Metal Church - Congregation of Annihilation (2023)

Having now weathered the tragic passing of two of their most popular singers, Metal Church pressed on with the increasingly heavy and angry sound they had struck on the later Mike Howe records, once again flirting with a style we'd most associate with USPM, which they were both inspirational towards in their early years, and then ultimately found themselves embracing rather than watering down their sound as they often did throughout the 90s. Marc Lopes is brought on, another beast of a front man, who could embrace the style of David Wayne and Mike Howe quite well, while bringing his own spin on it. He'd already played on a bunch of the Ross the Boss records, which were impressive, and he slides right into the formula here; some have stated that this guy might be a little TOO over the top, and we'll get into that.

Congregation of Annihilation often sounds like Painkiller with David Wayne singing, and that can only be a good thing, brought out by a lot of the riffing patterns in tunes like opener "Another Judgement Day". They also do some heavier, chugging groove riffs to keep it a bit more modern and close to the belt, but for the most part this album has a lot of parallels to Priest of perhaps even some of the Halford solo stuff. Lopes doesn't sound quite the same as Rob, but he loves to inject a lot of one-line screams, so he's always bouncing back and forth between the mid-ranged, angrier pitch and then this shrill pitch which can often come across a little forced and tacky. That's not to say he isn't hitting the notes right, he is, if you've heard him with Ross then you know the guy has pipes, but it seems like he could have been managed better on a few of the tunes here so that that back & forth technique didn't feel so predictable; though to be fair, there are a couple screams he embeds in tunes like "Me the Nothing" which totally smash you. There's a natural feel to his voice that sometimes he's about to lose his breath or choke, but that's not always a bad thing. Otherwise, his middle range timbre is pretty awesome, certainly even trumping Howe in terms of viciousness, even if I don't quite like the voice as much as his predecessor. 

The rest of the band is just handing out a beating throughout so much of this, whether it's on the more obvious power metal thumpers or the most atmospheric pieces like "Me the Nothing" which sound more like an amped up, muscular take on the Tony Martin Sabbath years or maybe some Dio solo stuff. There's a good balance of bluesy, heavy grooves and thick palm muted passages which might not feel like some of their most creative material, but certainly propulsive and powerful, especially with the meaty studio punch giving by the mix. The drums are hammering along, the bass beefy and the leads are also pretty good here, although usually brief and not terribly adventurous. Though it's not perfect, this one definitely continues what for me is the strongest streak of Metal Church since the first two albums, and if they can rein in the vocals just a fraction, maybe get more ambitious with the leads and have a few more of the slower, atmospheric tunes to balance out the raging, we might still hear some magnum opus with this very same lineup.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

https://metalchurchofficial.com/

Metal Church - From the Vault (2020)

Fortunately for us all, there was a little more in store with Mike Howe at the helm before the tragic event of 2021. From the Vault is not your proper Metal Church record, it's more of a compilation, but unlike so many such releases that prove entirely useless, this one actually features some new material. And what new materia! One of the fresh studio pieces here, the opener "Dead on the Vine", is among my favorite tracks that the band had ever recorded, just scorching and extremely well produced. As potent and angry as anything off of Damned if You Do, but a little more polished in the direction of XI. The others new tunes like "For No Reason" or "Above the Madness" are a little more hard rocking and balanced in pace, but still really good and Mike's voice is just off the chains as it was a couple years before.

If this wasn't enough great unreleased material, you've also got some extra tunes from the Damned if You Do sessions, like the cruising and crunching headbanger "False Flag" or the acoustic instrumental "432hz" which is quite beautiful. You can hear why a few of these were clipped from the full-length, but these two at the very least were worthy, and the mix on these is certainly full studio quality if a bit drier in overall vibe than something like "Dead on the Vine". The cover songs included here are also recorded rather well, and slightly unique choices like Nazareth's "Please Don't Judas Me", which is solid if a little silly when Howe puts some goofy grit into some of the verse lines; the others actually sound a little better, like the more metalized "Green Eyed Lady", but here Mike's vocals also get a little cringe. It's not that he sounds bad, just that the edge and venom to his style is a little overbearing in this context...then again, there are some lines where he harmonizes in the latter that sound pretty awesome, and the leads in that one are also quite nice. There are ADDITIONAL tunes from the XI era like "The Enemy Mind" which is also pretty good, and some new mixes ("Killing Your Time", "Needle & Suture") which also feel pretty lethal, though some of this is only on the digital version or the vinyl box set, not the core CD/vinyl.

Because that's not enough of a fan package for your time and money, there are also a couple of live songs, and they sound pretty clear from Japan, but they don't quite match the energy of the studio material and that's probably just because of the particular tunes selected. Mike sounds alright but some of his higher pitched screams are a little much. Regardless, this is the worst that you're going to find on From the Vault, and it's a great complimentary tribute to the two prior studio full-lengths in terms of going back and celebrating Mike Howe's contributions when he rejoined the band. Had all the studio content here been mixed more fluidly as a third new studio effort with him, that might have been superior, there are a few distractions like covers or B-sides that don't live up to the rest, but overall this has at least an EP's worth of killer material that shouldn't disappoint you if you've enjoyed either of his tenure's with the band.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10]

https://metalchurchofficial.com/

Metal Church - Damned If You Do (2018)

XI might have benefited a bit from the 'look who's back' factor, but with Damned If You Do, Metal Church pull up their sleeves and put in the hard work with a record that sounds angrier, more confrontational, and decidedly more USPM than its forebears. In fact, this is one of the band's heaviest efforts to its day, due not only to the riffs and structures, but also Mike Howe had really settled back into his vocal role, and he dishes out one of his most vicious performances. It's this charisma and confidence that seeps through even the simpler of passages on the record, like the verses of "The Black Things" with their clean-tinted guitars, and makes even this track a beast. But he's not alone in this, because the guitars continue to spit out riffs that feel fresh for the band's catalogue, and this is clearly riding the wave of newfound creativity that the band had plunged itself into just a few years before.

That's not to say it's totally out of the ordinary for a veteran band that inhabits the hinges between heavy, power and thrash metal, but if you only had the first few Metal Church albums to go buy, you might not even think this was the same band outside of Howe's resemblance to David Wayne's style. These songs sound like the ravings of much younger men, brisk and savage yet still capable of integrating some more thoughtful uplifting melodies ("Revolution Underway"). The guitars and drums are really busy, and like a lot of their albums they've got a corpulent but cruise-controlled bass presence to support them. Leads aren't overly developed, they just sort of burn out bluesy progressions where appropriate, and in general I felt like this album wasn't as glossed up as XI was in the mix, so there's more of an appreciable level of power at their control. Just a little ugliness to complement the hostility and augment its authenticity. The record sounds great whether it's trotting along at a rapid pace ("Guillotine", "Out of Balance", "Into the Fold"), which it does ably and often, or if they chug along with a moderate headbanging ("Rot Away").

