Review METAL CHURCH ‘Congregation of Annihilation’

Metal Church belongs to the forerunners of power- and thrash metal. The band, initiated by Kurdt Vanderhoof , launched a stellar debut in 1984 and it was the cover version of Deep Purple’s ‘Highway Star’ which is one of the greatest interpretations of the classic. And it fitted perfectly into the context of the album. ‘The Dark” was the next strike and pushed Metal Church to a new high.

Line-up changes, tragedies and strokes of fate have been in the way for a big breakthrough. At the same time Metal Church are heroes from the underground and compared to some other bands, the ups and downs bound them closer together as a band.

After having frontman Mike Howe rejoining the band, all signals have been on green light. The moment of Howe passing away was therefor a shock and led to the question how the future of the band will look like. After a period of grief, the band decided to continue and started to work and finish new songs. Those are now on the upcoming album ‘Congregation of Annihilation’. Not only that the new longplayer is strong and powerful, Metal Church also found with Marc Lopez a singer that fits perfectly to the sound of the band.

The start of the new album couldn’t be better, as it becomes clear that Metal Church haven’t lost any of their power. Even if the band, as described, had to go through tough times, it seems like it has been more of a motivation for not giving up. The album is a step into the future and at the same time looks back from a musical perspective. This is partly due to Marc Lopes, who has already shown with Ross The Boss that he has a true metal voice. On the one hand rough and boisterous, on the other hand equipped with the possibility of high pitch screams I feel reminded of the first two records of the band, especially ‘The Dark’.

The first single from the album, ‘Pick a God and Prey’, with its smashing Vanderhoof riff was already a real appetizer and the record in its entirety can easily meet the expectations. Also to be mentioned is ‘Me the Nothing’. After a rather calm beginning, the song turns out to be a grooving midtempo headbanger of high quality. While some of the songs are rather straight forward, ‘Me the Nothing’ is a bit more complex and it takes a while until the melodies are engraved in your mind.

The galloping ‘Making Monsters’ follows before Metal Church really step on the pedal with ‘These Violent Thrills’. The songs is cleverly constructed and can distribute variety with clever tempo changes.

Metal Church are back, that is the message of the new album. The band shows itself enthusiastic and has found with Marc Lopez a great singer, which fits perfectly to the sound of the metal veterans. Comparisons to Mike Howe, but also David Wayne can be drawn and at the same time a new era of the band begins with ‘Congregation of Annihilation’ being the first successful step into a promising future.