Sam Black Church, an American rock band named after the West Virginia community of Sam Black Church, formed in 1988. The group released their first three EPs on Taang! Records and gained traction with their unique blend of hardcore, metal, and thrash. Their breakthrough came with the self-released CD Unincorporated (1989) and subsequent signing with Wonderdrug Records. Throughout the 1990s, Sam Black Church shared stages with notable acts such as Bad Brains, Clutch, and Motörhead, becoming popular in the northeast United States. The band released several albums, including That Which Does Not Kill Us (1997) and The Black Comedy (1998), before disbanding in 2000. Sam Black Church reunited for various shows, notably on September 22, 2007 at The Roxy in Boston, and again in 2016 to celebrate the release of Duncan Wilder Johnson’s documentary Leave Behind a Groove in the Earth.
