Reviewed:
- Metal Church (1984)
- The Dark (1986)
- Blessing in Disguise (1989)
- The Human Factor (1991)
- Hanging in the Balance (1993)
- Masterpeace (1999)
- The Weight of the World (2004)
- A Light in the Dark (2006)
- This Present Wasteland (2008)
- Generation Nothing (2013)
- XI (2016)
- Damned If You Do (2018)
- From the Vault (2020, compilation)
- Congregation of Annihilation (2023)
METAL CHURCH 1984 (Elektra)
- Standouts: Everything.
I finished my Blind Guardian discography page the other week, and like them, my personal history with Metal Church is fairly similar. I've had 2 Metal Church CDs in my collection for donkeys years; to be more precise, I picked up 2008's This Present Wasteland up as a new release (I must be the only guy on the planet to start off with that one) and shortly after I remember buying the 1984 debut from Amazon marketplace. And then I didn't pick up another MC album for at least 10 years. Strangely enough I'd say I actually like MC more so than I do Blind Guardian, despite the fact I still don't own all the studio albums yet (unlike BG)! To be honest, I find a lot of Metal Church's albums to be quite expensive here in Europe, so accumulating them all has been quite a slow process. Like I said, I'm still trying to accumulate them all. I'm in no rush to do so thankfully, but it's definitely a long-term goal of mine.
Anyway, Metal Church's 1984 debut is an absolutely legendary slice of true American heavy metal. The band themselves can sometimes be difficult to categorise - are they power metal? Speed metal? Thrash? Or just straight-up heavy metal? Meh, who cares! When you mesh all these styles together so seamlessly, it really doesn't matter! Opener 'Beyond the Black' is simply one of the best metal songs of the decade - the riffs are pummelling, and they literally blend all the above subgenres together to create something truly special. Add to this David Wayne's (RIP) screeching, snarling vocal style and you have one of the most metal things I've ever had the pleasure of listening to! Umm, that is until track 2, the self-titled 'Metal Church' kicks in! Yep, I might even dig the song 'Metal Church' even more than the incredible opener!! Every single one of those riffs is so heavy and in-your-face, while Wayne's lyrics are cheesy in the way I like them! About the riffs on this track - and this whole album actually - they're heavy in the classic sense of heaviness. And that means no downtuned guitars and boring, uncreative modern 1-2 fret riffs, just good old fashioned balls-to-the-wall METAL riffs! The best kind!! I have to give kudos to guitarist and principle songwriter Kurdt Vanderhoof - the man is a hugely underrated riff maestro. Even though he technically left the band after 1986's The Dark to pursue a music production/engineering career, he continued to write the vast majority of Metal Church's music all the way up until he re-joined in the late '90s.
But anyway, back to these songs! 'Gods of Wrath' is an absolutely killer metallic ballad. It's not a ballad in the soft, slushy sense (or power ballad style for that matter), it's exactly how a metal ballad should sound. It has tons of heavy and extremely catchy riffs to accompany the moody, atmospheric verse sections. Maybe David Wayne doesn't have the voice for balladry in general, but it works perfectly well on this track. 'Hitman' is great as well - the "It was youuuuuuuu!" chorus is cheesy as fuck, yet somehow fits the whole vibe of this record. Musically, it's top-notch '80s speed metal. Same goes for '(My Favourite) Nightmare' - man I love classic speed metal!! Actually, this one is pretty damn thrashy too. 'Battalions' has a vocal melody that reminds me of Iron Maiden while the music is pure speed metal euphoria. Tight as well! They end on a cover of Deep Purple's legendary 'Highway Star', one of my all time favourite tunes from my all time favourite band. Normally I'm pretty pessimistic about cover songs, especially when the rest of the album is so damn strong and the song in question they're covering is such a classic. But this one is great - MC transform this '70s hard rock powerhouse into an '80s speed metal 'banger. Obviously there's no organ/keyboard player in MC, so the band make up their own guitar solos instead of replicating Jon Lord's organ handiwork (and Ritchie Blackmore's original guitar solo).
There are no major downsides to this album at all. The only song that's noticeably weaker than the rest is 'In the Blood'; the music feels like a homage to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, which is fine I guess. Trouble is, it sounds more like a mish-mash of Saxon, Raven, Venom etc. (aside from the vocals) more-so than it does Metal Church to me. I love the NWoBHM as much as the next guy, but Metal Church have an identity of their own as can be heard from this album. Just to clarify however, I do totally dig 'In the Blood'. It still manages to kick-ass to the point where it's good enough to be a standout, and it hardly brings the album down. It's just not quite as special as the other tracks, even the instrumental 'Merciless Onslaught' with all it's awesome drum fills. On top of this is an obviously '80s production job, but not in the reverb-drenched glossy manner. It's maybe slightly more polished than some of it's contemporaries, but still has enough crunch to satisfy my needs.
This is undeniably a true heavy fucking metal record in every sense of the word. I don't if I'd call it one of the greatest of all time, but it's easily one of my personal favourites from the '80s decade. And it's certainly one of the finest debut albums from an American heavy metal band. Like I said before, the songs seamlessly blend trad metal, thrash, speed and power together so well that the album's still a regular go-to for me after all these years of owning it. Even better is the fact the band would keep up this momentum on their next 2 releases...
Adam's rating: 9.3/10
THE DARK 1986 (Elektra)
- Standouts: Great from start to finish!
A stellar follow-up, The Dark feels like a tighter, more refined version of the same beast that was unleashed on Metal Church's debut. The whole Metal Church situation sort of reminds me a little of Annihilator's first 2 records - both are just as strong as one another. But Annihilator's debut Alice in Hell holds more sentimental value with me personally than Never, Neverland - and the same can be said for Metal Church's first album. I have a longer history with that album, so I kinda gravitate more towards it than I do this one. But in reality The Dark is just as strong, and if it was my first MC record it'd no doubt be my favourite. Anyone who favours this album won't get any arguments out of me!