Damned if You Do is bittersweet, of course, because it would be Mike Howe's last record before taking his own life in 2021, which for an underground metal nerd like myself, who had been worshiping his work on Heretic's Breaking Point since that album came out over 30 years prior, was pretty devastating. For my money, though, he left us with one of his most intense records, easily the best I'd heart him sing on in all that time, and arguably his best technical performance, with a lot more catchy harmony hooks and screams than I might have expected from XI before it. This is one pissed off and effective record, and for my money the best Metal Church material outside of the first two discs. It might not achieve masterwork level, and let's face it, the band probably won't ever grace us with an Operation: Mindcrime, Hall of the Mountain King or Master of Puppets, but you can't ever question their persistence and loyalty to the genre that broke them...persistence that would outlive even the aforementioned tragedy.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

https://metalchurchofficial.com/

Metal Church - XI (2016)

It might not be the prevailing opinion, but Metal Church is a band that never quite amounted to much for me beyond their first two albums, both of which I consider, if not masterpieces, then classic American heavy metal records which have withstood the ravages of time quite fine on their own. Since that point, though I've struggled with so much of their output...it's very often adequate, but just never blowing me away as I would have liked if that initial trajectory held true. The original Mike Howe run, while decent, never impressed me as much as his work with power/thrash outfit Heretic on Breaking Point, but he certainly had that similar attack to David Wayne with the inherent edge and anger to his performance; the songs just were not there for me. So having him return to the lineup some 20+ years later seemed like it couldn't hurt, because they hadn't exactly been knocking it out of the park in the interim, why not give it another go with their second most popular frontman? 

I was pretty satisfied from the first singles, because the reunion definitely works out in their favor. This is not the stuff of the eponymous debut or my favorite, The Dark, but it's hard enough hitting where it needs to be, and the band in general sounds more fired up than on the albums leading to it. The riffs are fairly creative, at least within the band's own canon, and they try to incorporate a bit of a modern groove or edge with some of the palm muting parts that keep it from sounding too forcibly nostalgic. Mike sounds just like he left off, in fact I think his performance here is superior Blessing in Disguise, with that harrowing decay to his sustain that feels angry and unique. Not exactly melodic and never as screamy as he might have been when he was younger, but that character to his style is in full effect, and he still to its day sounded like the most natural successor to Wayne. It just helps a lot that he's supported here by songs from Vanherhoof and company that leave a little visceral impact, that show some effort where a few of the albums between the two Howe eras were slightly lethargic or phoned in. There is an enthusiasm and virility here across all instruments that seems to concur with Mike's return.

The production is super clean here, and though it doesn't necessarily do the material any favors, and if anything creates a drier atmosphere, audio purists will really love the clarity of the bass, the acoustics, the beats and vocals and who can blame them. These tunes don't always end up with the catchiest of chorus parts, but at least they are striving for that, culminating with "Killing Your Time", "Sky Falls In" and the lumbering "It Waits" with the cool effects, shining if minimalistic synth lines, and searing chorus line. But really, there's nothing I feel compelled to skip when I'm revisiting this one, all the material holds at least some modicum of consistency and quality, and I remember at the time being happier with XI than I had been with any of their other albums since 1986. I STILL feel that way, though I've overall cooled on the material slightly since it's release. A good Metal Church record, and a worthy reunion, with some explosive potential for moving forward.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

https://metalchurchofficial.com/

Metal Church - Generation Nothing (2013)

I am not a man entirely immune to hype, so when I saw some advance praise for the latest piece of perseverance circa Kurdt Vanderhoof and  Metal Church I got mildly excited. Could it be the first record I've really enjoyed by them in 27 years? In retrospect, I probably shouldn't have gotten my hopes up, because I just haven't been hot on any of the material they've put out since. Sure, most have ranged from 'alright' to decent, and they've not betrayed us with a Load or Risk or Virtual XI or anything scraping the barrel's bottom quite so hard. But at best, their efforts with Mike Howe and Ronny Munroe have been decidedly middle of the road. Once in a while: confusingly overrated. Metal Church has played the law of averages for far too long, and Generation Nothing is just Nothing Special...hell, I'd trade it all to be hit with a "Ton of Bricks" again.

I guess you know not to expect much when a record has such underwhelming digital cover artwork that you pine for the days of tightrope walking viking dames and guitars sitting in fucking smoke...or when the lyrics to the first tune ("Bulletproof") seem to be at least partially hinged on the deflection potential criticism the band or persons within might receive, 'I don't care what you think' type stuff, which is always hypocritical, because if you didn't, you wouldn't have written a song about it (ask Nas and Kanye West). I might be reading too much into that, of course, and it's possibly something more personal or specific in nature, but after the band's breakup and inevitable reunion it just comes off that way. Lyrics, however, are not really the problem with this album, nor is Ronny Munroe. He's his usual qualified self, a more polished alternative to the grating screams pioneered by Bon Scott and Brian Johnson and then cranked up a notch by Udo and Ronny's own predecessor David Wayne; and he's also responsible for the majority of the genuine energy on this disc.

Oh, the rest of the band plays at a youthful intensity across the ten tracks, seemingly recharged in the five years since This Present Wasteland, but the issue here is one of tremendously uninspired riff progressions that in almost every case go nowhere interesting. Variation and pacing isn't in question, because there's a decent range of material. "Dead City" is reminiscent of the late 80s/early 90s Megadeth slowed to a more controlled clip, where "Generation Nothing" itself has traces of modern Maiden interspersed into the classic Church edge. Must say that the lyrics to that title track were pretty cheesy, another of those critiques of the current 'video game generation' that seem a little trite; I mean, if the shoe were on the other foot, what would those kids say about a bland heavy metal record by a bunch of veterans who should be capable of far, far better? Don't get me wrong: Generation Nothing is a more productive life pursuit than another round of Call of Duty 4, but it's hardly all that creative, and this is just another of those topics that seems desperate, like Metal Church doesn't have anything more interesting to write about: it's 20-fucking-13...scathing indictments of couch potatoes were already exhausted by the 90s, dudes.

