Monster Magnet / Church Of Misery – Wolves Wulfrun Hall, 14/02/2014

Dennis Jarman 17 February 2014 Event Reviews

@PlanetMosh reviews .@MonsterMagnetNJ show in Wolverhampton

One of a brace of UK gigs (the other being at The Koko in London), Monster Magnet made it their mission to lay waste to the packed out Wulfrun Hall which they did with ease. Lead by the charismatic riff lord Dave Wyndorf when all 3 guitars were cranking away it was mesmerising! But before the headline act played we were treated to 45 minutes of prime psychedelic stoner metal by Japanese band Church Of Misery. Formed in Tokyo 1995 they just strolled on and opened their set with the 9 minute long ‘El Padrino’ with lead vocalist Hideki Fukasawa bellowing from behind a mane of hair looking like a miniature Joey Ramone and also adding some wailing synthesisers to make their sound even more unhinged. Another focal point of Church Of Misery is bass guitarist Tatsu Mikami who had his Rickenbacker slung so low it was almost stage level and he pummelled it for all it’s worth throughout the set. Most of their songs are based on serial killers/mass murderers which explains the darkness of the sound of the band. Their set was over far too quickly and they left the stage to a sea of hands and cheers!

I have never been to a bad Monster Magnet gig, very much doubt I ever will and this was the best I have ever seen them as they are touring on their heaviest album for quite some time, the 2013 release ‘Last Patrol’. I saw the set list before the show so knew that they would be playing it in it’s entirety so as the house lights dimmed and the opening chords of ‘I Live Behind The Clouds’ rang out, the next hour would consist of the album. The title track followed featuring some over the top soloing by lead guitarist Phil Caviano and his playing throughout the set showed he is a worthy replacement for Ed Mundell. At the end of the set Dave thanked us for our patience for listening to the new album but his words fell on deaf ears as the audience were already won over. After a short break the band returned to blast out what was left of our hearing with a 4 song encore of older material. A super fuzzed up rendition of ‘Twin Earth’ from the ‘Superjudge’ album was followed by 2 classics from the groundbreaking 1995 release ‘Dopes To Infinity’. A trippy but crushingly heavy ‘Look To Your Orb For The Warning and a joyous riff heavy romp through the title track but the song we were waiting for was left till last, a lengthy ‘Space Lord’ with the crowd shouting “Space Lord motherfucker!” ending a triumphant gig and my ears are still ringing 3 days later!