So, the music's tip-top once again then. Opener 'Ton of Bricks' is a phenomenal track - punchy as hell, tight as fuck, speedy as shit... you get the picture!! I remember when Metallica released 72 Seasons in 2023 and the title track's intro riff from that album reminded me a lot of 'Ton of Bricks''. 'Start the Fire' is a stompin' mid-tempo cut while 'Method to Your Madness' is surprisingly melodic and even a little accessible in some of it's passages. But guess what, Mr. Vanderhoof is such a good songwriter that it only makes this album that little bit stronger! Now they're mixing traditional, power, thrash, speed and catchy radio metal into their music! Well, at least on 'Method to Your Madness' anyway! 'Watch the Children Pray' is a dark and atmospheric ballad in similar vein to 'Gods of Wrath' in that it's as heavy as required, but also as melodic and moody as a metallic ballad should be. It's excellent. 'Over My Dead Body' and 'Western Alliance' pretty much exemplify what the US power metal sound is all about while 'The Dark' is chock-full of endlessly awesome '80s metal riffage and David Wayne's screeching vocals. Metal as fuck! 'Psycho' and 'Line of Death' are as appropriately thrashy as I like 'em to be, and 'Burial at Sea' is an almost Iron Maiden-like mid-tempo romp.
Complaints? Barely any. David Wayne is just as good here as he was on the debut, but he wouldn't stick around after this album which is kind of a shame I guess... (spoilers) but his successor was just as good anyway if you ask me. The production is better in some ways, maybe worse in others? But still absolutely fine either way. I think there's a slightly more 'dry' tone to this record compared to it's predecessor, but you could also argue that it sounds cleaner for it too. Apples and oranges! And none of the actual songs come anywhere near close to sucking, even if I do admittedly like some more than others. But this true of most albums for me anyway!
It's a 9.2 for me. I still like the debut that little bit more for personal reasons, but The Dark is another prime example of '80s metal at it's finest. It's albums like this that even bring out the elitist in me a little, I'm ashamed to say. I really try to maintain a positive attitude on this blog if I can, and I do my very best to stay away from genres I don't like - if I'm not a fan of and don't follow a particular genre, then I may as well stay quiet. But yeah... it's classic albums like this that make me realise why I love the genre so much, and avoid more modern styles such as metalcore for example. I like a lot of metal, sure, but almost all my favourite bands don't need breakdowns, detuned guitars and screams to be good. And I like most death metal! But I really don't get on with some of the more popular bands of today such as Sleep Token, Parkway Drive, Polyphia etc. - fair enough if other people do, but bands like that just aren't what I look for in my metal. You really can't beat the old-timey style! Excellent album then. Again, not quite a GOATed record in metal, but it's up there as one of the better '80s ones for sure.
Adam's rating: 9.2/10
BLESSING IN DISGUISE 1989 (Elektra)
- Standouts: Everything, once again.
Enter vocalist Mike Howe (RIP) - his style is certainly different to that of David Wayne, but very fitting for Metal Church all the same. Wayne's voice was a little exaggerated and campy (I mean that in the best sense), Howe is a bit more dramatic and maybe even operatic by comparison. And as for the Blessing in Disguise record, well, it's absolutely fan-fucking-tastic once again!
Opener 'Fake Healer' might just be one of the best metal songs ever in my humble opinion - the riffs are absolutely, crushingly menacing and Howe's vocal performance is epic. Again, the band define what US heavy metal was all about in the '80s on this track (and this album in general). The lyrics are great too, speaking about the hypocrisy and corruption of healthcare. I can literally hear this song on repeat and never tire of it. It ends up in pretty much every metal playlist on my Spotify! 'Rest in Pieces (April 15, 1912)' too, is amazing. Lyrically it's about the sinking of the Titanic, and musically it's another monster of metal riffing, powerful vocals and just about everything else I love about this genre. The thrashy 'Of Unsound Mind' sounds like it could've come from the debut, only it has a personality of it's own thanks to Howe's vocal delivery and the crunchy production. Oh yeah, how could I forget the production?! It's easily my favourite-sounding Metal Church album - the guitar tones are monstrous, the drums pounding and there's enough low-end here to satisfy that side of things for me as well. I've read a few reviews on Metal Archives criticising Terry Date's production, which seems strange to me. I certainly don't hear what these people are hearing.
Anyway, 'Anthem to the Estranged' is the bands second-longest ever track, and is yet another top-notch metallic ballad of sorts. I swear they just keep getting better with this type of song. 'Badlands' is a dramatic, powerful slab of US power metal that gets my adrenaline pumping, and so does 'The Spell Can't Be Broken', which is an insanely tight slice of top-tier melodic thrash. The outro to this song reminds me a little of some of the riffs in Metallica's 'Trapped Under Ice'. 'It's a Secret' is a blistering instrumental, and the fastest track on the album. A whirlpool of speeding riffage. 'Cannot Tell a Lie' is not as fast by contrast, but is certainly heavier and relentless in it's delivery of pulverising riffs. 'The Powers that Be' returns to that soaring power metal style once more, and is a fine way to close the record on. The only real downsides I can think of to this album are the fact it still isn't quite in the same league for me as, say, Slayer's Reign in Blood, Metallica's Ride the Lightning, Megadeth's Rust in Piece etc.. It just doesn't have that same X-factor, but is still strong enough to be a seminal album of it's genre for sure.