Really, though, most of the riff and chord choices on this disc are so vapid that Ronny could be singing about the weather for 53 minutes and it wouldn't make much of a difference. Aesthetically, Generation Nothing is quite loyal to all the prior records...an evolutionary fixture between thrash-lite Metallica and trad metal stuff like Priest, Purple and Krokus with some rhythmic nods to NWOBHM. It's not even until the middle of the record that you get anything bordering on a decent melody, but too rarely do they persist through the entire songs so it's always an exception to the rule. Without exception, the harder the band hits, the more entertaining they become...especially on a tune like "Scream" or wherever Munroe starts screaming to the point that it reminds me of Flemming Ronsdorf on Artillery's masterpiece By Inheritance. Unfortunately this is just too rare, too late, and when deconstructed even the riffing in these songs seems predictable and drab. The playing is pretty tight all around...except the clean guitar passages which seem colorless, but I'm just not hearing that mesh of killer vocal hooks and timeless rhythm guitars that defined The Dark.

Production has a good punch to it that compensates for the lack of thicker, saturated distortion to the guitar. Like their other popular post-80s works (Hanging in the Balance), you can tell they're definitely intent on sticking to that more classic metal appeal, but at the same time Generation Nothing seems to feel dry. The album holds together even at high volumes, but there's just not a lot of depth to the bass-lines or drumming to help round out those lukewarm riffs, and apart from Munroe it never feels like anyone is pushing himself to any limit. Musically and thematically, this is largely complacent and boring, and I'm just not the type to cry FUCKIN ACE MAN just because its another reunion record from a familiar logo. Hell, listen to the riffing brilliance on the new Satan or Attacker efforts, or the atmosphere on the latest Warlord. There's a lot of juice and creativity left in many of these once-forgotten 80s metal icons. But the simple truth is that Metal Church, no matter what the lineup, is superior to what they have released on this disc. It's not terrible, and there are a few bright spots, but Generation Nothing should be nothing BUT...and in the end, I've taken less away from this than anything they've done since The Human Factor...actually, less than even that.

Verdict: Indifference [5.25/10]

https://www.facebook.com/OfficialMetalChurch?ref=ts&fref=ts

Metal Church - This Present Wasteland (2008)

Knowing what I know now, that this would be the final Metal Church album before another dissolution, it's hard not to gaze upon its cover as some sort of memorial service for the once great West Coast band. But beyond that, more than most of those leading up to it, This Present Wasteland is an album which struggles for a distinct identity, and for much of its play length, comes up pretty short. Competent, but even less compelling than the few before it, it's probably the least impressive of the full-lengths involving Ronny Munroe on vocals. Not through any fault of his own, because he's the strongest component of the group here by an order of magnitude, but the album spends about 40 minutes in mediocrity before it finally dishes out a song to remember it by. This Present Wasteland, indeed...

Not nearly so dirty or past-obsessed as A Light in the Dark, you could probably argue that this fits between that and The Weight of the World in tone. Munroe has shifted away from the grimier low range he was exploring on the previous effort, and here he flexes his pipes more along the lines of Weight. There are points on the album where he sounds quite close to Tim Aylmar of Pharaoh, and others where he pursues a wavering, lethal Dickinson inflection, or some pure Rob Halford screams. He tries to make the best out of some highly atmospheric tracks like "Deeds of a Dead Soul" (8 minutes of slow burn heavy metal with some synthesizers and clean guitars) or "The Perfect Crime", which sounded like something off a mid 90s album by Queensrÿche, but despite the well rounded structure of these, they all feel a bit dry in terms of delivering memorable riffs and chorus sequences. Balanced off against the harder drivers like "Meet Your Maker" or "The Company of Sorrow", or the bluesy hard swagger of "Crawling to Extinction", the first half of the album seems like dreadfully average, but well performed and produced heavy metal with a mildly dark angle to it.

The final three tracks are likely the best, with "Mass Hysteria" pumping a straight mix of modern power metal with potent bass grooves and some nice melodies added to what otherwise would be some generic, if busy riffing. "Congregation" kind of enforces the whole funereal feel of this record, but it has some of those Aylmar styled vocal lines which imprint themselves on your mind. However, "Breathe Again" took me entirely by surprise, opening like a bouncy and uplifting NWOBHM anthem and then manifesting some excellent verse guitars that made me think I had taken a wrong turn onto Pharaoh's Be Gone. The vocals here are great, the breakdown which once more reminded me of Queensrÿche or calmer Fates Warning, and though it might seem the friendliest song on the album, it's definitely one I wanted to listen through repeatedly. Unfortunately, the rest of the record just doesn't reach this plateau of success.

As with the other Munroe records, the lyrics are appreciably poignant and effective here, even if the Internet  rant "Monster" seems as exaggerated and ridiculous as these things usually are. 'I am just a screen name and a new profile'. Who the hell really feels that way? It's a tool, not a soul sucking conspiratorial leech. 'We've created a monster, it's taking us down.' Hilarious. Philosophical differences and cliches aside, though, you can tell they put a little effort into the 'script' of the record. The production is crisp and well balanced across all the instruments, without feeling squeaky clean or wholly synthetic. As simple as it is, the cover is one of their most eloquent and eye catching, especially with that familiar shadow being cast by the cross, and I do sort of dig how the title reflects the band's state of being at this time. With Wayne having passed away, and the rest of the classic lineup members spread thin elsewhere in the music spectrum, there is little if any chance that Metal Church will manifest in a configuration which rivals its heyday. This Present Wasteland is far from an impressive finale, but there have been worse swan songs for longstanding acts, so it seems they at least experienced closure with some confidence.

Verdict: Indifference [6.25/10]

http://metalchurchmusic.com/

Metal Church - A Light in the Dark (2006)

A Light in the Dark was a fairly curious Metal Church album, if only because the band once again seemed to experience another of many shifts in tone, this time to a darker and dirtier style than I might have expected after The Weight of the World. This comes in both the vocals and riffing delivery, which seem to attempt to bridge back towards the more vicious edge experienced through the first two records in the 80s, meeting limited success. By this point, Vanderhoof was the only original member left in the group, long-time drummer Kirk Arrington having left the lineup; but this replacement, Jeff Plate had quite a repertoire including Savatage, Trans-Siberian Orchestra and associated acts, so the kit was at least left in good hands. One can help but wonder though, if this album was spurred on by a bit of Kurdt's nostalgia for the band's mid-80s boom. The crucifix guitar from the debut and Masterpeace had returned. The cover features a similar, gaping 'opening' as did The Dark, and then, of course, there's the title itself, which seems self-referential. Additionally, there is a 20 year anniversary remake of "Watch the Children Pray", devoted to the late David Wayne, a nice touch, rendering the internal conflicts the band had suffered blood under the bridge.

