Metal Church is no more...

eppst1

eppst1

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Mar 18, 2002
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I'm not sure if anyone saw this yesterday, but Metal Church has decided to call it quits. :(

I like all 3 eras of the band and I'm sorry to see them go.

From BM:
Seattle, Washington-based metallers METAL CHURCH have released the following statements:

"To all of our fans and friends...

"We regretfully announce that METAL CHURCH is calling it quits.

"The performance at Rocklahoma will be our last show. We have had to cancel the shows scheduled for August and that, among other things, has led us to have to make this decision.

"There has been far too much frustration and disappointment in trying to keep moving forward. The collapse of our record company, SPV, has made it next to impossible for us to continue in any kind of professional manner due to lack of tour support. This decision was not made lightly.

"We do have unfinished business in the studio, and with any luck we will have something that will be of interest to METAL CHURCH fans in the near future.

"We would like to thank all the fans that have stuck with METAL CHURCH through all these years, the lineup changes and the ups and downs.

"We can't tell you how much your support has meant to us, we appreciate each and every one of you.

"It's been a great ride."

"This Present Wasteland", the latest album from METAL CHURCH, sold 920 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

METAL CHURCH last year announced the addition of guitarist Rick Van Zandt (THE END, ROTTWEILLER) to the group's ranks. He replaced Jay Reynolds (also of MALICE), who left the band for "personal reasons."

Fan-filmed video footage of METAL CHURCH's August 14, 2008 performance at Bourbon Street in New Port Richey, Florida can be viewed below.
 
After "The Dark" they were pretty much dead to me. Once David Wayne left after that album, I lost interest. "The Dark" is still one of my favorite albums ever. I picked up the one from 2000 or something....it sounded too muddy and cursed with bad production. I saw a recent video of them and it didnt do to much for me. I think they got caught in that "people want to just hear the classic songs" type band. Better off ending it and starting something new down the line under a different name.
 
Dead to you? Really?!?!?! Man, I think I like the Mike Howe era more than the Wayne ere. Sure, there were some killer tunes off of MC and The Dark, but to me, the 3 Howe CD's were what Metal Church was all about. This may be heresy to some, but I think Blessing in Disguise was their best CD. And I thought the Monroe stuff was really good also. I didn't care too much for Weight of the World, but A Light in the Dark was fantastic!
 
eppst1 said:
Dead to you? Really?!?!?! Man, I think I like the Mike Howe era more than the Wayne ere. Sure, there were some killer tunes off of MC and The Dark, but to me, the 3 Howe CD's were what Metal Church was all about. This may be heresy to some, but I think Blessing in Disguise was their best CD. And I thought the Monroe stuff was really good also. I didn't care too much for Weight of the World, but A Light in the Dark was fantastic!
Click to expand...

Here Here! Howe was the better vocalist by far. I love the 3 albums he was on.

"I know these are the badlands, somehow I'll find my way"
 
Sad news indeed. I didn't really get into Metal Church until a few years ago when SwordLord produced one of their shows here in Minneapolis. I learned a bit of all three eras and liked them all, but Blessing in Disguise is the album that truly bowled me over. Anthem To The Estranged is brilliant...

I'm thankful I got to see them once. Great band.
 
For a band known more for their thrashy stuff, I enjoyed some of their more melodic tunes.....friggin "Gods of Wrath" slays :headbang: ! Also their speed version of "Highway Star" was classic. Glad I got to see them some years back as well.
 
This is bullshit news to hear! I liked the current lineup as much as any of their eras. :erk:

By the way, "Badlands" is a classic metal tune that stands among the ranks of Queensryche, Iron Maiden and Priest classics in my opinion.

~Brian~
 
I Personally enjoyed all era's of the bands career, but all for different reasons.

I lean more to liking the Mike Howe-era for sentimental reasons because it was during that era that I discovered Metal Church. I still remember walking up to the small music store two blocks from my Jr. High after school, and picking up The Human Factor, just because of the bands name… it is still my favorite Metal Church album out of all of them.