I honestly believe Metal Church created one of the greatest metal album trilogies of all time with Metal Church, The Dark and Blessing in Disguise. This 1989 offering is probably the best of the bunch. Whether or not you prefer Mike Howe over David Wayne as vocalists (I personally prefer Howe that little bit more) is entirely subjective, but musically it's like Kurdt Vanderhoof took all the lessons he learnt from the first 2 albums and simply improved them further. The songs once again range from speed, thrash and power metal and keep me hooked from beginning to end. Even the lyrical matter is deeper and cleverer this time around. And Kurdt doesn't even play on this album!! Yet he still wrote the majority of both the lyrics and the music here! At this point he was focussing more on music production/engineering, but was still very much the brains behind Metal Church.
The first 2 albums are among some of the finest '80s metal records of all time. Blessing in Disguise, to me, is possibly one of the finest metal records of all time from any decade. If any band doesn't get enough credit, it's Metal Church.
Adam's rating: 9.5/10
THE HUMAN FACTOR 1991 (Epic)
- Standouts: 'The Human Factor', 'Date with Poverty', 'The Final Word', 'In Mourning', 'In Due Time', 'Flee from Reality'
Not as strong as the first 3 records, sure, but 1991's The Human Factor still doesn't fuck around. And aside from the lame album cover, this is hardly a major misstep in the discography. The opening 'Human Factor' alongside 'Date with Poverty' are excellent - the former is classic Metal Church whilst the latter has a nice groove to go with all the signature Metal Church riffage (as well as a surprising amount of profanity in the lyrics, which are actually pretty socially-conscious). 'The Final Word' is a cracking old-school speed/power metal number. 'In Mourning' has a slightly different vibe that is typical of MC in my opinion, at least during the main verses. I think it's the way the drums and bass take front seat for these parts, but the song is still as metal as it gets, and I'm not criticising it for it. This song still "slaps", as the kids say. As with the last 3 albums, the band again provide a ballad here with 'In Harm's Way'. This one makes use of acoustic guitars and is probably the moodiest of the bunch so far. It's no 'Gods of Wrath' and it definitely feels a little more '90s-influenced somehow, but I still like it overall.
Speedy cuts 'In Due Time' and 'The Fight Song' get my blood pumpin'. Well, I'd be disappointed if 'The Fight Song' didn't, given it's title! 'Flee from Reality' is equally thrashy and could've easily fit on Blessing in Disguise if you ask me (aside from the gang chant backing vocals, which work here anyway). There's no real sketchy material to speak of. 'Agent Green' it definitely has some more modern influences (for the time), but does at least blend them rather will the band's signature traits. It's not a bad track by any means, just not a favourite of mine. 'Betrayed' is lacking something too - heavy, sure, but the riffs are a bit generic and tired by MC standards. So this one definitely qualifies for filler sadly. Not terrible, but not as good as the rest of the album.
Okay, so The Human Factor isn't up to the same standard as any of it's predecessors. There's a definite shift in tone that I think is partly due to the course of heavy music in the '90s and also the production. Not that the production is bad, far from it. But it definitely doesn't have the same bite as Blessing in Disguise, and some of the songs leave me feeling slightly colder somehow? It's hard to describe! For these reasons, I don't find myself revisiting it quite as much as I do any of the previous 3. Still, in the era of grunge it's hard to find a largely old-school sounding metal album from 1991 as good as this. Mike Howe is as good as ever vocally, Vanderhoof's riffs are mostly tip-top and lyrically the album is just as clever and thought-provoking as anything from Blessing in Disguise. Easily strong enough for me to consider it a great album for sure.
Adam's rating: 8.1/10
HANGING IN THE BALANCE 1993 (Blackheart Records)
- Standouts: 'Gods of Second Chance', 'Hypnotized', 'No Friend of Mine', 'Waiting for a Savior', 'Conductor', 'Little Boy', 'Down to the River', 'End of the Age'
Damn. This album's
cover art is so utterly terrible I can only guess the band had no say in the approval of it. Seriously! It's gotta be one of the worst album covers in music history! Thank god the music is another story, because it seems to me that a lot of fans online consider
Hanging in the Balance to be one of Metal Church's better works. 9 reviews of it on Metal Archives and an average score of 92% - if those guys dig it, it's gotta be good surely?! Well it is! For me it doesn't quite stack up against the first 3, but in all fairness not many things do.
The album's opener, 'Gods of Second Chance' is a surprisingly slow-building, mid-paced affair - but this isn't a bad thing. The song is very well structured, atmospheric and the groove of the riffs are hugely memorable. It's a great song. Maybe not something they'd have recorded in the '80s, but it still sounds like prime Metal Church to me, as does 'Losers in the Game'. This track is more energetic and melodic, while 'Hypnotized' is quite the opposite. Groovy, grinding riffs and fantastic Mike Howe vocals. 'No Friend of Mine' sounds like it absolutely could have come from the '80s - it's top-tier speed metal MC and perfectly paced at that. The moody ballad 'Waiting for a Savior' keeps the music fresh, both 'Conductor' and 'Down to the River' get my head bangin' and blood pumpin', and 'Little Boy' - which is all about Hiroshima - is maybe the album's biggest standout. It's an 8 minute, almost proggy centrepiece and the mid-section transition is haunting. This track is pure brilliance. 'End of the Age' blends acoustic and electric guitars; it's definitely a more alternative-based number for Metal Church, but one that works surprisingly well. 'Lovers and Madmen' is an instrumental that serves as an acoustic introduction to the last song on the album, 'A Subtle War'. This is one of the more melodic tracks Hanging in the Balance has to offer.
As with any of the last bunch, there's not a great deal to complain about here. I don't think the production has the same bite as Blessing in Disguise, but it still sounds crunchy and organic. It mostly just boils down to song preference. I like everything this album has to offer. As with The Human Factor, Hanging in the Balance is another rock-solid classic heavy metal platter from the dark ages of traditional metal. Like it's predecessor, it definitely has little quirks and songwriting ideas on it that are clearly influenced by the '90s (more groove in the riffs and the entire song 'End of the Age'), but they don't hinder the quality of the music necessarily. If anything, they give the album more character and make me want to revisit it for being that little bit different to what the band were doing in the '80s. The most important thing though, is the fact this album still sounds 100% like Metal Church, and if you liked any of the last 4 you're like this one too. I think this one is stronger than The Human Factor - both are pretty similar, but I find myself to returning to Hanging in the Balance more often. I don't think it's one of their absolute best, but the songs are still great throughout; Vanderhoof's songwriting and riff-work has barely slumped and the lyrics are still clever.
