Cult Japanese Metal Band CHURCH OF MISERY Announces U.S. Headlining Tour!
Rare Stateside Live Dates from Pioneering Pacesetters to Include Festival Performances in Austin and Baltimore!
Highly respected Japanese doom metal band CHURCH OF MISERY has announced a U.S. headlining tour that will kick off on May 24 in Providence, RI. Presented by Brooklyn Vegan, the two week trek will showcase one of metal's most bizarre and exotic bands and one that Rolling Stone called "a dynamic articulated hell, like the Tokyo-Blue-Cheer crush of Boris but grounded in the British white-blues nightmares of early Seventies Black Sabbath." The tour will include special CHURCH OF MISERY appearances in Austin (as part of the 2012 Chaos in Tejas Fest) and Baltimore (as part of the 2012 Maryland Deathfest). True fans of heavy music cannot miss this rare chance to see Japan's true masters of doom!
Formed in 1996 by bassist Tatsu Mikami and guitarist Tomohiro Nishimura, the Tokyo-based CHURCH OF MISERY's formidable sound melds early-era Black Sabbath style doom with powerful psychedelic rock. Major players in Japan's underground music scene, the celebrated quartet dwells obsessively on the topic of infamous serial killers; the subjects-at-hand are both the focus of the band's lyrics and its overall sweeping thematic. Merging disturbing lyrical imagery and macabre news reel sound bites with infectious Wah Wah-driven Acid Metal, CHURCH OF MISERY is a far-out treat for fans of early 70's Hard Rock and traditional Doom Metal alike. Support on the CHURCH OF MISERY U.S. tour will come from a rotating cast of today's best UG metal acts including Rwake, Hail! Hornet and The Gates of Slumber.
CHURCH OF MISERY U.S. Tour Dates:
# = support from The Gates of Slumber
% = support from Rwake & The Gates of Slumber
* = support from Hail! Hornet & The Gates of Slumber
May 24 Providence, RI AS220 # // All Ages, $15
May 25 Brooklyn, NY Cameo % // 21+, $15
May 26 Philadelphia, PA North Star % // 21+, $15
May 27 Baltimore, MD Sonar (as part of Maryland Deathfest)
May 28 Wilmington, NC Soapbox * // All Ages, $12 ADV - $15 DOS
May 29 Charlotte, NC Tremont Music Hall * // 21+, $12 ADV - $15 DOS
May 30 Atlanta, GA The Earl * // 21+, $12 ADV - $14 DOS
May 31 New Orleans, LA Siberia * // 21+, $10 ADV - $12 DOS
June 1 Austin, TX Red 7 (as part of Chaos in Tejas) // All Ages
June 3 Albuquerque, NM Launchpad * // 21+, $15
June 4 Scottsdale, AZ Chasers * // All Ages, $10 ADV - $13 DOS
June 5 Los Angeles, CA Satellite * // 21+, $12 ADV - $15 DOS
June 6 San Francisco, CA Elbo Room * // 21+, $15 ADV - $18 DOS
June 8 Portland, OR Branx * // 21+, $15
June 9 Seattle, WA Studio Seven * // All Ages, $13 ADV - $16 DOS
Whereas other left field Japanese rock bands such as Boris, Melt Banana and Boredoms have managed to achieve a considerable amount of status over the course of the last few decades, CHURCH OF MISERY have made a conscious decision to remain encased in a morgue of both mystery and confusion. Over the course of its distinguished career, CHURCH OF MISERY has released music on labels such as Man's Ruin, Southern Lord and Rise Above. COM released its latest album Houses of the Unholy in 2011 and the band's classic records Master of Brutality and The Second Coming have just been reissued with bonus tracks via Metal Blade.
