| Vol. 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
 The album cover for Vol.1, spoofing Vol. 4 by Black Sabbath. The 2007 vinyl diehard edition would have Richard Ramirez in place of Ozzy Osbourne. | ||
| Studio album by Church of Misery | ||
| Released | July 31 2007 (Officially) | |
| Recorded | April - June 1996 at Los Angeles Club in Tokyo, Japan | |
| Genre | Doom Metal, Psychedelic Rock | |
| Length | 52:43 | |
| Producer | O-Mi Kihara | |
| Church of Misery chronology | ||
| Live in Red, Eurotour 2005 (2007) |
Vol. 1 (2007 (Officially)) |
Dennis Nilsen (2008) |
Vol. 1 is the debut album of Church of Misery. Originally considered as an advance demo by the band it is considered by some to be their debut album though the band themselves for a time considered Master of Brutality to be their first full-length.
Recorded in 1996 with the original singer Kazuhiro Asaeda, the music composes traditional doom metal and predates the "serial killer" theme the band is known for. The album got initially released by USA bootleg label Doom Records before eventually being officially released by Leaf Hound Records in 2007 and later Emetic Records in 2011.
This album notably features a cover of "Race With The Devil", originally written by late 60s British band Gun.
Background[]
Doom Records and Discontent[]
When Church of Misery formed in 1995, the band started working together doom songs in the vein of Black Sabbath and other classic 60s/70s hard rock bands. The band would record this (Along with alternate mixes of two songs) with the intents of self-releasing Vol. 1 as their debut album. According to the band, personal conflicts ultimately prevented the album and the single from being released.
Eventually Marshall Levy and notorious bootleg label Doom Records would release it unofficially in 1997. The band had never intended to release the album after Asaeda was replaced by Nobukazu Chow and only found out when American listeners wrote to the band talking about the record. Despite gaining support outside of Japan, the record was never released with their permission and greatly displeased the band. In an archived page, the band goes into the story behind it's initial release along with encouraging listeners not to buy it...
| “ | “ATTENTION !!!
WHAT THE HELL IS THIS !!?? WE WOULD LIKE TO SAY " THIS IS BOOTLEG !!!!!!!!!" THIS ONE IS RECORDED BY ORIGINAL LINE UP IN '96. THIS ONE IS UNRELESED OUR 1ST ALBUM. WE HAD PLAN TO PUT OUT THIS ONE AS SELF-MADE RELEASE. BUT FOR SOME PERSONAL PROBLEMS, WE STOPPED RELESING THIS ONE. NEXT YEAR, WE GOT SOME LETTERS FROM OVERSEA MANIACS AND THEY SAY " YOUR 1ST ALBUM IS REALLY COOL!!!". YEAH, 'MERSHALL HALL' OF " DOOM RECORDS" DID IT !! AGAIN WE WOULD LIKE TO SAY " THIS IS UNOFFICIAL !! " THEY SELLING THIS ONE US $ 25 - IT'S NOT INCLUDING POSTAGE PRICE. IT'S HIGHLY EXPENSIVE PRICE - THEY MONEYMONGERS !!! FUCK !! IF YOU'RE REALLY INTO " CHURCH OF MISERY " .... DON'T BUY THIS ONE !!! NEVER !!!” |
” |
— Church of Misery, Statement on Vol. 1 circa 2001. [1]
|
In 2000, the band intended to release two songs from Vol. 1 along with the two unreleased single mixes in a split with Acrimony while further encouraging fans to not buy Vol. 1 from Doom Records. Ultimately, this would not get released until 2003.
| “ | “JULY 11th 2000.
@ "GAME TWO RECORDS " WILL PUT OUT "CHURCH OF MISERY / ACRIMONY " SPLIT CD IN THIS YEAR. IT INCLUDING 5 TRACKS OF "ACRIMONY"S FINAL RECORDING -" TUMULI SHROOMAROOM","SATELLITE 19 ", " IN OTHER WOR(L)DS", "100 NEW GODS" & " TIME BOMB". OUR 4 TRACKS ARE TAKEN FROM 2 TRACKS OF UN RELEASED EP " RACE WITH THE DEVIL" & MORE 2 TRACKS OF UNRELEASED ALBUM " VOL.1". THESE ARE RECORDED BY ORIGINAL LINE UP IN EARLY '96. NOW " DOOM RECORDS" RELEASED OUR UNRELEASED ALBUM " VOL.1 " WITH NO PERMISSIONS. IT'S UNOFFICIAL - HIGH PRICED BOOTLEG CD. DON'T BUY THIS ONE & MEGA FUCK OFF TO " MERSHALL HALL" OF " DOOM RECORDS " !!” |
” |
— Church of Misery, Official Statement circa 2000.[2]
|
Leaf Hound Records Reissue[]
In 2006, Japanese label Leaf Hound Records announced that they would officially reissue Vol. 1 for the first time on vinyl on July 31, 2007. Along with the album on 180g vinyl the single remixes were also included as a 70g heavy black 7". The inside of the gatefold would feature the liner notes in an inverted cross, mimicking the original gatefold of Black Sabbath's self-titled record.
The details on each version are as follows: Standard Edition:
- - Limited to 450 copies
- - Extra heavy 12" gatefold sleeve
- - 7" picture sleeve (in 60s Japanese pressing style)
- - Inner sleeve
- - Obi strap
- - Liner notes (written in Japanese)
Die-hard Edition:
- - Limited to 50 copies
- - Extra heavy 12" gatefold sleeve with pop-up representation of serial killers
- - Silkscreen printed fabric bag
- - 7" picture sleeve (different from normal version, in 70s Japanese pressing style)
Emetic Reissue[]
In 2011, along with Early Works Compilation, Emetic Records would re-release Vol. 1 in the United States on CD and vinyl, fully remastered.
Tracklist[]
All songs written by Tatsu Mikami and all lyrics by Kazuhiro Asaeda except where noted.
- 1. Cloud Bed (7:23)
- 2. Nutz (6:53)
- 3. Kingdom Scum (7:13)
- 4. Frog's Funeral (3:23) (Tomohiro Nishimura)
- 5. Cerebrate Pigs (8:13)
- 6. Chilly Grave (5:56) (Music: Mikami / Lyrics: Nishimura)
- 7. Race With The Devil (3:31) (Adrian Gurvitz)
- 8. Race With The Devil (Single Version) (3:49) (Adrian Gurvitz)
- 9. Chilly Grave (Single Version) (6:12) (Music: Mikami / Lyrics: Nishimura)
Personnel[]
- Tatsu Mikami - Bass
- Tomohiro Nishimura - Guitar
- Kazuhiro Asaeda - Vocals
- Hideki Shimizu - Drums
- O-Mi Kihara - Recording, Producer
- M-Glue - Artwork
- Tatsuhiko Nonaka - Artwork
External Links[]
References[]
- ↑ Archived Original Church of Misery Pageaccessed 21st September 2016
- ↑ Archived Church of Misery page accessed 21st September 2016