I feel they were often times written off too quickly by their fans, or most metal fans and media in general, either after Wayne was fired, or when Howe left. The Ronny-era albums are fantastic, and never given much of chance by most because it's not "Wayne or Howe". I'm not saying this because of being biased, but I would take any of those later MC albums over Hanging in the Balance or Masterpiece (a.k.a Disasterpiece as Kurt calls it) If I had to choose.

One thing most fans are not aware of, is that Kurt writes EVERYTHING and pretty much performs most of the insturmentation on the albums except for the vocals and drums. I believe this includes all the Howe-era albums if I'm not mistaken. So in essence, regardless of who was singing, playing guitar, bass, drums… Kurt is Metal Church. He is no different than say, Jeff Waters from Annihilator, in that it's a one man band, but it runs under a band name with an actual line-up. If you were one that wrote them off due to a singer change over, do yourself the favor of correcting your own injustice, and give the other albums a shot. Trust me, your depriving yourself and missing out on some high quality metal.

All things must come to an end, and frankly, the band may be dead now, but who knows, Kurt might get that fever for playing Metal and reform the band in yet another incarnation in the future. Then again, he might be finally putting it to rest for good. After all, and regardless to what most people know, Kurt has broken the band up several times over the bands near-30 year career only to put it back together few years later.

For now, Kurt is plenty busy with Presto Ballet and running sound for TSO, so we can at least enjoy his current creative output, as well as the long history that is known as Metal Church.
 
Jasonic,

I wouldn't say that Metal Church's breakup isn't sad. I, for one, believe that they were a very underrated band in the scene whose latter-day material is sorely overlooked. If you can get past the mixes of "Weight Of The World" and "A Light In The Dark," I think you'll find some great U.S. power metal. Kurt Vanderhoof always knew how to balance the raw with the melodic. I'm glad that I managed to catch them twice before they called it a day. I wish them all the best of luck in their future endeavors.


Stay metal. Never rust.
Albert
 
All 3 eras were relevant and powerful in their own right, hopefully this break will only be temporary. If I had to pick a favorite album, my head would say Human Factor (which given its year of release absolutely slayed despite being tragically underated), but my heart would say the S/T, that's when I first heard them and they were a unique force in the metal world then to say the least. All time favorite song: Badlands! I can't say there's a bad album in the bunch save for Masterpiece, and Weight of the World suffered a bit from the mix, but other than that...great, great band.
 
Let's be honest.
The last era of the band was simply riding on the band's name. Just like Exodus of today should NOT be callling themselves Exodus.

Sure, I love the old tracks, like Ton of Bricks, Watch The Children Pray, Badlands, etc.....

There's a TON of 80's bands I love who today are riding out their glory days, with one original member. (No need to mention any names, as there are many guilty parties).

My point is that if you go to listen to these bands, you don't reach for current material. Most older fans don't even purchase newer material or go to see them live.

Therefore, Metal Church breaking up in the year 2009 is not sad, simply because the reality is that it could (and many might say "should") have ended years ago.

Once again, I am not picking on Metal Church alone. There are plenty of bands in this boat.
 
Jasonic said:
Let's be honest.
The last era of the band was simply riding on the band's name. Just like Exodus of today should NOT be callling themselves Exodus.

Sure, I love the old tracks, like Ton of Bricks, Watch The Children Pray, Badlands, etc.....

There's a TON of 80's bands I love who today are riding out their glory days, with one original member. (No need to mention any names, as there are many guilty parties).

My point is that if you go to listen to these bands, you don't reach for current material. Most older fans don't even purchase newer material or go to see them live.

Therefore, Metal Church breaking up in the year 2009 is not sad, simply because the reality is that it could (and many might say "should") have ended years ago.

Once again, I am not picking on Metal Church alone. There are plenty of bands in this boat.
Click to expand...

Well, I disagree with you here regarding Metal Church. This band happened to have a strong voice, Ronnie, and a solid band backing him. With that said, the last two releases made for some good power metal in my opinion. Nothing groundbreaking by any means, but fun nonetheless. :kickass:

~Brian~
 
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