Boris‘ new album, No, is out now through Bandcamp, direct from the trio themselves. Before the release actually arrived, the long-running Japanese avant/experimental heavy rockers issued a lengthy statement about how the record was made as a resistance against what amounts to modernist conformity, the unquestioning of one’s surroundings and the apathy that might lead someone not to seek a deeper truth. They called it “extreme healing music.”

Getting from there to the sludgy scathe of the nine-minute “Zerkalo” is fair enough if one considers the fact that a forest has to burn down before it can grow again. The video arrives in various CGI landscapes, morphing and shifting from one to the other, depicting futuristic-looking cities and oceanic expanses alike. At the end we see the cityscape is devastated and in burnt out ruins — the metaphor is clear enough. What’s more interesting is the harshness of the song itself, how it seems to speak not only to the hardcore roots the band explores elsewhere on No, but the massive doom that they’re sometimes able/willing to conjure when it suits their purposes. Their purposes here are meditative but not still, and if perhaps the harsh nature of the noise they’re making is intended to be jarring, especially as it precedes their reworking of “Perforation Line,” it’s only fair to call it successful in that regard.

To be perfectly honest, I may or may not get to review No. I got a promo download for it, but really, in the pantheon of unceasing plaudits the band get, does anything I have to say about them really matter? Is there some insight I can bring to Boris that someone hasn’t already offered? I guess I have my doubts. Maybe in place of a review I’ll just say it’s Boris being Boris, which means doing whatever they want at pretty much any time and pulling it off because that’s just what they do.

There.

Enjoy the video:

Boris, “Zerkalo” official video

Just two weeks after Boris delivered their triumphant new album NO, the group has surfaced once again with a music video for the album’s crushing single “-? -Zerkalo-.” The dystopian and panoramic visuals were assembled by producer Yoshiki Shimahara— who was also responsible for CG works in the movie Shin Godzilla, etc.— and the footage aptly captures the tone and feeling of the song itself. Boris comments of the video, “The song as a mirror that reflects this world.”

Boris New Album “NO”
Only available on Bandcamp now.

https://boris.bandcamp.com/album/no

01.Genesis
02.Anti-Gone
03.Non Blood Lore
04.Temple of Hatred
05.? -Zerkalo-
06.HxCxHxC -Perforation Line-
07.????? -Kiki no Ue-
08.Lust
09.Fundamental Error
10.Loveless
11.Interlude

Takeshi: Vocals, Guitar & Bass
Wata: Vocals, Guitar & Echo
Atsuo: Vocals, Percussion & Electronics

Recording: Fangsanalsatan at Sound Square 2020
Mix & Mastering: Koichi Hara (koichihara-mix.com)

Logo Type: Kazumichi Maruoka

CG works: Yoshiki Shimahara
http://shimahara-yoshiki.com/
Directed & Edited by fangsanalsatan & Ryuta Murayama (foodunited.)

https://borisheavyrocks.com/

Boris, No (2020)

Boris on Thee Facebooks

Boris on Bandcamp

Boris website

Boris aren’t wrong. About anything. Basically ever. Their new album is called No. It’s out July 3 through their Bandcamp. They’re using it as a means of questioning implicit bias. If anyone can do that with a record, I have to believe it’s Boris. Because they’re fucking Boris.

That’s all I have to say about it. They say plenty. Here’s info:

A message from BORIS:

“International borders are ‘closed’ now.

All kinds of anxieties, fear, sadness, anger, and hatred have arisen to drive the world apart.
Everyone is in a process of trial and error, doing what they can to live.
The critical state of the world has placed culture, art, and other means of expressing ourselves into a dilemma as well.
We decided to start managing our band ourselves again a few years ago, so we even more keenly aware of the current situation.

It was our actions up to this point and our methodology, various cultural influences, as well the connections and support we received from people around the world that led us to create this latest album.

Culture is lore that is not bound by blood, in other words ‘Non Blood Lore.’

We have put all of our influences and connections into this album so that they may be passed on circulated.
That is our current stance now as Boris, our role and mode of action.

The title of this album is NO.
People have a system whereby they unconsciously grow accustomed to things and adapt to them.
But, this same system is also cursed in the way it allows inconvenient or troubling things to be disregarded as if they were never there to begin with and goes by other names such as ‘resignation,’ ‘subordination,’ and ‘forgetfulness.’
We renounce this system.
‘Is this something I felt on my own? Is this idea something I came up with on my own? Is this something I chose to act upon myself?’
Everything begins with questioning and denying oneself.
That is the proper stance for people to adopt.