At any rate, this is hardly the group's crowning achievement, but another passable record which tries honestly damned hard to mete out the more brooding atmosphere of The Dark. Munroe has a lot more grit this time out, channeling the spirit of Wayne's lower register muddied in spots with a bit of Chris Boltendahl meatier bite circa Grave Digger. There are a few growls. Some manic laughter. When he ups the pitch, he sounds a little closer to himself on the previous record, but you could have told me this was another guy entirely and I might damn well have believed you. Matched up with the busier, edgier, grooving power/thrash riffs in tunes like the titular "Light in the Dark" or "Pill for the Kill", speed metal burst of "Mirror of Lies", it's probably the most aggressive the band had sounded since at least Blessing in Disguise. That said, they also don't shun the epic, melodic mood that had been present on The Weight of the World: tracks like the 10 minute "Temple of the Sea", or "Disappear" and "Beyond All Reason" which temper the rugged momentum with some shots of cleaner guitars and a dash of prog rock arrangement. Most of the riff progressions are well composed, just never quite exemplary. You'll always feel as if you've heard them before, but their varied and competent. The group knows damn well how to put a song together, just not one that squats in the memory banks for any period of time.

Lyrically, this was a fraction stronger than The Weight of the World, and I'm happy to say that all of the Munroe fronted records trump the Howe years in this regard, a mix of angry and introspective musings that are no doubt meant to appeal to the audience which has aged alongside the band. The main issue, with this album and so many others like it, as that we're looking at the year two thousand fucking six, and bands with long legacies seemed to want to rest too much on their laurels, while not writing at the level of inspiration that got them there in the first place. I feel it everywhere, on all levels, including huge names like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden (who have never had to struggle to put bread on their tables since the 90s, yet have written worse albums than this one in the 21st century). Sounding like yourselves and putting your logo on the cover is just not enough anymore, and I think A Light in the Dark is another victim of this trend. Not a bad album by any means, but its punchy production values and all around solid execution fall short of the volatile inspiration of The Dark. I found none of the choruses all that resonant, and though the front man is not lost to the concept of charisma, the songs supporting his delivery seem decisively average. I'd have to place it between Masterpeace and The Weight of the World in terms of quality.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10] (screaming for some sanity)

http://metalchurchmusic.com/

Metal Church - The Shrapnel Tapes 81-84 (2008)

The Shrapnel Tapes 81-84 is a long belated collection of the earliest demo material from Metal Church, who for awhile had gone by the name of 'Shrapnel' (in particular on the instrumental Red Skies demo included here) before switching back. To be frank, this is only going to be of interest or use to the most diehard advocates of the band's earlier years, since it has nothing to do with the stylistic evolution some so loved during the years of Mike Howe or the tidier power/heavy metal transition of the more recent Ronnie Munroe years. If Metal Church and The Dark are your bread and butter, though, and you absolutely must hear the most primal incarnations of several of the songs off the debut, then this is clearly targeted in your direction.

In total, you're getting the Four Hymns demo (1981), which many will value for the presence of David Wayne, the Red Skies demo, and then a few other rehearsal tapes from the 81-84 era, one of which is a medley of tracks from a rehearsal demo at the close of that period. Personally. The first four tracks are probably the strongest here, as you're getting raw and authentic renditions of "Battalions" and "Gods of Wrath" from the debut album, not to mention "The Brave" a stock but dark and forceful mid paced banger that some might recognize from the Metal Massacre V compilation. The production is noisy as fuck on a few of the tunes, but what else could you expect from a 30 year old demo transfer. They probably just could have released this as a disc and fans would have lapped it up, especially for the non-album material, but that's not to say it gets preference to the later studio versions on the s/t.

As for the instrumental tapes, well these are really no more than dirty laundry being aired out for those who think they might wanna perform some sort of garage karaoke. Dirty in this case being a somewhat positive trait, because tunes like "Merciless Onslaught" and "Hitman (aka Thrasher)" don't sound all that bad in this most visceral of forms. It's not as if Metal Church had a bunch of other formal vocal demos kicking around that they could have incorporated, so at least they seemed to try and get this as complete as possible. I do think the primal grooves and heavy, sped up NWOBHM influence to tunes like "Graveyard Lust" or "Put the Chains On" might hold an appeal for fans of Metallica's debut, Kill 'Em All, though riff for riff this band was never even a close match for that one in the 80s.

The '84 rehearsal sounds like a shit pile, with the vocals drifting off somewhere in the distance and the guitar experienced as little more than a sonic slice to the head, and the bonus live take on "The Brave" is likewise lackluster, though at least you can hear David cutting through there and it feels like you're watching the band from a good distance at the club. In the end, though, The Shrapnel Tapes doesn't have much to it unless you're a collector or completist, or you want to hear a few more rarities from a band that has rarely exposed them, including an 'unknown song' which is hardly worth it. It's not a good access point for those new to their sound (skip straight to the first two albums in that case), and I doubt anyone dead set on acquiring it for their collection will even break it out with any frequency. But at least it's not a complete waste.

Verdict: Indifference [5.75/10]

http://metalchurchmusic.com/

Metal Church - The Weight of the World (2004)

All components considered, The Weight of the World is actually no slouch of an album, with what might be the most professional production of any Metal Church recording to its day, and a far more enthusiastic roster of songs than were found on 1999's Masterpeace. The problem is that this just never sounded like a Metal Church record to me, but a band waving the flag of an established band moniker to keep forcing itself down a spiral into no man's land. Of the classic lineup, Kurdt Vanderhoof and drummer Kirk Arrington remained, but this came after the whole shitstorm of David Wayne once again exiting the band to start a solo project with former guitarist Craig Wells, and Vanderhoof's own pretty miserable side project which had a lot more commercial, wimpy hard rock sound to it. I had my reservations, so the fact that this didn't suck after the band's five year studio hiatus was a testament that there was some fire left burning in the veterans' hearts...well, the cover sucked, but this is no surprise, as the band seems to wish to set a record for 'lame' in this category.

However, it's almost like a new group entirely in tone. This had a far closer sound to traditional/power metal than any of the previous releases, and lacked those marginal thrash elements heard throughout the 80s. Ronny Munroe, who some might remember from the US hard rockers Lillian Axe (who flirted with some success in that decade), took the vocal reins, and like his predecessors, he's got an undeniable charm about him which seems to sparkle whether the band were writing compelling riffs to support him or not. Like Mike Howe, though, Munroe seems far superior when he's inducing some anger to his inflection like on the opener "Leave Them Behind" He's got this catchy, wavering texture to his voice when he sustains a note, and he's mixed phenomenally on the record, bold and clear without inhibiting the backing instruments. That said, there were a few moments on The Weight of the World in which he exchanged a bit of charisma to concentrate on smoother, deeper, generic emotional lines, and here I admit to losing some interest in the guy, since he could have just been anyone.