Just don't let that horrendous album cover put you off!
Adam's rating: 8.5/10
MASTERPEACE 1999 (SPV)
- Standouts: 'Kiss for the Dead', 'Lb of Cure', 'Faster Than Life', 'All Your Sorrows', 'They Signed in Blood', 'Toys in the Attic'
I tend to avoid promo CDs if I can. You know the type - the sort of one's that are sent as free copies to radio stations for airplay or publications to be reviewed. They almost always come in crappy cardboard sleeves or those thin jewel cases that CD singles were sold in back in the day. I have a few promo copies of albums in my collection - Diamond Head's What's In Your Head?, Grave Digger's The Grave Digger, Sepultura's A-Lex... even Van Halen III. But I very rarely ever go out of my way to deliberately pick these things up, because packaging and presentation is a big deal for me. Thing is though, I wasn't willing to spend an arm and a leg on Metal Church's 1999 album Masterpeace. Yeah, Discogs has reasonably-priced copies from foreign sellers, but then the seller will also ask for $25 shipping. No thanks. A promo copy popped up on eBay, and I won it for around £4. For that price, I can live with my shoddy cardboard promo packaging.
Anyway, Masterpeace was the first album from the band after a brief breakup in 1996. It marks the return of original vocalist David Wayne, but he didn't stick around long. He'd sadly pass away in 2002. According to Wikipedia, Kurdt Vanderhoof said the whole Masterpeace era was a disaster. He claimed that Wayne couldn't sing anymore due to prescription drugs and their live performances were horrible. So obviously I didn't have high expectations for this disc, but now I actually own a copy (a promo copy, but whatever!), I can honestly say the music here is still really good! Not S-tier by any means, but there's no obnoxious experimentation going on here, just little contemporary touches of difference here and there when compared to some of their previous albums. But really I think that's just what happens to most bands as time progresses.
I will say that David's vocals have somewhat deteriorated at this point. He definitely sounds weaker here than he did on the debut or The Dark. It's not that he sounds 'bad', he just sounds a little weaker and weathered here than he did in the past overall (he actually reminds me of Bobby Blitz from Overkill a lot on this disc). That said, you do still hear shimmers of his past self on tracks like the surprisingly hard rock-like 'Into Dust' and the superb ballad 'Kiss for the Dead'. Yep, 'Kiss for the Dead' is most definitely classic Metal Church to me - it's atmospheric and brooding, and the music is perfectly paced and heavy when necessary. The first couple of tracks, 'Sleeps with Thunder' and 'Falldown' are solid too, and get the album off on a positive (if unremarkable) note. 'Lb of Cure' is fun too - the riffs sound like they've come straight out of the early '80s and I can't give it any stick for that. I really like the chuggy 'Faster Than Life' too - some of Wayne's vocal passages in this one that remind me of Ozzy in Sabbath. Hard to explain exactly what I mean by this, just take my word for it! 'All Your Sorrows' is a really strong slice of Metal Church speed/thrash metal, with a dusting of melody to make things all that more memorable. As for 'Sand Kings' - it's a totally acceptable way to close the album!
My criticisms this time are fairly standard procedure. There's some definite gems here ('Kiss for the Dead', 'Lb of Cure'), and even the rest of the songs are still enjoyable overall - it's just not a consistently awesome album like many other MC records are. So when I look at my MC collection as a whole, this probably isn't one I pull out and listen to all that often next to many of their other albums. But I'm still struggling to find any reasons for you to not listen to it. Honestly, if you liked anything else this band put out, you're still gonna like Masterpeace. Yeah, David Wayne's not quite the man he once was on this album, but he doesn't come anywhere close to killing the songs for me. I'll admit that a couple of faster/thrashier tracks would've been nice, but there's no real sucky tunes either. Maybe 'They Signed in Blood' is lacking in energy, but I really like it's atmosphere and the way it builds towards the end. Even the cover of Aerosmith's 'Toys in the Attic' is a welcome addition to the tracklisting - it rocks! And I kinda like the production too - it still feels pre-digital and real to me somehow.
Obviously Kurdt himself hates this album, and apparently it wasn't all that popular with the metal community when it first dropped in 1999. Why I have no idea; me personally, I think this is yet another great album from this hugely underrated band. Not one of their best, but still great. It sounds like pure Metal Church to me, and I'll take this over whatever Disturbed, Mudvayne, Limp Bizkit and all the other nu metal bands were doing in 2000!!
Adam's rating: 8/10
THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD 2004 (SPV)
- Standouts: 'Leave Them Behind', 'Weight of the World', 'Hero's Soul', 'Madman's Overture', 'Wings of Tomorrow', 'Blood Money'
This CD was the first to feature singer Ronny Munroe, who I'm fairly sure was the longest-serving Metal Church vocalist behind Mike Howe. Some fans online seem to rate Ronny lower than Mike or David Wayne, but I always thought he was a good fit for the band. He doesn't try to imitate Dave's screeching, nor does he have any of Mike's snarl in his voice. No, Ronny has his own style - he's a little raspier than the other 2, but still has plenty of range and in all honesty, has a voice that is heavy metal all the freakin' way.