Music and culture possess incredible power.
The anger and discontent we had no outlet for in our youth shone through in our music, helping us to channel negative energy channeled towards creative ends and leading us to new means of expression and artistry.
We hope this latest album can be a mirror that gathers and reflects people’s negative energy at a different angle, one that is positive.
That is the power and potential of the dark, extreme, and brutal noise music that we have experienced up to this point.
Today’s society is littered with words that may or may not be true, making it easy to want to just not listen to what anyone has to say.
But, that’s all the more reason why we hope that you will at least open your ears to these songs sung in the language of another land.
These shouts that have no proper meaning as words will help release the raw, unshaped emotions within you.
This is ‘extreme healing music.’

International borders are ‘closed’ now.
When we’re able to travel again, it will be proof that the world has moved forward.
We pray for the day when we can share the same time and place again.

Boris

PS.
NO includes a cover of the song ‘Fundamental Error’ by Japanese hardcore punk legends GUDON, who were active during the 90’s in Hiroshima.
The same track also features guest guitars by Katsumi, the former of guitarist of similarly legendary Japanese hardcore punk bands OUTO and CITY INDIAN and now a member of SOLMANIA.
This album is also being released completely D.I.Y. and without the help of any label.

‘The answer we have been given doesn’t change anything, and this album is not an answer either.’”

Look for Boris NO to be released July 3rd on Bandcamp and pre-orders are available now. More news + music coming soon.

Boris, NO track listing:
1. Genesis
2. Anti-Gone
3. Non Blood Lore
4. Temple of Hatred
5. ? -Zerkalo-
6. HxCxHxC -Parforation Line-
7. ????? -Kiki no Ue-
8. Lust
9. Fundamental Error
10. Loveless
11. Interlude

Boris is:
Takeshi: Vocals, Guitar & Bass
Wata: Vocals, Guitar & Echo
Atsuo: Vocals, Percussion & Electronics
Guest Guitar: Katsumi on Track 09
Recording: Fangsanalsatan at Sound Square 2020
Mix & Mastering: Koichi Hara (koichihara-mix.com)
“Fundamental Error” Originally Perfomed by GUDON
Logo Type: Kazumichi Maruoka
Design: Fangsanalsatan

http://www.facebook.com/borisheavyrocks/
https://boris.bandcamp.com/
http://borisheavyrocks.com/

Boris, “Loveless”

With label representation in Japan, Europe, Taiwan and the US, it seems safe to say there’s a consortium standing behind this June 19 reissue of Greenmanchine‘s 1996 debut album, D.A.M.N., and reasonably so. The Japan-based troupe were raw beyond their years a quarter-century ago and D.A.M.N. still offers enough scathe to well earn its cult following in noise and sludge rock. The band had a new album out last year called Mountains of Madness, and I didn’t get to hear it, but their reunion has been going on for a while now on and off, and both this record and its follow-up, The Earth Beater, which was also issued on Man’s Ruin Records, stand the test of time. Some bite never relents.

So yes, here’s news from Robustfellow Productions, Long Legs Long Arms, Riff Merchant Records and Bad Moon Rising. The more the merrier, I guess:

Greenmachine’s Sludge Classic “D.A.M.N.” To Be Released On Vinyl For The First Time Ever

Robust Relics Series is back with the reissue of the pure sludge masterpiece!

Please welcome Greenmachine from Japan.

Their debut album “D.A.M.N.” was released 24 years ago by local label TASTE Recs. [T/CD-1] in 1996.

Two years later it was released by the US cult label Man’s Ruin [MR103CD], with cover artwork designed by graphic artist/label owner Frank Kozik. That artwork still looks shocking and disturbing even today!

In 2003 Japan’s DIWPHALANX [PX-103] added “+3” to the title and re-released this beast once again. This Japanese re-issue is very difficult to find.

In 2020 Robustfellow invited two fine labels: Riff Merchant and Long Legs Long Arms to cover the globe with analogue sludgecore tunes, starting with “D.A.M.N.”

This is the first release of this album on vinyl in 24 years.

