New Metal Church album (XI) album cover and track listing revealed

Got mine also. So far listened to it only once, but liked what I heard. Need to sit down and listen to it a couple more times to get a better feel for it. Love the extras I got with it, need to figure out some sort of display case for it to go with the stick I got after the show here a few weeks ago. Be cool to hand it all up in some sort of frame. I didn't get tge super deluxe set with the photo, just the one with a pick and some stickers. Still pretty cool!

Eddie Trunk interviews Kurdt & Mike. Apparently they discuss the cover of Hanging in the Balance.

Just got a call from my mom in paris. She was able to secure me the new metal church cd. I can't imagine my mom inside a metal section at a cd shop! But i had to ask her for this favor. Can't wait to play this cd.
I would have loved to get the special pack and get to chat with mike howe!

Come now, everyone, what the fresh hell is this. All this attention before the album drops and then near-silence after it's released? Those who have Spotify or whatever streaming service need to fire this sucker UP. Sentinel posted a great review over in Hurting Words that sums up my feelings on this quite nicely. I had low expectations, but it is a sweet ride, IMO their best since HitB. Every track is a winner. This should be making mass-destruction tsunami waves around here!

You've all heard the faster tracks but the slower ones are even better in my book. This one is the showcase for Mike's voice--he delivers even BETTER here than in past works. It's like the dude hasn't aged. Add to that Kurdt's songwriting (dude hasn't run out of good ideas during his entire career) which is just MENACING--let's just say if you're a MC fan that ends up not at least admiring this, I'll be damn shocked. From their new album XI, it's Metal Church with Blow Your Mind :



I've honestly spun this whole album 20 times since Friday haha.

It's excellent. That's all the really needs to be said about. If you haven't heard it, do yourself a favor and give it a listen. You won't be disappointed.

I listened to it once and liked it quite a bit. I can't say I remember any of the songs a few days later though--I'll have to give it a few more listens. I might see them live later this week. It looks like they are playing "Reset," "No Tomorrow" and "Killing Your Time" from XI on this tour.

I've been bored with Metal Church since Masterpeace and the news of Mike rejoining left me with a "Meh, we'll see" kind of attitude, so I haven't paid much attention to this new album. I guess maybe I should.

So cool, XI hit Billboard:

^^^ I saw that on their Facebook feed. That is awesome.

In no way do I think it's their best album, but I'm glad they are getting some long overdue recognition!

It's a very good album. Glad they are getting some kudos.

I am at my second listen and it is an excellent album. Mike howe doesn't seem to have aged at all. Great job.

corplhicks wrote:

So cool, XI hit Billboard:

Great job, guys!

Just got mine and I'm loving it. I ordered the deluxe international version when it was announced and forgot about it. Started reading reviews and remembered I hadn't yet received mine. Emailed rat pak and they told me that I should have gotten it on release day, apologized and send out another.

I succumbed to peer-pressure and picked this up over the weekend. First impressions were pretty good, although I had to play it at a lower volume in the car cause I had my stupid kids with me. I'll crank it today in work.

Played XI on and off during the weekend and I'm diggin' it. Welcome back Mikey

Fat Freddy wrote:

Played XI on and off during the weekend and I'm diggin' it. Welcome back Mikey

Yea, I'm on my second spin and it really feels like they never skipped a beat since Hanging in the Balance. You could put this new album in a playlist with all the older Mike Howe-era MC albums and you'd barely notice a difference, other than maybe sound levels.

Fat Freddy wrote:

Played XI on and off during the weekend and I'm diggin' it. Welcome back Mikey

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

Played XI on and off during the weekend and I'm diggin' it. Welcome back Mikey

Yea, I'm on my second spin and it really feels like they never skipped a beat since Hanging in the Balance. You could put this new album in a playlist with all the older Mike Howe-era MC albums and you'd barely notice a difference, other than maybe sound levels.

Knew you guys would dig it.

Possibly the best 2016 release so far.