Another huge difference on the album is just how glorious and uplifting the riffs feel, far brighter than the hazy and menacing miasma that surrounded the older albums. That's not to say they don't get appreciably heavy in spots like the speed-tested "Hero's Soul" or Judas Priest/80s Sabbath worship of "Cradle to Grave" where Munroe has some great lines redolent of singers like Dickinson, but I always experienced a sunny sort of elation to the writing, which is mildly less appealing than something like The Dark. That said, a lot of the riffs and leads are well constructed, at least more so than the three previous records, and the other new members of the group (Malice guitarist Jay Reynolds, and bassist Steve Unger) fit in seamlessly into this style. They even squeeze in a hint of progressive rock influence in the middle of "Madman's Overture". I wouldn't dub a majority of the tracks 'memorable', yet there were moments in "Blood Money", "Leave Them Behind", "Hero's Soul" and even the playful "Bomb to Drop" which cast the impression that this lineup had been together forever, so well do they gel.

It's not a great album, perhaps, but easily a passable one. Not something that I'd recommend so much for Metal Church fans, believe it or not, but more towards those who have a love for the 80s records of bands like Fifth Angel, Riot, or the Dio solo works. Perhaps also Jorn Lande's so output or the heavier Saxon records of the late 90s, in terms of more recent comparisons. The Weight of the World isn't so distant from the old records that one can't draw some parallels, but it feels more epic than the Howe records like Hanging in the Balance and more happy than the old stuff, likely to leave a few of the bands hangers on feeling mildly alienated. That said, they were obviously happy with this outcome, because they'd continue to collaborate with Munroe for years to follow.

Verdict: Win [7/10] (you claw your way back)

http://metalchurchmusic.com/

Metal Church - Masterpeace (1999)

While I held out fairly high hopes for this inevitable Metal Church reunion record with singer David Wayne, it ultimately proved another of those myriad reformation disappointments, striving so hard to simply reconnect to the band's original level of inspiration that it fails to build upon their legacy in any meaningful way. Hell, before you've even gotten to the music, you feel underwhelmed by the terrible cover. The crucifix guitar returns, sure, but the bright white museum color scheme feels all too sterile a herald for the return of a bunch of hellions after a five year absence. Not that Metal Church has ever had luck packaging its albums, mind you, with the possible exception of The Dark or the cheesy but iconic debut photo, but this was not looking good...

Nor was it sounding good. Granted, it does not help at all that Masterpeace opens with one of the weaker songs, "Sleeps With Thunder", a steadfast but dreadfully average thrasher in which Wayne goes for a more eerie, nasal Ozzy Osbourne intonation/meter circa "Paranoid" or "Symptom of the Universe" and comes up pretty short, not to mention the distracting Alice in Chains-like wah or the annoying, useless micro leads shoved under the verse, or the underwhelming groove chorus. For one thing, I wasn't sure just how much the band was trying to 'ignore' the Mike Howe period of the band, or if that was even a motive. Certainly some of those same 70s proto-metal influences bleed through on this album, so it might be more or less a direct continuation with a slightly more metallic bite to it through the guitar tone, but either way, with the exception of the lead, the band's chance to blow you over was lost on this track.

In fairness, not all of the disc is a bust, and there are some brief moments of brilliance like the titular acoustic interlude with its ethereal, floating guitar melodies, or the simple yet catchy NWOBHM thunder in "Lb. of Cure" (great tune), but a lot of the more hard rocking cuts on the album seem to play it mildly safe, like "Into Dust", "Falldown" or the Aerosmith cover "Toys in the Attic". I don't know if age was wearing them down or not, but I wanted to hear David Wayne breathing clouds of noxious, incendiary gas over some balls to the wall, crushing metal hymns like "Ton of Bricks" that I can use to cast devil horns and middle fingers at their respective targets. Yeah, I wanted Reverend. I wanted The Dark. So sue me. This seems like an album more inspired by the groups' youths growing up in the 70s, and while it works in a few cases, I felt that strange sense of ennui creep in that I had for the oft praised 1993 record Hanging in the Balance.

The real tragedy, of course, is that this was the final official Metal Church record with Wayne on the mic. I would have hoped for a triumph. Sure, he would go on create a solo group with earlier guitarist Craig Wells and release the eponymous Metal Church (a little better than this one), much to the dismay of Vanderhoof, but in 2005 the world would lose this excellent singer, and I for one thing he had some fire left...somewhere. Alas, Masterpeace was just not as lethal or inspired as the band's first two records, where you could feel this clear momentum and have just about every 'banger for blocks around joining you for syncopated neck wrenching communion to "Start the Fire". This record was admittedly loyal enough to the band's catalog up to its release, but too often feels like it was meant more for putting one of the band members' kids through college than tolling the bell of its iron cathedral for miles, and summoning back all the lost lambs to the raging flock. Not their worst, but it was a letdown when I first got it to review for my old paper zine in the late 90s, and despite the repeated chances I've given it, remains so, with just the few exceptions.

Verdict: Indifference [6.25/10] (my time is finished here)

http://metalchurchmusic.com/

Metal Church - Live (1998)

As a teaser for their forthcoming reunion record with David Wayne, Metal Church and Steamhammer dug into the archives to produce one of two live efforts in 1998 (the other was a Japanese release that I've never heard). Live was drawn from recordings of the band's 1986 tour for The Dark, therefor containing all of the band's best songs, at least for one such as myself who didn't get much mileage out of the three Mike Howe fronted albums. So, naturally, I was quite thrilled to listen through it, and damn do they not disappoint, not only because of the actual track selection, but for the production and quality of the performance. The thing might look bland on the surface, but it sounds fantastic.

You're getting 10 tracks, evenly distributed between the first two records, from the classic lineup. The guitar tone is both consistent and aggressive, you might occasionally hear the slight imperfections inherent to any comparison with the respective studio material, but Wells and Vanderhoof sound they like they practiced the shit out of these tunes, consummate professionals who even deliver the leads with skill. The rhythm section also delivers, especially Erickson's bass which sounds good and loud throbbing beneath the riffs. But, as you might expect, David Wayne steals the show away, his voice just as sinister and vitriol dripping as the studio works, especially where he's escalating his melodies like in "Start the Fire" or "Metal Church". Speaking of which, just about all my favorite Metal Church tracks are present in the set list, including those I already named, "Ton of Bricks", "The Dark", and "Beyond the Black".

