Man, it was late when Japanese stoner doom legends — now in their 15th year of operation — took the stage at Roadburn 2009 at the 013 Popcentrum in Tilburg. Over on the main stage, Colour Haze was noodling out, and it was so packed in the side room that I could barely move, let alone get a look at vocal madman Yoshiaki Negishi as he plunged ever further into the sinister recesses of the human psyche. They’re going to be back there in 2010, and as a way to maybe bridge the gap one to the next, Roadburn Records/Burning World has issued their set from last year. As someone whose ears rang from it the next day and the day after, I can safely say it was the right move.

This is Church of Misery’s first live record, and it’s fitting that it would be from Roadburn, an environment in which the band is as appreciated as they’ll ever be, preaching not only to the converted, or to the choir, but to an entire order of boozed-up cult followers, gone mad on European weed and stoner riffs. For an unhinged act like Church of Misery — who take the riff-riff-riff formula so many stoner bands emulate to no end and actually make it sound dangerous — it was the perfect setting. They did tracks from their split with Sourvein (closer “For Madmen Only”), and from their Master of Brutality, The Second Coming and Houses of the Unholy albums. Even “Taste the Pain,” which can be found on a 1998 EP of the same name — or the Early Works compilation, for those who’d like the easy way out — makes an appearance.

Through it all, Church of Misery do what they do best: lethal groove. I don’t know whether it’s their ongoing fascination with serial killers or just the brutality in how hard they hit their instruments, but there’s a heaviness underscoring Church of Misery that most stoner bands just don’t have. It’s almost sludge, but the stoner side of the guitar work, played here by Tom Sutton, who joined the band in the later half of the last decade, puts them in a category almost entirely their own. Well, theirs and Sabbath’s, anyway.

But those who relegate Church of Misery to merely repurposing Black Sabbath riffs have missed the point. What shines through on Live at Roadburn 2009 is not only the crazy-whacky-madcap-adventure of a live set, but it’s the genuine vibe of appreciation that permeates so much of the international stoner scene. Do these dudes play Sabbath riffs? Fuck yeah they do. And they do it damn well. But more importantly, they’re aware they’re doing it, and why they’re doing it. There are plenty of bands who rip off other artists; that’s not what’s happening here. With Church of Misery, there’s a celebration happening. True to their name, it’s like a religion.

Bassist Tatsu Mikami, who up until Sutton’s joining penned most of the lyrics, and drummer Junji Narita come through the live mix sounding thick and rumbling as I remember them being standing in the room watching, and for anyone who was lucky enough to have been there, and especially anyone who’d never seen them before, Church of Misery’s Live at Roadburn 2009 is a great way to relive the experience. Perhaps more importantly, it’s also a killer live record that you don’t necessarily have to have seen the show to appreciate. The band defines the phrase “brutal stoner,” and on Live at Roadburn, it’s easy to see why they’ve garnered such a following over the last 15 years.

Church of Misery on MySpace

Roadburn/Burning World Records

Roadburn Festival

Tags: Church of Misery, Japan, Roadburn, The Netherlands

This entry was posted on Monday, February 15th, 2010 at 11:35 am and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.