METAL CHURCH - The Dark
1. Ton Of Bricks
2. Start The Fire
3. Method To Your Madness
4. Watch The Children Pray
5. Over My Dead Body
6. The Dark
7. Psycho
8. Line Of Death
9. Burial At Sea
10. Western Alliance
Label: Elektra Records
Release date: 1986
Artist site: http://www.metalchurch.com/
GRADE:
5.5/10
The year is 1986, skin tight blue jeans that looked like they were airbrushed on tucked into a pair of hightop Reeboks are the "in" fashion trends. Tack on a mullet, throw on the blue jean jacket covered in buttons and patches of your favorite bands, and you ARE metal.
Still trying to shake the thought off like a bad hangover? Well, get over it, this period produced some of the most timeless classics in the genre of metal. Unfortunately, it also provided us with some some of the worst moments as well. METAL CHURCH's The Dark, their second album for Elektra Records, falls somewhere in between. There are basically two factions of METAL CHURCH fans, those who prefer David Wayne as vocalist and those who favor his replacement, Mike Howe. I fall in the latter category as I have never found their highly regarded self titled debut to be as "classic" as say, Blessing In Disguise.
I am also probably in the minority when admitting that I prefer The Dark to their debut, at least songwise if not soundwise. Truth be told, Wayne is a horrible vocalist. Only on this album is he even tolerable. Songs like "Ton Of Bricks," "Start The Fire," "Watch The Children Pray," are so well written that you can't help but start to get into them. Unfortunately, Mark Dodson's production takes away most of the band's bite, particularly with the drums, making them sound more like Dokken (funny, Don Dokken is credited in the thank you list!) and less like a power, thrash metal outfit. I guarantee you a song like "Over My Dead Body" probably sounded much heavier on the pre-production demo than the final finished product.
That being said, there really are some great songs that I still jam to this day. The very first song I ever heard from METAL CHURCH was "Watch The Children Pray," a dark sort of power ballad. The vocals are pretty good, the riffs are classic and the solos are awesome, but that fucking drum sound... Another favorite of mine would be "Burial At Sea," not sure why, maybe it's the chorus or those horrendous screams Wayne does periodically. Gotta love it! Closer "Western Alliance" has some more of those aforementioned screams, bordering on the hilarious. However, the guitar licks of Kurdt Vanderhoof and Craig Wells were no laughing matter. These two are often overlooked when considering guitar duos, but they really have written some pretty strong and sturdy tunes over the years.
Nevertheless, METAL CHURCH are one of those bands, like ICED EARTH, ANTHRAX or IRON MAIDEN, where people will wonder what a song would've sounded like with the other vocalist singing on it. I mean, with a different production and Howe's vocals on top of these songs, tha' CHURCH would've been on a whole 'nother level. Alas, one cannot go back in time... but one can imagine.
PJ
1. Ton Of Bricks
2. Start The Fire
3. Method To Your Madness
4. Watch The Children Pray
5. Over My Dead Body
6. The Dark
7. Psycho
8. Line Of Death
9. Burial At Sea
10. Western Alliance
Label: Elektra Records
Release date: 1986
Artist site: http://www.metalchurch.com/
GRADE:
5.5/10
The year is 1986, skin tight blue jeans that looked like they were airbrushed on tucked into a pair of hightop Reeboks are the "in" fashion trends. Tack on a mullet, throw on the blue jean jacket covered in buttons and patches of your favorite bands, and you ARE metal.
Still trying to shake the thought off like a bad hangover? Well, get over it, this period produced some of the most timeless classics in the genre of metal. Unfortunately, it also provided us with some some of the worst moments as well. METAL CHURCH's The Dark, their second album for Elektra Records, falls somewhere in between. There are basically two factions of METAL CHURCH fans, those who prefer David Wayne as vocalist and those who favor his replacement, Mike Howe. I fall in the latter category as I have never found their highly regarded self titled debut to be as "classic" as say, Blessing In Disguise.
I am also probably in the minority when admitting that I prefer The Dark to their debut, at least songwise if not soundwise. Truth be told, Wayne is a horrible vocalist. Only on this album is he even tolerable. Songs like "Ton Of Bricks," "Start The Fire," "Watch The Children Pray," are so well written that you can't help but start to get into them. Unfortunately, Mark Dodson's production takes away most of the band's bite, particularly with the drums, making them sound more like Dokken (funny, Don Dokken is credited in the thank you list!) and less like a power, thrash metal outfit. I guarantee you a song like "Over My Dead Body" probably sounded much heavier on the pre-production demo than the final finished product.
That being said, there really are some great songs that I still jam to this day. The very first song I ever heard from METAL CHURCH was "Watch The Children Pray," a dark sort of power ballad. The vocals are pretty good, the riffs are classic and the solos are awesome, but that fucking drum sound... Another favorite of mine would be "Burial At Sea," not sure why, maybe it's the chorus or those horrendous screams Wayne does periodically. Gotta love it! Closer "Western Alliance" has some more of those aforementioned screams, bordering on the hilarious. However, the guitar licks of Kurdt Vanderhoof and Craig Wells were no laughing matter. These two are often overlooked when considering guitar duos, but they really have written some pretty strong and sturdy tunes over the years.
Nevertheless, METAL CHURCH are one of those bands, like ICED EARTH, ANTHRAX or IRON MAIDEN, where people will wonder what a song would've sounded like with the other vocalist singing on it. I mean, with a different production and Howe's vocals on top of these songs, tha' CHURCH would've been on a whole 'nother level. Alas, one cannot go back in time... but one can imagine.
PJ
