.
It ain't pretty, but Master of Brutality is certainly a wild & doomy ride from these Japanese rockers, who are still at it today and planning their first trip to the US here in 2012. Perfect time for these reissues!
Track Listing
1. Killifornia (Ed Kemper)
2. Ripping Into Pieces (Peter Sutcliffe)
3. Megalomania (Herbert Mullin)
4. Green River
5. Cities On Flame
6. Master of Brutality (John Wayne Gacy)
7. Boston Strangler (Albert De Salvo) [*]
8. Candy Man (Dean Corll) [*]
9. Lucifer Rising [Live][*]
Printer Friendly Page
Send to a Friend