About the only track I might have left off would be the "Highway Star" cover, but only in favor of another original, not because they make a poor showing of it. That said, I feel like the 46 minutes of the disc is just about right for a band so early on in their career. Not sure why they didn't put this out during their 80s phase, as it might have proven the band's worth and helped draw larger crowds to their gigs, but the very fact that they dropped it as a forerunner to Masterpeace revealed the band's enthusiasm to have Wayne back in the wings, a feeling I happen to share, though the results of the reunion were mixed at best. At any rate, this is well worth hunting down for any fan of the group's 80 phase, since the performances are near flawless.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

http://metalchurchmusic.com/

Metal Church - Hanging in the Balance (1993)

When I first decided to cover Metal Church earlier in the year, Hanging in the Balance was one of their albums I was most looking forward to revisiting. Originally released to the sounds of crickets in 1993, it was the final full length to involve ex-Heretic howler Mike Howe, received some flak for its poor choice in cover art, and seemed to take the formula of The Human Factor and reverse it in time, drawing more deeply from a lot of 70s influences like Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy, Deep Purple and so forth. This was on yet another record label, which hints at a lack of stability, and the sales were quite miserable. Ultimately, the lack of interest in Hanging in the Balance and Metal Church in general led to the group's disintegration (until 1998).

However, through the ensuing years, this record has built up quite a cult following. Several acquaintances (both on and offline) have praised it as an underrated masterwork, the band's magnum opus. I'm going to come right out and say it: I do not share this same enthusiasm for Hanging in the Balance, nor for really any of the Mike Howe fronted releases in the band's catalog. Nothing to do with the cover, as I've got no personal hangups with Rubenesque viking punk tightrope walker broads with spiked bosom and fishnet stockings. The more the merrier. For me it's just that a large portion of the music on this disc is ultimately so forgettable, whereas a few gems tucked away near the latter half of the album seem too little and too late. I'll grant that it's a better album than The Human Factor, with stronger songwriting, superior chorus sequences and the ability to stir up some effective nostalgia for the roots of metal. Where the prior album leaves a black hole in the memory, this one at least conjures a handful of imaginative sparks.

I've always likened the Californians' retrograde evolution to that of their peers Metallica, who also underwent a process of minimalism and 'mainstreaming' around the same time. But where that band's overt simplification (from an admittedly more complex foundation) produced hit single after hit single, broke sales records and transformed an already hot act into an international institution, Hanging in the Balance was the final nail in a coffin of frustration whose framework had been laid as soon as Blessing in Disguise failed to do gangbusters. There was no lack of ambition here. The band was churning out an hour of content with a great deal of variation, they had involved a number of producers and engineers including Paul O'Neill whose work with Savatage was critical to their own development, and there is clear and present direction for it all to take: an accessible mesh of hard rock and heavy metal with big hooks, climactic choruses, loads of clean/acoustic guitars, and the same sense of personal, easy-to-relate-to lyrics from the previous Howe albums.

The production is admittedly well balanced and preserved. Clean yet pulverizing bass tones roll out the the thunder of "Gods of Second Chance", while John Marshall and Craig Wells create some atmosphere on their guitars leading up to the chunky, equalized rhythm riffs. Howe seems to focus a lot on his lower register here, and throughout much of the album, presumably to create an even bolder contrast when he explodes into the higher pitched melodies, but I found that I didn't enjoy it. For a number of the songs, he sounds just like any other run down hard rock front man with a rasp and grit that might just as well have come from excess boozing and cigarette inhalation, a corner bar blues singer stepping up to bat for something a bit heavier. Far cooler are his screams, which he proves are just as capable as Breaking Point or Blessing in Disguise on tunes like "Waiting for a Savior", or even as wild as Bobby Blitz Ellsworth (Overkill) during the verses for "Conductor".

Unfortunately, what I found the least impressive throughout the album were the riffing selections. Not that I expected the band to come out gunning with more technical or 'heavy' hooks than the albums leading up to this, but I feel like you'll get perhaps one or two decent guitar progressions per song, and then everything else just feels like 'stock footage'. In truth, though, just about all the individual riffs here are painfully average, flirting between the stylistic poles of thrash and traditional metal with about as much aggression as you'd find on an album like Armored Saint's Symbol of Salvation, only with less of a knifing zeal to them. They function as a concrete foundation for the vocal lines, but if I were to dissect them, there are simply none that I ever felt like immediately revisiting or trying to work out on my own guitar (a trait that almost all my favorite metal albums of the 70s and 80s shared). The leads are likewise mundane: bluesy and appropriate for the mood of the lyrics and music, but none that I found emotionally resonant.

The first half of the record (first six songs) is basically a wasteland of 'well, that was okay', but I will admit that there are about 3-4 later on that I feel would have made a killer EP. "Little Boy" definitely brings on that pure nostalgia for the drama so inherent to 70s metal and rock. Brooding, atmospheric vocals, clean guitars capitulating to lightning grooves, and perhaps the best single 'thrash' riff on all the album in the power verses. Not to mention that it's 8+ minute length is wholly consistent with its internal narrative. "Down to the River" reminds me a little of a simpler alternative to one of the sequences in Pantera's "Shattered", but then you've got another strong track in "End of the Age", perhaps the most experimental on the disc with a load of folk and prog rock influences: one for the hippies. I also enjoyed the acoustic guitar interlude "Lovers and Madmen" which is dark and fulfilling, and the closer "A Subtle War" for those carving dual melodies that almost remind me of some of Master of Puppet's most eloquent moments if they were captured in a crossfire between Sad Wings of Destiny and Machine Head.

As for being some unsung masterpiece, though, I just do not hear it anywhere. At its best, Hanging in the Balance provides this classy throwback to better bands and albums, but there is just so much content here to which I could only feign interest, enthusiastically skipping over to listen to something else. It's not the band's stripped down stylistic pursuit that turns me off. Hell, I enjoy a few of the tunes on Metallica's Black Album, and I love Trouble's Manic Frustration. But when I turn back the clock and sit through a song like "The Dark", "Metal Church" or "Start the Fire" I feel this inner beast inspiring me to flip over cop cars, hurl Molotov cocktails at my neighbors and bang my fucking head until my eyes burst. Hanging in the Balance is more like background noise for sipping a cool beer on your front porch with that uncle you haven't seen in a few years. It's dynamic, seasoned, mature, and...safe, but it just doesn't have the staying power or the hooks to chase that wider dream.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10] (somebody turn on the lights)

http://metalchurchmusic.com/

Metal Church - The Human Factor (1991)

All but forgotten by now, and deservedly so, The Human Factor was an album to continue the decline of Metal Church into the 90s, both in quality and relevance. This is the second of the Mike Howe fronted records, and would prove their last on a major label (this time Epic), for pretty obvious reasons. It attempts to dial back the band's heavy backbone to emphasize hard rock influences and further accessibility at an age when much of metal was on the verge of being thrown to the preeminent cultural wolves, and comes up very short in songwriting endurance. The thrown together, uninteresting rhythm guitar riffs, the dull everyman lyrics (often vomiting cliches at key moments in the vocal lines), the inspiration leeching safety of the dry production: this is about as pedestrian as it got for the Californians, and while in some cases that could be regarded as a compliment for some well executed, blue collar heavy metal, this is not one of them. Let us lie among the candles, friends, as we hold a vigil for what might have been.

