Worship Pain
Tokyo-based gaijin four-piece fusing black metal ferocity with hardcore aggression, wreathed in incense and ritualistic stage presence.
About
Worship Pain is the sound of four expats â two Americans, one Canadian, one Australian â channeling over a century of collective underground experience into something genuinely punishing. Formed in Tokyo in 2016, the band pulls from the members' deep resumes in acts like Funeral Sutra, Swazönd, Retch, Darkcorpse, Amputee, and Black Line Fever. The result is a genre-blurring assault that sits somewhere between tremolo-picked black metal and the blunt-force trauma of hardcore. Their debut Acts of Worship (2017) established the template: six tracks of unrelenting blackened hardcore. Pain As Teacher (2020), recorded by Hajime Yamamoto at HML Studio, pushed the sound further into expansive, atmospheric territory. The 2023 EP Starless, Endless â released on Bad Moon Rising and Bloodbath Records â marked a deliberate return to black metal roots across three sprawling compositions. Live, Worship Pain is a multi-sensory ordeal. Brooding lighting, incense, and a ritualistic stage presence transform their sets into something beyond a standard gig. Recent activity includes a Taipei show alongside Spectral Wound. They remain one of the more distinctive acts operating in Tokyo's underground metal circuit, bridging the gap between the international and Japanese scenes.
Recent Shows
- Sat, Mar 28, 2026WallCONVINIUM vol.17Details