Chris Caffery has been filling in for Rick's axe duties during med leave (something eye-related) for this album's tour. Lots of live footage on youtube that shows Chris to be a more than perfect fit for the band. I'm actually disappointed he's not permanent.

Which leads me to my only and single complaint I have with XI, which is a complaint I personally share with almost all MC material past and current--stale lead work. While Craig and John had a sweet chemistry in their trade-offs, as well as the most technique out of all the guitarists (save for maybe ex-Malice Jay Reynolds on Weight of the World and Light in the Dark), as the band started to get a more polished sound, the less fun the wankery got. The double picking-whammy bar one-two worked well with all the low budgetry of the first three albums. By Human Factor--which is also the time they dealt with much more melodic craft--the non-virtuoso cracks started to show and the leads became dull and lifeless. Kurdt's not too bad with some bluesy moves (although he near-loses his scale decent on No Tomorrow), but I feel that Rick has been the worst musician of the band. All I hear is pentatonic scale noodling without any dynamic or cohesion to melody. The worst solo here for me is Sky Falls In. I don't know who's performing it but it's a huge dent in a great song. There's just no creativity there.

All that said, I've never let my ear for these solos get in the way of my enjoyment of the albums. I've spun this about once a day, and it has grown by leaps and bounds. Oh yeah, it's also my seven-year-old's favorite album right now. He's asking me for a Metal Church t-shirt for his birthday. Good kid.

p.s. you guys really should give Generation Nothing (and Ronnie) a chance if you enjoy this album.

Musically, the material on the new album is no different than what Kurdt has written for the last few albums. The only thing that sets it apart is Mike Howe's unique voice. I actually liked Generation Nothing a lot too.

Troublezone wrote:

Musically, the material on the new album is no different than what Kurdt has written for the last few albums. The only thing that sets it apart is Mike Howe's unique voice. I actually liked Generation Nothing a lot too.

Agree 100℅. Everyone needs to know, regardless of the talent that has surrounded or supported him, Kurdt has never run out of good ideas.

I really don't think Metal Church has ever put out a weak album . And no matter who the vocalist was the albums as a whole were good to great. That said, I'm really glad that Mike Howe is back and sounds as great as ever. It kicks XI up a notch.

Gilbert wrote:

Possibly the best 2016 release so far.

Agreed!

corplhicks wrote:

Chris Caffery has been filling in for Rick's axe duties during med leave (something eye-related) for this album's tour. Lots of live footage on youtube that shows Chris to be a more than perfect fit for the band. I'm actually disappointed he's not permanent.

Which leads me to my only and single complaint I have with XI, which is a complaint I personally share with almost all MC material past and current--stale lead work. While Craig and John had a sweet chemistry in their trade-offs, as well as the most technique out of all the guitarists (save for maybe ex-Malice Jay Reynolds on Weight of the World and Light in the Dark), as the band started to get a more polished sound, the less fun the wankery got. The double picking-whammy bar one-two worked well with all the low budgetry of the first three albums. By Human Factor--which is also the time they dealt with much more melodic craft--the non-virtuoso cracks started to show and the leads became dull and lifeless. Kurdt's not too bad with some bluesy moves (although he near-loses his scale decent on No Tomorrow), but I feel that Rick has been the worst musician of the band. All I hear is pentatonic scale noodling without any dynamic or cohesion to melody. The worst solo here for me is Sky Falls In. I don't know who's performing it but it's a huge dent in a great song. There's just no creativity there.

All that said, I've never let my ear for these solos get in the way of my enjoyment of the albums. I've spun this about once a day, and it has grown by leaps and bounds. Oh yeah, it's also my seven-year-old's favorite album right now. He's asking me for a Metal Church t-shirt for his birthday. Good kid.

p.s. you guys really should give Generation Nothing (and Ronnie) a chance if you enjoy this album.

Great insight, Shay. I absolutely love "Generation Nothing" and have played the hell out of "Wasteland" from its release. I know it's not a popular album round these parts, but something just clicked with me on that one.