Biography:

Greenmachine named themselves after the Kyuss song “Green Machine,” the second track on Blues for the Red Sun. In 1996 they released their debut album, D.A.M.N. on TASTE Recs., reissued by Man’s Ruin Records. They followed with The Earth Beater two years later, also on Man’s Ruin. They disbanded in 1999 but resurfaced in 2003 with a new bass player and released The Archives of Rotten Blues in 2004 on Diwphalanx Records. Diwphalanx also reissued the two Man’s Ruin albums with bonus tracks in 2003. They played The Wizard’s Convention in 2005 and are featured on the DVD along with fellow Japanese artists Boris, Church of Misery and Eternal Elysium.

The band disbanded again in 2007, with the DVD release, “This is the End”, documenting their final show. The band has since done multiple reunion shows. The first was in 2010, the second in 2013. The line up for that show was MONZAWA on guitar/vocal, HASEGAWA on bass and DATSU on drums. After the 2013 reunion show, the band reunited again with MONZAWA on guitar/vocal, YOSHIKAWA on bass and DATSU on drums. The band recruited a new member, Max, on guitar in 2014 and released “FOR THE NIGHT AND BLOOD EP”(Daymare Recordings) in 2016. New full-length “Mountains of Madness” was released in 2019 via Long Legs Long Arms & Daymare Records.

Greenmachine Links:
https://www.facebook.com/GREENMACHiNE.Hardcorerock/
https://www.instagram.com/_grmc_/

Robustfellow links:
https://www.facebook.com/RobustfellowProds
https://www.instagram.com/robustfellow_prods
http://www.robustfellow.bandcamp.com

Long Legs Long Arms links:
https://www.facebook.com/3LAdisc/
https://www.instagram.com/3la_disc/
https://longlegslongarms.bandcamp.com/

Riff Merchant Records links:
https://www.riffmerchant.com/
https://www.instagram.com/riffmerchantrecords/

Bad Moon Rising links:
https://badmoonrisingtaipei.com/
https://www.facebook.com/BadMoonRisingTaipei/
https://www.instagram.com/bad_moon_rising_taipei/D.A.M.N
https://badmoonrising.bandcamp.com/

Greenmachine, D.A.M.N.

The statistics of COVID-19 change with every news cycle, and with growing numbers, stay-at-home isolation and a near-universal disruption to society on a global scale, it is ever more important to consider the human aspect of this coronavirus. Amid the sad surrealism of living through social distancing, quarantines and bans on gatherings of groups of any size, creative professionals — artists, musicians, promoters, club owners, techs, producers, and more — are seeing an effect like nothing witnessed in the last century, and as humanity as a whole deals with this calamity, some perspective on who, what, where, when and how we’re all getting through is a needed reminder of why we’re doing so in the first place.

Thus, Days of Rona, in some attempt to help document the state of things as they are now, both so help can be asked for and given where needed, and so that when this is over it can be remembered.

Thanks to all who participate. To read all the Days of Rona coverage, click here. — JJ Koczan

Days of Rona: Tana Haugo Kawahara of Eternal Elysium (Japan)

—

How are you dealing with this crisis as a label? Have you had to rework plans at all? How is everyone’s health so far?

All three members live in completely different locations inside Japan. From this year, with the new lineup, we meet once a month for a two-day rehearsal in Nagoya, at Okazaki’s Studio Zen. February’s and April’s rehearsals were both cancelled due to virus concerns regarding travel to and from different parts of Japan. We have a few gigs scheduled during the second half of this year, and so far no cancellations have been made. All of us are in good health.

What are the quarantine/isolation rules where you are?

Japan declared a formal state of emergency for the entire country on April 16, but because of the way the Japanese Constitution is written, the government doesn’t actually have the power to enforce any kind of quarantine or lockdown. It’s “suggested” or “recommended” for people to limit their movement, work from home when possible, etc. I live in a small village deep in the mountains so the situation is completely different from the big cities — lots of space and few people is normal around here. Even still, people are concerned, so more folks are wearing masks than usual, and the local restaurants, including mine, are doing take-out only and/or limiting operation hours. This also reduces the number of tourists coming out to the countryside from the cities.

How have you seen the virus affecting the community around you and in music?

Everyone agrees, it’s a weird time. Difficult and uncertain on so many levels.

Events and gatherings of all kinds have been cancelled, lots of people are either out of work or told to stay home, so there’s financial worry and additional stress for many. And for some other people, they don’t seem to care about it or comprehend the situation at all.

What is the one thing you want people to know about your situation, either as a band, or personally, or anything?

