Church of Misery bassist and founder Tatsu Mikami, in addition to having a considerable influence on the shape of modern doom with his band, is obviously someone who knows his stuff. He’s also someone with a tendency toward lineup changes. The long-running Sabbathian loyalists have had more members than I think even Tatsu could count, but so far as I know, their upcoming fifth (or sixth, depending on what you count) full-length, And Then There Were None, will be the first time he’s worked with American artists in collaborating on new material.

Tatsu and his low-slung Rickenbacker are currently in Middletown, Maryland, in rehearsals for the new album recording at the Polar Bear Lair studio. The plan is to have seven new songs ready to go with Chris Kozlowski recording. Dave Szulkin of Blood Farmers will play guitar and Eric Little from Earthride will play drums. These are not happenstance picks in any way, and one can’t help but wonder exactly what sort of doom this new incarnation of Church of Misery will bring to bear when And Then There Were None arrives, as it will reportedly later this year on Rise Above Records.

The big question here is who Tatsu is going to get to perform vocals on the album. One assumes the lyrical theme will be the same as ever — serial killers — but as Church of Misery readies the follow-up to 2013’s excellent Thy Kingdom Scum (review here), one can’t help but wonder just what other tricks the bassist might have up his sleeve. That I’m very much looking forward to finding out should go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway.

Studio pic of the lineup and announcement follows:

Rehearsal continues…..Middletown, Maryland

The time has come. I will stay in Maryland for 2 weeks in May to record the new album. US DOOM legends, Dave from BLOOD FARMERS and Eric from EARTHRIDE are going to join this recording. We will record 7 new materials at “Polar Bear Lair Studio” with Chris Kozlowski as an engineer – He has been working for tons of great US DOOM albums, like IRON MAN, INTERNAL VOID, EARTHRIDE, SPIRIT CARAVAN, PENANCE, PENTAGRAM and WRETCHED etc. Also, I will announce about a singer for this album soon. Let there be DOOM!

Tatsu

http://www.churchofmisery.net/

https://www.facebook.com/churchofmiserydoom/

Church of Misery, Live at Shibuya Cyclone, April 5, 2014