Even with new blood in the band, Metal Church deliver yet another hefty slice of heavy metal here. Musically, The Weight of the World is 100% no-frills, meat n' potatoes metal - as you've come to expect from this band. Plus, it has all the traditionally-inspired metal riffage you could ever want from Kurdt Vanderhoof. Album opener 'Leave Them Behind' and the title track that follows are chunky, riffy and bruising cuts. Quality heavy metal, 'nuff said. 'Hero's Soul' and 'Cradle to Grave' are traditional power metal numbers; both are tight, and both are catchy and full of melody. The proggy 8 minute 'Madman's Overture' is enjoyable enough that it's over before I know it, and 'Sunless Sky' is another strong ballad with just enough grunt to fit on this album comfortably. 'Wings of Tomorrow' blends chuggy riffs with soaring melodies; this is quite a common theme throughout the album. It's maybe not as thrashy as I'd like at times (certainly not as thrashy as earlier efforts), but I'd argue the melodic aspect to whatever Kurdt's songwriting process is has gotten better with time. Having said that, the album does end on a mostly speedy cut, 'Blood Money'.
Where would I rank this one next to their other discs? I'd say it sits in the same ballpark as The Human Factor, and also the highly underrated Masterpeace. It's not up there with anything they made in the '80s, and even though I actually really like Ronny Munroe's vocals, Mike Howe will always be the GOATed MC frontman for me. And as for the songs themselves... while they may not be among their most inspired, they're hardly a setback. In fact, they're pretty much consistently strong from start to finish; only 'Time Will Tell' comes close to mediocrity (still far from bad) and overall I think this is a rock-solid effort at the end of the day. An easy 8/10 for me, 'cos it's the sort of record I can play anytime, anywhere and it does the job. Like Saxon's Lionheart from the same year, Weight of the World is about as pure as heavy metal gets for an album from 2004. I'll admit I don't find it to be as memorable as obvious classics such as Blessing in Disguise or The Dark, and for that reason I don't listen to it as much as said albums. But it's certainly worthy of any self-proclaimed metalhead's time and money, and probably one of the better ones from 2004 that I can think of right now. I was lucky enough to find my used copy (in good condition) at Dagfields Antique Centre last year for a mere £5. Score! Like most Metal Church discs, it tends to sell for a lot more than that here in the UK - so I was very happy with this find.
Adam's rating: 8/10
A LIGHT IN THE DARK 2006 (SPV)
- Standouts: 'A Light in the Dark', 'Beyond All Reason', 'Mirror of Lies', 'Disappear', 'Temples of the Sea', 'More Than Your Master', 'Blinded by Life'
Finally! The last CD to finish off my Metal Church collection. I had to import this one from Argentina of all places, it was the only seller I could find with a copy that didn't cost a small fortune. Brand new as well! Anyway, 2006's A Light in the Dark was the second Ronny Munroe-era MC record, and it kicks off with another barnburner - the song itself 'A Light in the Dark'. It's trad/speed metal nirvana, but the riffs also have a dabbling of groove to them, and it really gets my blood pumping. 'Beyond All Reason' is a real bruiser of a metal tune; some simplistic grooves to the riffs, but very catchy and memorable. 'Mirror of Lies' is another top-notch speed metal monger while 'Disappear' sounds like a 'Black Dog', 'Still of the Night' and 'Victim of Changes' smoothie, with that classic MC heaviness thrown in for good measure. I initially wanted to call 'The Believer' filler, but I really like it's atmosphere. Maybe it is still one of the weaker moments on this disc, but it's far from skippable for me.
The longest track on the album, 'Temples of the Sea', goes on for around 9 and a half minutes. It starts off all moody and mystical, and while it takes at least 5 minutes before it really picks up any steam, there's lots of melodic, proggy and almost jazz-like riffage before-hand. As a whole, this song is a fun journey to be undertaken. 'Son of the Son' and 'More Than Your Master' are well-crafted songs that keep the album flowing nicely while 'Blinded by Life' is full of muscle and hard-edged riffing to help end the record on a high. The only song that really flies over my head is 'Pill for the Kill', but even this track has some things going for it. For starters, it sounds like Metal Church. My other gripe is simply the fact that there's better Metal Church records out there than this one. A Light in the Dark is great, sure, but it's not peak MC! It's not groundbreaking heavy metal by any means, but it definitely is quality heavy metal. In my opinion, there's no such thing as a bad Metal Church album. I mean, if you don't like Metal Church do you even like metal?
Damn! This might be the best one of the Ronny era! I mean, it's basically just a more polished version of Weight of the World at the end of the day, but that's totally cool by me! The songwriting has mostly improved and the album sounds better sonically to my ears as well. So the ballsy production is certainly a step-up from what was already a good sounding predecessor anyway. And OG Metal Church fans can have their own opinions of Ronny, but me personally, I think he's awesome in his own right. It helps that the first MC album I ever bought was a Munroe one (2008's This Present Wasteland), but the dude is just as metal as either David Wayne or Mike Howe. Other than the fact this CD was a pain in the arse to obtain, I certainly don't regret adding it to my collection!!
Adam's rating: 8.4/10
THIS PRESENT WASTELAND 2008 (SPV)
- Standouts: 'In the Company of Sorrow', 'Deeds of a Dead Soul', 'Meet Your Maker', 'Monster', 'Mass Hysteria', 'Breathe Again'
As stated in a couple of the other Metal Church reviews above, 2008's This Present Wasteland was actually my introduction to Metal Church. According to Wikipedia it was released in September 2008 - sounds about right to me, because I bought this as a new release just weeks after I started Sixth form college in - yep - September 2008! I can't imagine many MC fans started off with this album, but I did. So anyway, we're treated to yet another powerful slab of old-school metal with This Present Wasteland -my kinda metal. The album starts off brilliantly with 'In the Company of Sorrow' - this track is a 6 and a half minute riff-fest with some great vocal hooks from Ronny Munroe. It won't ever top a song like 'Fake Healer', but it's a really kick-ass way to kickstart this record. 'Deeds of a Dead Soul' is even better, and certainly my favourite song from this disc - it clocks in at almost 8 and a half minutes long, has a fantastic atmosphere with it's moody melodies and some surprisingly doomy riffs, synths and vocal arrangements. It's one of those tracks I listen to on the go quite regularly, either in the car or the gym, and probably one of my all-time favourite MC tunes.
