The Church Within

The Church Within
The Church Within.
Studio album by The Obsessed
Released	March 1 1994
Recorded	1993 - 1994 at Alpha And Omega Studios; SPL Studios, San Rafael, CA. in San Rafael, CA.; Van Nuys, CA.
Genre	Stoner Metal, Doom Metal
Length	48:25
Producer	M.C. Snoob and The Obsessed.
The Obsessed chronology
Lunar Womb (1991)	The Church Within (1994)	Incarnate (1999)

The Church Within is the third album by The Obsessed. It was released in 1994 via Hellhound Records and Columbia, their major label debut. Columbia released two singles to support this album, "Streetside"/"Blind Lightning" and "To Protect and to Serve"/"Mental Kingdom" along with a Documentary detailing the history of The Obsessed.

Background

Recording for The Church Within had begun soon after they were signed to Columbia though the majority of the songs are not brand new recordings. Field of Hours, Streamlined, Blind Lightning, Neatz Brigade, A World Apart, Skybone, Climate of Despair, Mourning, Touch of Everything, Decimation and Mental Kingdom have all appeared on Obsessed recordings in the 1980s whether in the form of early tracks on Incarnate, demos or live bootlegs.

To promote the album Columbia produced a documentary of The Obsessed featuring a plethora of musicians who were interviewed telling stories of the band. Guests included Henry Rollins (Black Flag, Rollins Band), Ian MacKaye & Joe Lally (Minor Threat, Fugazi), Peter & Franz Stahl (Scream, Wool), Dale Crover (Melvins), Tesco Vee (The Meatmen), Bruce Merkle (Harlingtox A.D.), Pepper Keenan (Corrosion Of Conformity, Down), Lee Dorrian (Cathedral), Don Fleming (Velvet Monkeys, B.A.L.L., Gumball), Jennifer Finch (L7), David Teague (Muzza Chunka), Jay Yuenger (White Zombie), Tom Lyle (Government Issue), Phil Anselmo (Pantera, Down) and Dave Sherman (Earthride, Spirit Caravan) to name a few.

While The Church Within was released on major label Columbia, some copies were also released on independent doom label Hellhound Records. Roughly a year after the album's release The Obsessed would disband due to friction with Columbia, which led to them being dropped from the label.

In 2012 to coincide with the reunion a double 10" vinyl edition of the album was released, also marking the first time The Church Within ever appeared on vinyl. In 2013 the album was reissued via Real Gone Music with liner notes and two bonus tracks. One of the bonus tracks, "Melancholy Grey", was recorded eventually with Spirit Caravan for the album "Jug Fulla Sun".The version here is shorter with different lyrics. Also of note a portion of "Melancholy Grey" shows up in the documentary in a scene where the band is jamming out and recording.

Tracklist

All songs written by Scott "Wino" Weinrich.

• 1. "To Protect and to Serve" – 3:05
• 2. "Field of Hours" – 5:38
• 3. "Streamlined" – 2:09
• 4. "Blind Lightning" – 3:39
• 5. "Neatz Brigade" – 6:49
• 6. "A World Apart" – 1:32
• 7. "Skybone" – 3:50
• 8. "Streetside" – 3:25
• 9. "Climate of Despair" – 3:04
• 10. "Mourning" – 4:05
• 11. "Touch of Everything" – 4:37
• 12. "Decimation" – 4:08
• 13. "Living Rain" – 2:24
• 14. "Mental Kingdom (1994 version, bonus track on 2013 edition)" – 2:54
• 15. "Melancholy Grey (1994 version, bonus track on 2013 edition)" – 3:03

Personnel

• Scott Weinrich - Guitar, Vocals
• Guy Pinhas - Bass, Vocals
• Greg Rogers - Drums, Vocals
• Mathias Schneeberger - Engineer
• M.C. Snoob - Producer

External Links

• Invisible Oranges article on the album.
• Mirgilis article on the album.
• The Obelisk article on the reissue.