Metal Church

Metal Church

Genres: heavy metal, thrash metal, Power metal, speed metal, metal

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About Metal Church

Metal Church is an American heavy metal band. They originally formed in San Francisco, California in 1980 and then relocated to Aberdeen, Washington the following year and briefly using the name Shrapnel. Led by guitarist and songwriter Kurdt Vanderhoof, the band has released twelve studio albums, and is often credited as a formative influence on the thrash metal subgenre, melding the aesthetics of the new wave of British heavy metal and American hard rock with "incredibly tight musicianship" and "piercingly screeched" vocals. They are also considered to be an integral part of the Seattle heavy metal music scene of the 1980s, and achieved considerable popularity that decade, with two of their first three albums entering the Top 100 on the Billboard 200 chart. The band's early lyrical topics such as conflict and paranoia later expanded into philosophical and social commentary. Metal Church has had a revolving door of vocalists, guitarists, bassists and drummers throughout its 42-year career, and Vanderhoof remains the group's sole consistent creative, despite reducing his role strictly to composition in 1986 after tiring of performing. The "classic" lineup of Vanderhoof, vocalist David Wayne, guitarist Craig Wells, bassist Duke Erickson, and drummer Kirk Arrington recorded the band's first two studio albums, Metal Church (1984) and their major breakthrough The Dark (1986). By the end of the 1980s, Vandehoof and Wayne had parted ways with the band and were replaced by vocalist Mike Howe and guitarist John Marshall respectively. Metal Church's popularity continued with their third album Blessing in Disguise (1989), which spawned one of their best-known songs "Badlands". After releasing two more studio albums with Howe, the band called it quits in 1996. Metal Church reformed in 1998 with most of their "classic" lineup, including Vanderhoof's return to performance, resulting in the Masterpeace album. They endured numerous lineup changes thereafter, releasing three further studio albums while fronted by Ronny Munroe before disbanding once again in July 2009. The group reunited for the second time in October 2012, and released their tenth studio album Generation Nothing a year later. Following Munroe's departure in the fall of 2014, Metal Church considered disbanding for the third time before Howe was rehired in April 2015 as the band's lead singer. He recorded two more albums with the group, which enjoyed a renewed popularity in the mid-to-late 2010s, before his death. On July 26, 2021, Metal Church announced that Howe had died that morning at his home in Eureka, California, at the age of 55. In October 2021, after announcing the return of his short-lived early 1990s band Hall Aflame, Vanderhoof hinted that Metal Church would continue on with a replacement for Howe. By mid-2022, rumors suggested that Ronny Munroe would rejoin the band, but resulted in him joining Vicious Rumors. On February 2, 2023, Metal Church announced Marc Lopes as their new lead vocalist. A month later, the band announced their upcoming album, Congregation of Annihilation, would be released on May 26, 2023. Metal Church released a live album titled The Final Sermon – Live in Japan 2019 on July 26, 2024. The Metal Church line-up for the new live record consisted of guitarists Kurdt Vanderhoof and Rick Van Zandt, drummer Stet Howland, bassist Steve Unger and now deceased lead vocalist Mike Howe. In November 2025, West Coast heavy metal veterans Metal Church returned with a revitalized lineup and a hard-hitting new single that underscores the sound that has driven their four-decade legacy. The new formation features founding member and guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof, alongside longtime guitarist Rick Van Zandt, joined by bass icon David Ellefson, powerhouse drummer Ken Mary, and dynamic new vocalist Brian Allen. Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_Church Discography 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) Congregation of Annihilation (2023)

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