As with The Weight of the World and A Light in the Dark, there's very little in the way of weak material here. 'Perfect Crime' is similarly atmospheric to 'Deeds of a Dead Soul' with it's use of background synths, 'Meet Your Maker' is a mostly no-nonsense speed metaller with a surprisingly melodic mid-section, and 'Monster' is packed full of catchy yet heavy grooves. 'A War Never Won' is another strong and somewhat doomy metal piece, with Ronny pulling off some Rob Halford-like wails at times. 'Mass Hysteria' goes hard with it's thrashy riffing and 'Breathe Again' uses the classic power metal template - definitely the most soaring vocals on the entire album. I think 'Congregation' is also an enjoyable melodic metal platter to end the album on. The weakest track is quite possibly 'Crawling to Extinction' - the riffs are the kind of chugging affair you've heard a million times from other bands, but even so, it's only a 4 minute number and doesn't ruin the pacing of the album. The production is very organic and almost sounds like it was recorded live; I think the guitar tones have been better in the past, that much is true. But the fact it never sounds over-produced is also quite welcome with me. It gives the album an identity of it's own.
I suppose I am a little biased towards this album, it being my first MC record and having lived with it for so long now. I get that it probably won't top most fans' lists, but there's no denying the strength of these songs once again. The fact tracks like 'In the Company of Sorrow' and 'Deeds of a Dead Soul' are still regular plays for me in 2025 is really saying something. I think musically it's probably on par with The Weight of the World, but given my own history with it, I'm ranking it a tad higher. It pains me to say that I find A Light in the Dark to be peak Munroe-MC, given that I haven't actually owned that album very long! Still, Metal Church's brand of metal just resonates so well with me, and This Present Wasteland is yet another reason as to why this is.
One cool thing about this CD is it's artwork. The band apparently told fans to submit their own artwork for what could potentially be the cover to This Present Wasteland via Myspace (wow, that takes me back). Of course, the winner's artwork was used for the front cover, but in the booklet are various other fan entries. Some are terrible of course, but others are actually pretty cool, and it's one of those booklets I almost always take a look at whenever I pull out this CD!
Adam's rating: 8.2/10
GENERATION NOTHING 2013 (Rat Pak)
- Standouts: 'Dead City', 'Noises in the Wall', 'Jump the Gun', 'Suiciety', 'Scream'
After a brief split in 2009, the band came back with 2013's Generation Nothing. Ronny Munroe is still on vocals, although this would be his last effort with Metal Church. I take zero issue with Ronny once again. I'm a fan of each MC vocalist because they all sound stylistically different, and all put their own stamp on Kurdt Vanderhoof's songs. Speaking of, 'Dead City' is totally in-line with what this band are all about. It's a melodic power metal-y kind of number with Ronny reminding me of Rob Halford a little. The near-9 minute 'Noises in the Wall' is the standout gem here though - it's a proggy guitar affair with a ton of atmosphere and a superb vocal performance to boot. It reminds me of 'Deeds of a Dead Soul' from This Present Wasteland - the best track from said album, so 'Noises in the Wall' is certainly a great song indeed. 'Jump the Gun' and 'Suiciety' (great title) are 100% metal while 'Scream' is yet another tight thrasher in their arsenal. I can't really think of any major issues with 'Close to the Bone' either - sounds like Metal Church to me!
I can pick some holes with this disc unfortunately. The songs are almost always good throughout, but the only really awesome one is 'Noises in the Wall'... a low number of instant classics for a Metal Church record indeed. Track 1, 'Bulletproof', is kind of an oddball in MC's body of work; it has a surprisingly punky main riff going for it, but is all the more energetic for it. Decent song, just a little jarring. The title track is solid, if sounding a little cookie-cutter to me sadly. It has a mid-tempo pace, fine, but there's a certain spark missing somewhere... can't quite put my finger on it. I think 'Hits Keep Comin'' is a lacking too. Far from terrible, but certainly not inspired. I don't have much to say about 'The Media Horse' either! One other thing of note is the shoddy album cover. Looks like it was thrown together in a few minutes! And the digipak doesn't even feature a booklet, so they really skimped on packaging this time. To be honest, Metal Church don't exactly have the best track record when it comes to quality album artwork.
Hmm. This one's a bit of a step down compared to any of the previous Munroe-era albums. The songwriting just isn't as inspired this time around, and the songs are less memorable for it. It's hardly a 'bad' album, because it certainly still feels like a Metal Church record all the way. I appreciate Vanderhoof's writing style too much to not enjoy it, but with Metal Church the standard set is very high. They're one of few metal bands to have a relatively sizable discography that is almost entirely great - so even the weakest albums are still good. So if you liked anything else this band put out, chances are you'll dig Generation Nothing as well. I know I do, but it won't ever be top of the pile for me either.
Adam's rating: 7/10
XI 2016 (Nuclear Blast)
- Standouts: 'Reset', 'Killing Your Time', 'No Tomorrow', 'Signal Path', 'Sky Falls In', 'Needle and Suture', 'Blow Your Mind', 'Soul Eating Machine'
Mike Howe's back! Bonus brownie points right there! But in all honesty, as much as I liked Ronny Munroe (maybe even as much as David Wayne), Mike is the definitive Metal Church vocalist for me. Musically however, XI doesn't stray too far from any of the last few records. Vanderhoof has a distinctive songwriting style; this band were never experimental to the point where they were taking risks. You might get the odd keyboard/synth work on certain tracks here and there, or the occasional progressive structure. But for the most part MC have always stuck to that straight-up heavy/speed/power metal style, and that's good with me! It's what I want out of this band.