Earth has spoken, we need to listen. Looking forward to the day we can gather to make and enjoy music with our brothers and sisters again!

www.eternalelysium.com/
http://eternalelysiumshop.bigcartel.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Eternal-Elysium-official-160089987381948/
https://www.facebook.com/RobustfellowProds/
http://robustfellow.blogspot.com/
robustfellow.bandcamp.com

Seen above with a friendly birthday clown, Japanese doom institution Church of Misery will return to US shores next year to embark on a special tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of the band. In addition to this righteous news — tickets are on sale now for most shows, with more going up tomorrow; you know how to find shit online, so you don’t need me to barrage you with the links — is the news that in addition to Black Wizard for part of the tour, they’ll also have along Forming the Void and they’ll meet up with Truckfighters and Valley of the Sun along the way. I don’t care how many acts do or don’t wind up on the bill, if you’ve got Church of Misery and Truckfighters playing a show, those two alone make it a festival. But fortunately the rest of the bill also kicks ass.

As a bonus, Church of Misery have posted recent live videos of two new songs, titled “Hungerford Massacre” and “Unabomber,” the former bridging out from serial killers to mass shootings for subject matter. Certainly there’s plenty of material to be mined there. More all the time, in fact.

Dates follow:

Church of Misery – 25th Anniversary North American Tour 2020

Tickets are on sale now!

Church of Misery
25th Anniversary North American Tour 2020
02/05 San Diego, CA Soda Bar *
02/07 Mesa, AZ Club Red *
02/09 Austin, TX Barracuda **
02/11 Wilmington, NC Reggies #
02/12 Washington, D.C. Rock & Roll Hotel #
02/13 Philadelphia, PA Underground Arts #
02/15 Brooklyn, NY Kingsland #
02/16 Boston, MA Middle East #
02/17 Montreal, QC Bar LeRitz **
02/18 Toronto, ON Hard Luck **
02/19 Chicago, IL Reggies **
02/20 Minneapolis, MN Skyway Theatre **
02/21 Milwaukee, WI Cactus Club **
02/23 Winnipeg, MB The Garrick *
02/25 Edmonton, AB Starline *
02/26 Calgary, AB Dickens *
02/28 Vancouver, BC Venue *
02/29 Seattle, WA Substation ##
03/01 Portland, OR High Water Mark ##
03/03 San Francisco, CA Bottom of the Hill ##
03/04 Sacramento, CA Harlows ##
03/05 Santa Cruz, CA Catalyst ##
03/06 Los Angeles, CA Hi Hat ##

* w/ Black Wizard Feb 5th, 7th & Feb 23rd – 28th
** w/ Black Wizard & Forming The Void Feb 9th
# w/Truckfighters, Valley Of The Sun, Black Wizard & Forming The Void Feb 17th – Feb 21st
## w/ Black Wizard & Wizard Rifle Feb 29th – Mar 6th

Church of Misery features Tatsu Mikami (bass), Junichi Yamamura (drums), Yasuto Muraki (guitar) and Hiroyuki Takano (vocals).

http://www.churchofmisery.net/
https://www.facebook.com/churchofmiserydoom/

Church of Misery, “Hungerford Massacre” live Dec. 28, 2019

Church of Misery, “Unabomber” live Dec. 28, 2019

2LP and digital release only for the new Boris record, Love and Evol. Fair enough, I guess, as CDs prove historically to more and more be the bastard-child of physical formats as tapes at least earn some kind of revisionist hipness. I’ll still take a tiny plastic platter if one’s on offer, but I’d be lying if I said didn’t say that more often than not it’s digital files I’m actually listening to these days, and if you’re having one or the other sit on a shelf, the vinyl is more impressive. For those of us who buy in bulk, however, there’s something to be said for saving every bit of space possible.

Either way, new Boris is nothing but good news, whatever format restrictions may apply, and even better that they’ll tour to support it. I’ll look forward to seeing them in… Jersey City?

Time does strange things to us all.

From the PR wire:

BORIS ANNOUNCE ‘LOVE & EVOL’ & NORTH AMERICAN TOUR IN CELEBRATION

LOVE & EVOL will be released via Third Man Records in August. Re-issues of Boris’s Akuma no Uta and Feedbacker are forthcoming.

Boris have never been one for sentimentality—they simply wave goodbye to old worlds in favor of new horizons. That’s exactly the logic behind the band’s two forthcoming reissues of Akuma No Uta and Feedbacker, which will be released via Third Man Records this year, marking a new partnership between the band and label. The batch of reissues also makes way for Boris’s first new album in two years: L?VE & EV?L, due out this August on Third Man. The pioneering, monolithic trio will also be hitting the road with NYC industrialists Uniform this fall – tour dates are listed below.

