Sun Moon Holy Cult
Tokyo four-piece conjuring psychedelic doom rituals steeped in Sabbathian worship and occult fuzz.
About
Sun Moon Holy Cult crawled out of Tokyo's underground in 2022, a four-piece built on the shared obsession of vocalist Hakuka, guitarist Ryu, bassist Ame, and drummer Bato with the heaviest, most narcotic end of the doom spectrum. Their reference points read like a stoner doom starter kit â Black Sabbath, Witchfinder General, Acid King, Belzebong â but the band channels those influences through a distinctly Japanese psychedelic lens that makes them more than just another worship act. Their self-titled debut dropped May 4, 2024 via Captured Records (Japan) and SloomWeep Productions (China), four tracks spanning 40 minutes of languid vocals, grungy riffs, and extended psychedelic passages. Tracks like the 13-minute "Savoordoom" and the 11-minute closer "Out of the Dark" are patient, sprawling pieces that reward deep listening. Recorded by Shige at Noise Room and mixed/mastered by Chriest Yu, the production sits perfectly in that sweet spot between raw and massive. The doom blog circuit took notice immediately. Doomed Nation, The Obelisk, and Unite Asia all gave them ink, and the record landed on the Doom Charts for May 2024. For a band with only one release, the buzz-to-output ratio is remarkable. If they keep this trajectory, Sun Moon Holy Cult will be a name well beyond Tokyo's live houses before long.