When the review team bring you a review that wasn’t on the list, you know the band in question means something quite special!! Gareth takes an off the clock listen to the new Metal Church album and shares his review…

Sometimes ‘Legends’ is often an overused term, but with a band such as Metal Church that description is almost an underestimation. Formed 43 years ago, yes you read that right, in 1980 by guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof, the band released their eponymous and highly regarded classic debut in 1984, since then the band has released 12 albums, been through numerous line-up changes, and has also experienced plenty of loses and tragedy over the years, original vocalist David Wayne passed away after succumbing to complications from a serious car crash in 2005, while just a few years ago, his replacement, and at the time of his passing current MC vocalist Mike Howe, lost his long battle with depression and mental health issues, and while writing this review, the sad news has just come in that ex-drummer Kirk Arrington, who played on every album up to 2004’s ‘Weight of the World’ album, before having to retire due to health issues, has also unfortunately passed away.

At the time of his untimely death, Kurdt was working with Mike on new material, and after much thought, heart searching and contemplation, the band courageously took the decision to carry on after their brother had tragically fallen. Carefully considering who could replace the irreplaceable, the band finally decided on Marc Lopes (Ross the Boss, Let Us Prey, ex-Meliah Rage) as the new member and vocalist, and then went about finishing album number thirteen, ‘Congregation of Annihilation’. 

All of the bands previous vocalists, David Wayne, Mike Howe, and to a lesser extent, Ronnie Munroe, had a unique quality to their voices, but they also had things in similar, so each brought different strengths, to the table, but obviously, the vocalist is one of the key elements of a band’s sound, so when, for whatever reason, a change occurs, its can drastically effect the tone of the band. Marc Lopes certainly has aspects of all his predecessors in his vocals, so sometimes you do get a hint of Wayne, while at other points Howe springs to mind, and also Munroe as well, but he also has a character and personality of his own, whilst still fitting the criteria of very much being a Metal Church vocalist, great choice.

Going back to the tracks and the writing, Kurdt has said about half of the new album is reworked stuff that he had been bouncing back and forth with Mike, and once he realised he could or needed to head in a more aggressive direction he archived the other ideas and worked on brand new songs. As an aside, that got me thinking of Metal Church’s material since getting back together after the original split (after ‘Hanging in the Balance’) the dynamic in Metal Church is different than the original two line-ups, with the loss of Craig Wells, John Marshall (who came in to replace Kurdt as a live member, but also contributed material) and to a lesser extent, Duke Erikson and Kirk Arrington, the band lost that collective songwriting group, and the variation that went with it, and now relies on Kurdt solely as the sole music writer. He was always the main contributor, and he’s very good, but something is missing from those early albums that can’t be replicated or replaced.

But anyway, onto the record itself, one thing Lopes has in his arsenal is a slightly more aggressive edge to his voice, and to reflect this ‘Another Judgement Day’ blasts itself out of the speakers with a heaviness and speed that the band haven’t shown for many a year, that’s not to say that the last two Howe fronted albums; ‘XI’ or ‘Damned if you Do’ weren’t heavy or fast, but this has an extra bite in the riffs and execution. The title-track is one of the bands heaviest songs ever, a bit slower in the verse, but is a real speedster in the chorus, and Lopes spits out the lyrics with real spite. ‘Pick a God and Prey’ took a while to grow on me when it was released as the first single, maybe because it took me a while to process the change, but now it’s a real favourite, with its punchy, no-frills arrangement. ‘Children of the Lie’ has a NWOBHM feel to it, with a contemporary twist, and there’s a cool bass driven section towards the end which gives it a slightly different direction. The oddly titled ‘Me the Nothing’ starts a bit quieter, with a dark melodic guitar line, and then builds to a slower heavy chord chug, with a cool counter melody on the other guitar, and a real explosive chorus, this one has more of a feel of the Howe era musically, and whereas I think Mike would have used a more subtle vocal style, Marc has more of the battering ram type style, no less effective, but highlights the fact this a new chapter, with a different approach.

‘Making Monsters’ has some nice chunky riffage, and the relentless staccato rhythm is punctuated by some clean strums, and penetrating vocals. ‘Say a Prayer with 7 Bullets’ for me doesn’t quite hit the same heights as some of the other tracks here, despite some good riffs, but it has a more one-dimensional structure. My copy ends with the blistering ‘All That We Destroy’, a real heavy bruiser, and the catchy and vivacious, but no less heavy ‘My Favourite Sin’, with a strong chorus and bouncy rhythm, while various bonus tracks, ‘Salvation’ and ‘Laughter’, pop up on other various versions.

Kurdt has handled the production duties himself, and the sound is strong and punchy, with a nice crunchy guitar tone, solid bass, and a crisp drum sound. I’ve mentioned both Marc and Kurdt numerous times, but the rest of the band, bass player Steve Unger, guitarist Rick Van Zant and drummer Stet Howland, all now long serving members, also put in very solid performances. 

So, the real question is… is this a Metal Church album worthy of the name, for me yes absolutely, its stronger than any of the Munroe albums, bar maybe ‘Weight of the World’, and is of a similar stature to the last few with Mike Howe, albeit with a slightly different sound, a sound that harkens back to the heavier, slightly thrashier style of the first three albums, without ever reaching those heady heights. Lope is a great vocalist, but he does go at everything at full bore, and sometimes it’s a bit too much, but I really appreciate his enthusiasm. If you’re already a fan, I think this album will please you, without completely blowing you out of the water. If you’ve never quite got onboard, then there’s probably nothing here that will change your mind, but if you have never heard Metal Church before, this might be as good a place to start as any.

Metal Church – Congregation of Annihilation is out NOW!