About the only positive I can really say for The Human Factor is that it's got a festive energy to it that sounds not so much like a band losing its steam as one desperate to remain afloat. Howe's cutting timbre seems to have less of an array of effects in the mix, and all around they seemed to be steering themselves towards a more natural tone. There are a lot of  hard rock and roll fueled grooves carved into the sturdier, metallic riffing, which makes its seem like they were a little late jumping on the gravy train of bands like Skid Row, Extreme and so forth, or perhaps more accurately the British band Wolfsbane. You hear this a lot with the opening riffs of "In Mourning", or the mediocre power ballad fake outs like "Agent Green" with its punctuated verse rhythm. I realize that the membrane between the two styles has always been pretty slim, but fuck, I wouldn't care if Metal Church put out an album like Aerosmith, as long as the songs were good. For the most part it's more of the same Blessing in Disguise selection of played out chord progressions, only wimpy and unmemorable, as if they were attempting to stymy their diminishing pertinence with a friendly grab towards the far broader and stubborner hard rock crowd.

This is, of course, very much a product of its times, as you can tell in the anti-sampling lyrics to the titular opener, which seems to have some beef against electronic/pop music or sampling, because that somehow takes the 'humanness' out of music. Eye rolls. But more than that, it's the same sad story that affected so many great bands in the 90s, struggling to carve out a niche in a market that was turning to Pearl Jam. At its heaviest, the more thrash-heavy riffs are about as interesting as those on the underwhelming Anthrax or Overkill records of that decade, and the post-Zeppelin/Cream boogie blues patterns all seem to saunter along a too trodden ground. There are some decent leads scattered through the record, and it does actually seem to pace itself out evenly with some rhythmic variation and emotional contrasts, but that's the best I can say for an album whose choruses are so meek and unmemorable that I can't remember them after stirring my tea for five minutes in the kitchen. Guess I'm just not 'human' enough to appreciate it, but Breaking Point or The Dark this is not.

Verdict: Indifference [5.5/10] (I just can't believe my ears)

http://metalchurchmusic.com/

Metal Church - Blessing in Disguise (1989)

Guilty confession: once I heard, much to my dismay, that Mike Howe was leaving Heretic to unite with Metal Church, I was privately crossing my fingers that this album would possess a lot more of the former than the latter. It seemed like a perfect fit stylistically, since his prior band was playing in a similar power/thrash mold, but Breaking Point was an album I enjoyed (and still enjoy) more than either the Metal Church s/t or its successor The Dark, and I had been clamoring for more. Also, it was a bit stressful that Wayne would break away from the group so early on, with just two albums and no real breakthrough smash. Despite a decent label push for this album, amidst the promotion of other Elektra successes like ...and Justice for All and (to a lesser extent) No Place for Disgrace, it didn't seem to break out of the qualifying rounds to pursue a playoff spot.

Amusingly, the album does sound more like Heretic 2.0 than a natural followup to The Dark, primarily because of Howe's distinct tone but also because the riffs have that same, forceful impact and character. Mike was not the only new member this time out, the band had recruited Metallica roadie and guitar tech John Marshall to replace Vanderhoof; though Kurt still contributed to the recording and behind the scenes for the next several years, he just wasn't a part of their touring roster. Blessing in Disguise was obviously honing in on a more accessible appear for a broader market, as they were teetering on tangible success with the first two and wanted to keep the bills paid and dinner on the table forevermore, but to its credit, this is still a pretty hard hitting disc, just not 'ton of bricks' hard.

Nope, no "Start the Fire" anywhere to be found on this album. It seems that with the ushering in of Howe, the band lost a lot of that dark and cruel undercurrent which made the first two memorable. Not because the guy is a technically inferior singer to Wayne, because on Breaking Point he proved he was had this serrated edge to his timbre that transformed each melody into a carving knife. His higher pitched wolf shrieks on tunes like "Rest in Peace (April 12, 1912)" are excellent, and like Wayne, he's got this instantly distinguished character that can place him apart from just about any other singer in the entire medium. I don't know if it's just the delivery of these particular lyrics, or the lack of compelling riffs to support him, but I was really looking forward to what he did next, and slightly let down here; especially in a year so rife with excellence in thrash, speed and power metal.

The guitars are still rather full-bodied, even more so than the first two efforts, but I felt like there was a more processed tone to them which added punch but detracted charisma. A lot of stock power/thrash notation which, while functional, is never inherently catchy of its own accord. There are a handful of stronger songs on the album, like the opener "Fake Healer" which sets a monolithic mood in its mid-paced momentum, big chords laced with winding melodies and solid dynamics, anchored by muscular drumming. "Unsound Mind" is also pretty sweet, with nice counterpoint vocals panning off in each ear during the chorus and an almost tech thrash bent to it that would appeal to fans of groups like Heathen and Mordred. Yet, others feels pretty dry, like the power ballad "Anthem" or the single/video "Badlands", both of which make a great use of Howe's range, but fail to come up with any hooks to die for, and for some reason the lyrics are very bland and personal, lots of 'self help' style shit that wasn't nearly as cool as those on the earlier records.

Ultimately, Blessing in Disguise is a solid continuation of the sound Heretic was seeking on its full-length, and probably my favorite Church album with Howe present. It's decent, varied and competent enough to offer some entertainment, but there's not a single song which beseeches me down through the years to show it off to folks not in the know. The whole thing seems too heavily produced, too 'safe' lyrically and even the picture of the band members on the cover is mundane and indistinct. This was their last for Elektra, but though they were successful enough to play the major label game for one more outing, it's no wonder to me why the band didn't explode like their fellow acts Metallica, Megadeth, Testament, and Slayer: they did not have the chops, and despite its relative strength, Blessing was just the opening shot in an ensuing bullet storm of banality.