L?VE & EV?L exist as two independent works, encapsulating conflicting connotations that interweave and become intricately entangled with one another, gradually eroding before becoming utterly singular. Continuing to tinker and toil with their sound since the release of DEAR, Boris have pivoted onward a more organic, non-grid literary style that L?VE & EV?L showcases.

Boris was formed in 1992, culminating in the current lineup of Takeshi, Wata, and Atsuo just three years later. Even in their infancy, the members of Boris boldly explored their own vision of heavy music, where words like “explosive” and “thunderous” barely do justice. Using overpowering soundscapes embellished with copious amounts of lighting and billowing smoke, Boris has shared with audiences across the planet an experience for all five senses in their concerts, earning legions of zealous fans along the way.

L?VE & EV?L will be released this August on double LP and digital formats via Third Man Records, with the reissue details to follow. Stay tuned for more news to come.

Boris is:
Takeshi — Vocal, Bass & Guitar
Wata — Vocal, Guitar & Echo
Atsuo — Vocal, Drums, Percussion & Electronics

L?VE & EV?L — Track Listing:
Disc [L?VE]
Side A
1. Away from You
2. Coma

Side B
3. EVOL

Disc [EV?L]
Side A
1. uzume
2. LOVE

Side B
3. In The Pain(t)
4. Shadow of Skull

BORIS — On Tour w/ Uniform:
August 19 San Diego, CA @ Casbah
August 20 Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar
August 22 San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger
August 23 Austin, TX @ Barracuda
August 24 Denton, TX @ Rubber Gloves
August 25 Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
August 28 Mexico City, MX @ Galera *
August 30 Tampa, FL @ Orpheum
August 31 Gainesville, FL @ High Dive
September 1 Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
September 3 Nashville, TN @ Exit/In
September 4 Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
September 5 Raleigh, NC @ Hopscotch Festival *
September 7 Washington, DC @ Black Cat
September 8 Jersey City, NJ @ White Eagle Hall
September 10 Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere
September 11 Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
September 12 Portland, ME @ Port City Music Hall
September 13 Montreal, QC @ Theatre Plaza
September 14 Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
September 15 Grand Rapids, MI @ Pyramid Scheme
September 17 Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
September 18 St. Louis, MO @ Delmar Hall
September 20 Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater
September 21 Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall
September 23 Seattle, WA @ Neumos
September 24 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
September 26 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
September 27 San Jose, CA @ The Ritz
September 28 Camarillo, CA @ Rock City
September 29 Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex

* no Uniform

Artist photo by: Miki Matsushima

http://www.facebook.com/borisheavyrocks/
http://borisheavyrocks.com/
https://thirdmanstore.com/

Boris, Live at Psycho Las Vegas 2018

Japan’s leading purveyors of riff-led mayhem Church of Misery will return to US shores this Spring to appear at Maryland Deathfest. That slot will act as the springboard for an American tour that hits the West and East Coasts and more than a few stops in between, and finds the band joined by Mondo Generator, The Atomic Bitchwax and Toke in alternating patterns. It’s the most Church of Misery has played in the States in at least the last five years, though they certainly led all of the Hard Rock to the slaughter at Psycho Las Vegas 2018 (review here). Their particular brand of madness only seems to win them more favor as years pass by, as though the world itself is finally losing its mind enough to catch up to their insanity.

Shows are presented by Tone Deaf Touring and came down the PR wire thusly:

Church of Misery Announces U.S. Headlining Tour

Rare Stateside Live Dates from Pioneering Doom Metal Pacesetters to Include Special Festival Appearances in Austin, Baltimore

Highly respected Japanese doom metal band Church of Misery has announced a spring U.S. headlining tour. The scheduled three week trek will kick off on May 25 in Detroit, MI and run through June 16 in Cambridge, MA. Church of Misery will advance the 22 city major market tour run with an appearance at the 2019 Maryland Deathfest on May 23 and will also perform as one of the featured acts at the 2019 Austin Terror Fest on June 7.

Formed in 1996 by bassist Tatsu Mikami, 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 proven treat for fans of early 70’s hard rock and traditional doom metal alike.

Support on the Church of Misery U.S. tour will be provided by a rotating cast of today’s best UG rock acts including The Atomic Bitchwax, Nick Oliveri’s Mondo Generator and Toke.