Anyway, 'Reset' and 'Killing Your Time' are a couple of great corkers that kickstart this album off nicely. Both are tight, fast, undeniably old-school and make me realise just how much I missed Mike's trademark snarling vocals. 'No Tomorrow' is very thrashy, and if it wasn't for the modern production, sounds like it's been ripped straight 'outta the '80s. Both 'Signal Path' and 'Sky Falls In' are longer songs at 7 minutes each. The former is a mid-tempo, melodic metal number with a surprisingly some surprisingly anthemic vocals. The latter has a slightly more modern metal vibe in it's composition - and I mean that in a good way. It has lots of atmosphere, but also an almost ballad-like chorus that sticks in my head. Meanwhile, 'Needle and Suture' might be my favourite track on the album. The main riff is so tight and infectious - it's the sort of riff that is played over and over again, but for good reason. It's fully deserving of it's repetition!
Okay, so maybe the second half of the record is slightly weaker than the first. But even so, I still think it's on par with anything we heard on the last bunch of albums. 'Shadow' reminds me of Metal Church in the '90s, 'Blow Your Mind' features a slow and creepy intro before morphing into a heavy mid-tempo bruiser, and 'Soul Eating Machine' has that classic US power metal feel once again. 'Suffer Fools' once again bounds with enthuisiasm. The only song that doesn't do a lot for me is 'It Waits'. This one is kinda grungy (?) and lacks the same energy that the rest of the albums bears, but thankfully isn't weak enough for me to skip when listening to this record in full. The production is cleaner and more modern-sounding than albums such as Hanging in the Balance or This Present Wasteland, but has plenty of bite. All the instruments are audible, the drums pound and the guitars are crunchy. Great stuff.
This CD immediately grabbed me by the jugular. It helps that Mike Howe is on the mic once again of course, but there's a noticeable level of energy here that was lacking on some of the Ronny discs. And I really like albums such as The Weight of the World, A Light in the Dark and This Present Wasteland - I think they're all rock-solid heavy metal platters. XI though, shines even brighter (except for maybe A Light in the Dark - that one is particularly great). The first half is stronger than the second, sure, but those first 6 tracks are all 9/10s for me. The rest of this disc is still highly enjoyable. Even if XI as a whole isn't peak Metal Church, it's still living proof that old-school metal is alive and well in the 21st century.
Adam's rating: 8.5/10
DAMNED IF YOU DO 2018 (Nuclear Blast)
- Standouts: 'Damned If You Do', 'Revolution Underway', 'Guillotine', 'Rot Away', 'Into the Fold', 'Out of Balance', 'The War Electric'
This is the true definition of a bittersweet album because while it's pretty bloody good as you'd expect, it was also Mike Howe's last effort with Metal Church. He tragically committed suicide in 2021, which was totally unexpected. In my opinion, Mike is one of metal's most underrated singers of all time - up there with other overlooked but talented guys like Tony Martin for me. And on this album he's still doing his thing brilliantly once again. R.I.P..
More about Damned If You Do - it picks up right where 2016's XI left off - totally fine by me!! As much as I like the Ronny Munroe era, I do think 2013's Generation Nothing was a slight dip in quality, but when Mike returned for XI the band were on a high again. Damned If You Do's opening title track is yet another top-quality slice of pure heavy metal, and those added ominous "hums" really add an atmospheric quality to the music. 'The Black Things' has a hard rock aura about it, and more melody by comparison - but it's great. Totally fits on this album like a glove. 'By the Numbers' is, well, Metal Church by numbers! But I mean that in a good way, in that it sounds like MC doing their usual brand of metal very competently. 'Revolution Underway' on the other hand, is a very melodic metal number with some great guitar and riff-work from Mr. Vanderhoof. 'Guillotine' has a melodic touch about it as well, but this track is speedier overall, and all the more heavy for it. 'Rot Away' and in particular 'Into the Fold' are prime examples of why traditional metal still kicks ass all these decades later. The chorus to 'Out of Balance' is extremely catchy, and the music is pure speed metal. The same can be said for fun closer 'The War Electric'. The only 'meh' track for me is 'Monkey Finger'. I don't think there's a single genuinely poor MC song to found, but there's certainly some mediocre ones. 'Monkey Finger' is devoid of any real energy sadly.
This is the shortest Metal Church album in a long, long time - it's 45 minutes long whereas the majority of their albums after The Dark range between 50 minutes and an hour in length. Even though there's 10 songs here - fairly standard practice for MC, there's no lengthy epic tracks to speak of. But you know what, that's fine with me! Everything flows just fine and more importantly, the album never tires me out at any point. Production-wise - to my ears - Damned If You Do sounds very similar to XI. So it definitely has a slight modern sheen once again, but everything has been mixed just right and at the end of the day it's another pleasant experience audibly.
Overall then, this album holds no real surprises, but will most certainly delight serious fans of Metal Church like myself. I find myself listening to XI slightly more often by comparison, because I think it has an extra standout track or 2 over this one. Really though, Damned If You Do is a strong continuation of it's predecessor, and also the end of an era for Metal Church due to Mike Howe's passing of course. It's not one of my absolute favourites from this catalogue, but I'd easily put it alongside albums such as Weight of the World, A Light in the Dark and This Present Wasteland. In short, it's still great.
Adam's rating: 8.1/10
FROM THE VAULT 2020 (Reaper Entertainment)
- Standouts: 'Dead on the Vine', 'For No Reason', 'Conductor', 'Above the Madness'
I don't really buy compilations any more. Don't get me wrong, they definitely serve a purpose for the right person. They're great if you only casually listen to an artist or are only interested in their hits. I bought many when I was a young whippersnapper because I barely had enough money to buy multiple individual albums at once. But these days I don't really bother unless there's legitimate reason to buy them. Metal Church's From the Vault is a good example of this - it's a compilation of unreleased material from Mike Howe's final stint with the band before his passing. 4 new studio tracks, 5 leftovers from the Damned If You Do sessions, 3 cover songs and 4 bonus tracks/oddities.