Verdict: Win [7/10] (the pain is all the same)

http://metalchurchmusic.com/

Metal Church - Metal Church (1984)

My first encounter with California's Metal Church probably came around a year after their eponymous debut dropped, the band had achieved some visibility even at the dawn of their career and people were talking about them in my junior high and the neighboring high school where all the cool kids we wanted to be were hanging out. This is more than likely due to their proximity to Metallica, both geographically and by the fact that they were to become label mates once Elektra issued this record; not to mention that both groups wore their genre on their sleeve by picking incredibly obvious, cheesy band names. Though I admit, 'Metal Church' has a spiked hardness about it which resonates down through the ages, the moss-laden cruciform guitar image against the foggy backdrop an iconic cover despite the fact it looks like it popped out of some awful 80s horror film.

Another parallel to Metallica was that these guys were a bit difficult to pin down in terms of their exact style, but then they manifest right a time when the 'heavy metal' genre hadn't exactly splintered off into a dozen directions. Thrash was just shedding its baby fat, new artists were testing the waters, and Kurdt Vanderhoof and crew were no exception, exploring a hybrid of thrash, power and traditional NWOBHM not unlike Kill 'Em All, if a fraction less raw and vicious in its execution. The band had already cycled through a number of lineups on its earlier demos, but with the 1982 tape Four Hymns and this debut, they finally arrived at the 'classic' lineup of Duke Erickson on bass, Kirk Arrington on drums, Craig Wells and Vanderhoof slinging the six-strings and, perhaps most importantly, David Wayne on the vocals: the most important roster of the band's career, which saw the best results on their studio work.

Wayne was a particular selling point for me personally, because around this same time I had also been getting into some other little bands called Accept and Savatage, and for me David was a nice combination of Jon Oliva's mid-ranged, dirty rasp and Udo Dirkschneider's AC/DC-like air siren, though never quite so wild as the latter in terms of discharging a chorus. In fact, he's got this amazing control that I totally admired: just slather on some reverb in a tune like "Metal Church" and witness how expertly the guy howls off into the night. This is a time when metal riffing was so iconic, daring and for the large part inventive that a front man really had to possess a distinct personality to stand out against it, and I feel that with Metal Church, Wayne assured us he was every bit the genre paragon that an Araya or Hetfield would prove.

All around, I really enjoyed the production and the dark attitude persisting through the debut, even though it hasn't stood up to me as my favorite in their canon (that spot belongs to its successor, The Dark), and I rarely revisit as much as other classics of the period. The guitars are intense, busy and mightily structured, the ominous power/thrash riffing of songs like "Beyond the Black", "Battalions" and "Merciless Onslaught" sure to sate fans of other US acts of the mid-80s like Helstar, Omen and Vicious Rumors. There are a few more traditional pieces with simpler guitars in an early Priest/Maiden vein like "Gods of Wrath" or "In the Blood" that felt a fraction dated even by this time, and some straight speed metal like "Hitman" which one could compare to Canadians Exciter on their earlier efforts, but I tend to fancy the more atmospheric, 'epic' tunes on the album like the first two, including "Metal Church" anthem itself with the speedy bass lines and muted picking in the verse.

As an 80s record, you know what to expect in the mix: loud vocals engineered to stand on the shoulders of the instruments, but Metal Church was actually more even than most, with a great organic drum tone and a bold balance of the guitars that sounds crisp and clear even compared to modern studio works. Erickson is a strong factor in songs like "Metal Church" or "(My Favorite) Nightmare", though he doesn't stand out all that much elsewhere. The leads are appreciably frenetic and as a rhythm team, Wells and Vanderhoof provided a damned solid exchange, though every time Wayne opens that throat for some godlike howl the attention is immediately refocused elsewhere. Lyrics of war, murder and apocalypse ensured that the album would be taken seriously despite its 'looks', and the cover of Deep Purple's "Highway Star" was a decent touch molded well to the band's grimier execution: in 1984, it hadn't quite been played out to death yet.

Still, Metal Church often feels mildly uneven, with a few of the songs clearly grandfathered in from where the band were pursuing a more British, hard rocking course. There's a sense of timelessness to the recording, like many albums of the decade, but it doesn't have those insanely memorable chorus sections or constant riffs to blow your wad over. The sophomore had cuts like "Ton of Bricks", "Start the Fire" and "The Dark" which probably wouldn't evade my brain if I were lobotomized, but here the money shots seem a little low on spunk. Compare this to Powerslave, Don't Break the Oath, Defenders of the Faith or Ride the Lightning and there was a clear gulf in quality, so I had a notion that Metal Church were second stringers right from the startling line, though this and the followup are well worth owning, the crown jewels of this iron parish.

Verdict: Win [8/10] (it knows just who you are)

http://metalchurchmusic.com/

Metal Church - The Dark (1986)

My fondness for Metal Church begins and ends with the early David Wayne period, the very first two albums, before Mike Howe stepped in and Wayne formed Reverend with the rest of Howe's previous band Heretic. Oh, cruel irony. With Wayne's mad hermit vocals at the helm, and a deal with Elektra records (alongside Metallica, no less), the potential was enormous for this band. Alas, they sputtered out like a rusted pickup with bullet holes in the tank.

The Dark is notable for having several of the most memorable Metal Church tracks ever conceived, while the rest of the record is at least solid enough to entertain. "Ton of Bricks" is an amazing opener for the album, anchored with a brickhouse thrash rhythm and Wayne's terrifying pterodactyl voice. "Start the Fire" is simply one of the best metal tracks of the 80s, with a huge rhythm riff and vocals that channel Udo Dirkschneider almost perfectly. The guitar work is great, and the lyrics totally cheesy, comparable to Twisted Sister's "Burn in Hell" in both tone and atmosphere.

So you see that they're all going nowhere.
Everybody's staring into space.
Start the fire.
Bring down the hammer.
Start start the fire.
Burning on forever.

The other truly momentous track on this album is the titular "The Dark", with some excellent chugging guitar rhythms and creepy, fun vocal patterns. One of the better horror metal songs for its day, essentially a tribute to all the bad films produced in that era (Nightmare On Elm Street, Halloween, whatever). Beyond these three monster tracks, there are some solid offerings in the doomy "Watch the Children Pray", the raging "Line of Death", "Burial At Sea", and "Western Alliance", none of which are quite so catchy.

The Dark is a balanced effort, despite the charisma of Wayne's vocals they never dominate the mix. The guitars are thick and insanely well produced, hell even better than on Master of Puppets the same year (though this album doesn't hold a candle to that all-time masterpiece of the genre). It has a lot of character, and though it's cheesy, it's a fun listen that I'd recommend to anyone seeking out gems of the 80s. This one wasn't exactly hidden in the back of the cave.

Highlights: Ton of Bricks, Start the Fire, The Dark, Line of Death

Verdict: Win [8.5/10] (when will we draw the line)

http://metalchurchmusic.com/