Church of Misery tour dates:
May 23     Baltimore, MD Rams Head Live (as part of Maryland Deathfest) * !  (tickets + info. HERE)
May 25     Detroit, MI The Sanctuary * $#  (tickets + info. HERE)
May 26     Chicago, IL Empty Bottle * $#  (tickets + info. HERE)
May 27     Rock Island, IL Rock Island Brewing Company * $#  (tickets + info. HERE)
May 28     Kansas City, KS Riot Room * $#  (tickets + info. HERE)
May 29     Denver, CO Larimer Lounge * $#  (tickets + info. HERE)
May 31     Seattle, WA El Corazon * $#  (tickets + info. HERE)
June 1      Portland, OR Dante’s * $#  (tickets + info. HERE)
June 2      Oakland, CA Oakland Opera House * $#  (tickets + info. HERE)
June 3      Los Angeles, CA Echoplex * $#  (tickets + info. HERE)
June 4      Tempe, AZ Club Red * $#  (tickets + info. HERE)
June 5      Albuquerque, NM Sister * $#  (tickets + info. HERE)
June 6      Oklahoma City, OK 8th Street * $#  (tickets + info. HERE)
June 7      Austin, TX Empire Control Room (as part of Austin Terror Fest) * !  (tickets + info. HERE)
June 8     Houston, TX White Oak Music Hall * $#  (tickets + info. HERE)
June 9     New Orleans, LA Santos * $#  (tickets + info. HERE)
June 10   Nashville, TN Little Harpeth Brewing * $#  (tickets + info. HERE)
June 11   Atlanta, GA The Earl * #  (tickets + info. HERE)
June 12   Chapel Hill, NC Local 506 * #  (tickets + info. HERE)
June 13   Pittsburgh, PA Cattivo * %#  (on sale Wednesday, March 6 at 12 pm EST) 
June 15   Brooklyn, NY Saint Vitus * #  (tickets + info. HERE)
June 16   Cambridge, MA Middle East * %#  (tickets + info. HERE)

$ = w/ Mondo Generator
% = w/ The Atomic Bitchwax
# = w/ Toke
! = Church of Misery ONLY

Church of Misery features Tatsu Mikami (bass), Junichi Yamamura (drums), Yasuto Muraki (guitar) and Hiroyuki Takano (vocals).

http://www.churchofmisery.net/
https://www.facebook.com/churchofmiserydoom/

Church of Misery, “I, Motherfucker (Ted Bundy)” official video

Emetic Records has posted the news that Sonic Flower will release a second full-length before the end of 2019. Any news about the Tokyo, Japan-based psych/stoner project is somewhat surprising when one considers their self-titled debut (reissue review here) came out in 2003 through the long-defunct Leaf Hound Records, and that bassist Tatsu Mikami spends most of his time these days celebrating psychosis in Church of Misery. Unsurprisingly, Tatsu is joined by a different lineup than that which appeared on the original Sonic Flower offering — which Emetic put out in 2011 — and and it looks somewhat like they’ll follow a structure not dissimilar from Church of Misery‘s last couple outings in including originals as well as a heavy ’70s-era cover, in this case, of Savoy Brown.

He’s not the only Church of Misery veteran involved in the band either though, with guitarist Yasuto Muraki and vocalist Kazuhiro Asaeda taking part alongside original Sonic Flower drummer Keisuke Fukawa. I won’t pretend to know what the future might hold for Sonic Flower or what the album might sound like — or be called, for that matter — when it arrives, but when Tatsu Mikami plays bass, the thing to do is pay attention, so here we are and here’s looking forward to more on a record that I don’t imagine I’m the only one who thought would never happen.

Emetic has the news like this:

Towards the end of 2019 we’ll be releasing the long awaited 2nd full-length from Sonic Flower.

Here’s a statement from the band:

Sonic Flower rises again! We’ve been preparing for new album recording. It includes 7 new songs and Savoy Brown cover. All songs written by Tatsu Mikami & all lyrics by Kazuhiro Asaeda.

SONIC FLOWER:
Vo: Kazuhiro Asaeda ( ex.C.o.M “vol.1”, Scarlet Garden)
G: Yasuto Muraki ( Church of Misery)
B: Tatsu Mikami ( Church of Misery, Skull Pit)
Dr: Keisuke Fukawa (Skull Pit, ex.Desperate Corruption)

https://www.facebook.com/Emetic-Records-198699170144825/
https://www.instagram.com/emetic_records/
https://www.emeticrecords.com

Sonic Flower, Sonic Flower (2003)