The new songs are all great as always - 'Dead on the Vine' is a scorcher, 'Conductor' is a tightly-wound speed metaller and 'For No Reason' is a highly melodic hard rock piece. 'Above the Madness' could've fit comfortably on either XI or Damned If You Do. The leftover Damned If You Cuts are mostly a little weaker than what we got on said album, but that's probably why they were cut in the first place. They're definitely still worthy of a listen however; songs like 'Mind Thief', 'Tell Lie Vision' and even the instrumental 'Insta Mental' sound like pure heavy metal to my ears. Maybe the acoustic instrumental '432hz' is a little long-winded, but it's pleasant enough. I must admit I don't care too much for the rest of this disc; the covers aren't necessarily bad - the Nazareth number 'Please Don't Judas Me' is fun enough, and even though I wasn't familiar with Sugarloaf's proggy 'Green Eyed Lady', I kind of dig this rendition either way. Kurdt Vanderhoof is a huge '70s proghead and even has a side project called Presto Ballet. The 'Black Betty' cover doesn't do much for me however. This Ram Jam tune is played to death on rock radio and other than the novelty of hearing Mike Howe sing it, I don't need another version of it. As for the rest of the material here, well the re-recorded 'Badlands' originally from Blessing in Disguise is a nice addition. I can't get into Todd La Torre's duet with Mike Howe on the new 'Fake Healer' however. The OG version is my all-time favourite Metal Church number... because only Mike should sing it!!
At the end of the day, this is a compilation that all serious Metal Church fans should check out. Like most of their other CDs, I couldn't find it at a bargain price anywhere, but whatever. Casuals probably don't need to pick it up, but the 9 unreleased studio cuts are all pretty damn solid overall. The first 4 are all great, the rest are just good. So really, these 9 songs alone create an enjoyable Metal Church album under their own steam. And as a compilation, it's a cool package. Seems crazy scoring it higher than Generation Nothing, but for me the high points of From the Vault are ironically higher than the standouts from said record.
Adam's rating: 7.2/10
CONGREGATION OF ANNIHILATION 2023 (Reaper Entertainment)
- Standouts: 'Another Judgement Day', 'Congregation of Annihilation', 'Pick a God and Prey', 'Making Monsters', 'These Violent Thrills'
I guess I'm kind of surprised that Kurdt Vanderhoof decided to carry on with Metal Church after Mike Howe's death, but here we go again with 2023's Congregation of Annihilation! If a suitable replacement vocalist is possible, then why not release new music? In this album's case, it introduces new guy Marc Lopes to the band. I think his vocals are more comparable to David Wayne's than anyone else - he isn't as melodic as Howe, nor as gruff and raspy as Ronny Munroe. Nah, to me he almost sounds like a more extreme, over-the-top version of Wayne. He definitely has more range by comparison, but he still has that similar cheesy, exaggerated style that only a metal band can get away with. I think he might be my least favourite MC vocalist overall, and that's mostly because I feel he actually over-sings at times. It almost feels like he's trying to 1-up David Wayne on occasion, meaning his performance as a whole seems a little forced and unnatural at times. It reminds me a little of an Annihilator album that came out a few years back - Metal II from 2022. It was a re-recording of the 2007 Metal album, with Stu Block recording new vocals. I think Block is a great vocalist, but his performance on Metal II was a little forced at times compared to Dave Padden's original singing. Don't get the wrong impression - I like Lopes. I think he suits Metal Church's brand of metal well, I basically just don't like him as much as Wayne, Howe or Munroe! But really my complaints about him are minor overall, and I still enjoy his vocals here 90% of the time. I just felt I had to bring this up!
And anyway, I'd argue that the bulk of the music on this CD is actually stronger than what Damned If You Do had to offer. The first 4 tracks - 'Another Judgement Day', 'Congregation of Annihilation', 'Pick a God and Prey' and 'Children of the Lie' - are as thrashy and tight as MC have sounded for a long, long time (although 'Children of the Lie' has a slower, melodic outro). There are absolutely zero modern metal traits to be found on any of these songs, which only makes them better in my books. Them being thrashy doesn't automatically make them 'better' than anything else this band does. As I've said in basically every one of my reviews, MC do heavy, power and melodic metal so well - it just happens that this album has a fair share of meatier, more hard-hitting tracks right from the get-go. And they're all great! Riffs galore and an incredibly strong sense of vintage '80s speed metal!! 'Me the Nothing' slows things down and could maybe pass as a melodic ballad, but even this song is heavy in it's own right. The quality of the music doesn't dip by the time 'Making Monsters' kicks in either - this is a superbly tight, melodic slice of thrash that gets my head banging instantly, as does the catchy 'These Violent Thrills'. The weakest number is no doubt 'Say a Prayer with 7 Bullets', but it's still a relatively straightforward metaller that doesn't hinder the album much at all. The production is once again clean and crisp, but still human enough to give it a charm of it's own.
Rating this album was a little tricky in some ways. I think some of these songs may actually surpass XI in some ways, but Lopes' vocals don't always sit quite right with me. For the most part he's very cool, but like I said before, there's a few instances here and there where I feel he pushes himself too far. I suppose replacing a talent like Mike Howe is no easy task, so I reckon he may have been trying to make as big impact as possible. Totally understandable. I think if Howe had sang on this album, it'd surpass XI for me. As it stands however, Congregation of Annihilation is yet another well-crafted, well-executed slab of true heavy metal that only does their catalogue justice one again. It may not be among their absolute best, but it's most certainly one of their heaviest. I'm looking forward to hopefully hearing another record with Lopes from them in the future.
Adam's rating: 8.2/10
