Church of Misery - Master of Brutality (2001/2012)

Formed as early as '95, Shinjuku, Japan stoner/doomers, Church of Misery, spent the remainder of the 90's releasing various splits and EPs and although recording their debut album, 'Vol I' in '97, the band decided against releasing it as it was sometime after the recording that the band wanted to focus lyrically just on writing about serial killers and murderers, which has been a staple of their career ever since. 'Master of Brutality' followed in '01, via Southern Lord Recordings, and is seen as the bands true debut, even if 'Vol I' was eventually released in '07.

Parodying the classic Black Sabbath album, 'Master of Reality,' Master of Brutality' set the stage for these doomy Japs, not just parodying but also borrowing a notable amount of influence from 70's Sabbath as well as other notable doom acts like Saint Vitus, Trouble and Pentagram (to name a few). Opening with a spoken sample and various noisy bits, 'Killifornia' eventually dives right in with slow crunchy doomy laden riffs, vibrant drumming, heavy bass and a gruff hippie voice leading the charge throughout this catchy intro song, while 'Ripping into Pieces' is fairly similar, and despite the title remains rather calm. 'Megalomania,' one of the albums finest, is up next and its an all-out rocker that I just utterly love, while 'Green River' is a full-on psychedelic instrumental that's once again reminiscent of the early 70's Black Sabbath song book.

'Cities on Flame' is a cover of the Blue Oyster Cult classic, and while true to the original for the most part, the extra rock out at the end and the overall doom punch behind it makes it all the more dynamic. The title track is quite spot on to the opener, even including a opening sample again, while the three bonus tracks on the 2012 re-release add no less than an additional 34 minutes of music to this debut.

'Master of Brutality' is a simple affair and the influences are more than obvious, but its quite the fun, catchy and worth while debut album. Church of Misery would and has gone on to record a few more examples of fine stoner/doom metal, and while they may never shake off their influences it surely hasn't stopped me from enjoying everything they've recorded. On a side note, if you can catch them live, definitely do so! My first viewing of them a few years ago at Tuska was immense and seeing them again in about a month has me more than excited!