Metal Church

007 wrote:

And I noticed that they still haven't fixed the lyrics on the new site . Check out (My Favorite) Nightmare to see what I mean.

Haha. That's hilarious. I was happy that the lyrics for Generation Nothing are finally available, but yeah someone's really lazy (Kurdt?) in typing them up.

Also strange: In said lyrics section there's a "bonus" track for Generation Nothing, "Remain Silent," penned out right there. To my knowledge there was never a deluxe edition of the album available. I wrote the band and googled the hell out of it to no avail.

After some initial confusion, I discovered that there are in fact six new-old tracks on the site here: http://www.metalchurchmusic.com/shrapnel.asp. I haven't listened to them all yet but from what it looks like they are the Shrapnel demos, while the downloads one the previous page are Metal Church demos. Am I right? Are these in fact new?

So apparently "Remain Silent" is a bonus track from the barely known Japan release that won't be available until 2/26. Weird. Wish I could find a way to hear it. Meanwhile here's some decent live footage of Generation Nothing shot up in Sac; sad to say I was there on work that day but knew nothing of the gig even though I had studied the dates when they were announced. Wish I could have been there.

How are these guys relegated to beer halls?

I was looking at one of the free weeklies from Phoenix and saw that they were playing a show this past Tuesday. It was on a bill with like four other bands. I'm at the stage in my life where I see those listings and it becomes more of a cool idea.... that'll never happen. Hope they had a good turnout.

I may try to track down the Japanese version of Generation Nothing since I've shamefully haven't bought a copy yet. Come on Amoeba, come through for me on this.

And while on the topic of Metal Church's discography, I'm going to say that This Present Wasteland may be one of the most criminally unheralded records of all time. Certainly would be near the top of any such list I could come up with.

The sad state of metal in the States. They certainly deserve bigger and better.

Most of the people I know who are old enough to remember Metal Church from the 80s don't even go to concerts anymore (and some of my friends from high school stopped buying new music 20 years ago, their collections just stop around 1994). Easier to stay at home and watch something on the DVR. These days a band of that vintage needs to attract new fans if they want to stay viable.

I just bought my ticket for their Pittsburgh show on 03/07. I've never seen Metal Church, so I am really looking forward to it.

The good thing about those little venues is you get their sweat on you.

Quote :

I'm at the stage in my life where I see those listings and it becomes more of a cool idea.... that'll never happen. Hope they had a good turnout.

Same here. I more or less "retired" from concerts when my wife was expecting our first son, in 2002... Up until that point I was still going to at least one show a month. I've been to a couple since then, but those have been 'special events' rather than the norm.

Along with what's been said above, there's a lot of good reasons veteran bands like MC and Death Angel are staying on a small venue level, and it really does work for them. I was talking with DA's drummer Will Carroll about this when they came to Fresno. For one, it's a helluva lot cheaper than larger venues, which not only helps on the business side of things but also cuts down ticket prices, which means we benefit as well. Also let's face it: veteran bands aren't generating the same type of revenue they once did. It's a miracle for some of them to actually get on the road after selling so little of their product. It's also kind of cool that they can pack out a smaller place. Last arena concert I saw was Slipknot (I know, meh) at our local Save Mart Center. Only a quarter of the entire arena was filled. It was pathetic, and don't get me started on the sound, which was garbage with all the open space. When I saw DA here in Fresno, the venue was ti-ny. Seriously, my last house was bigger and had higher ceilings (and was newer, for that matter). But it was an incredible, heavily populated, energetic, and great-sounding show. I could hear everything. Lastly, Chris told me the smaller venues are nice because of how familiar and nostalgic they are. It's where they all started and where they developed their first fan base so it can be incredibly moving and cathartic.

Also this is the first time Kurdt has flown solo on his own label with MC, and with Presto Ballet activity happening at the same time, he's gotta keep costs down as much as possible. But there's some good fan footage of this leg of the tour emerging on youtube, and I've been enjoying it. This band is on fire right now. Even Kurdt admitted this in a recent interview, and said that Generation Nothing happens to be their most well-received album in the Ronnie era.

Couple cool things:

-Ordered the Japan version of Gen Nothing from Amazon.jp. Came out to about 30 bucks with shipping. Gonna finally hear that Remain Silent song.

-For those who don't know, there is a remastered version of the first three albums released last year in Japan. Only a few were pressed. Not sure if Kurdt was involved or not. I've seen a couple of copies go up on ebay for 100 bucks.

-There is a live DVD coming. It's vague right now but it looks like they filmed a recent concert in TX. We should be getting videos for Dead City and the title track too as they're in post-production.

-Kurdt will be featured in an upcoming documentary about Elektra A&R rep Michael Alago, the guy who signed Metallica. The movie (working title is "Michael Alago Documentary Film") was funded through Kickstarter at 30k. Looks pretty interesting.

-Lastly, SpectreFate (Brian) turned me on to Kurdt's side project, Presto Ballet. My God. It's wonderful music. While it's billed as prog, which is fitting, it really is throwback music with Boston, Kansas, Styx, and Pink Floyd influences. Very accessible while maintaining intricacy, I highly recommend it. I don't know why I never branched out with Kurdt's other work, but I'm glad I did now.

corplhicks wrote:

Couple cool things:

-Ordered the Japan version of Gen Nothing from Amazon.jp. Came out to about 30 bucks with shipping. Gonna finally hear that Remain Silent song.

-For those who don't know, there is a remastered version of the first three albums released last year in Japan. Only a few were pressed. Not sure if Kurdt was involved or not. I've seen a couple of copies go up on ebay for 100 bucks.

-There is a live DVD coming. It's vague right now but it looks like they filmed a recent concert in TX. We should be getting videos for Dead City and the title track too as they're in post-production.

-Kurdt will be featured in an upcoming documentary about Elektra A&R rep Michael Alago, the guy who signed Metallica. The movie (working title is "Michael Alago Documentary Film") was funded through Kickstarter at 30k. Looks pretty interesting.

-Lastly, SpectreFate (Brian) turned me on to Kurdt's side project, Presto Ballet. My God. It's wonderful music. While it's billed as prog, which is fitting, it really is throwback music with Boston, Kansas, Styx, and Pink Floyd influences. Very accessible while maintaining intricacy, I highly recommend it. I don't know why I never branched out with Kurdt's other work, but I'm glad I did now.

I just saw them last Friday in Pittsburgh. They actually filmed the entire show. They also played & filmed the first two songs - Ton of Bricks and Start The Fire twice! They said they were going to use it for a promo video for the live dvd they are putting out.

If you get the chance, go see them live. Ronnie pulls of both the Wayne and Howe material easily. The band sounds great and they are very appreciative of the support. They hung out and chatted with the crowd after the show. I would imagine that they will be around for awhile now as it appears their management/label issues are all resolved. Also, at least 3 of the guys are in TSO, so they are doing Metal Church for the love of it, and making cash from TSO.

Witchfinder wrote:

corplhicks wrote:

Couple cool things:

-Ordered the Japan version of Gen Nothing from Amazon.jp. Came out to about 30 bucks with shipping. Gonna finally hear that Remain Silent song.

-For those who don't know, there is a remastered version of the first three albums released last year in Japan. Only a few were pressed. Not sure if Kurdt was involved or not. I've seen a couple of copies go up on ebay for 100 bucks.

-There is a live DVD coming. It's vague right now but it looks like they filmed a recent concert in TX. We should be getting videos for Dead City and the title track too as they're in post-production.

-Kurdt will be featured in an upcoming documentary about Elektra A&R rep Michael Alago, the guy who signed Metallica. The movie (working title is "Michael Alago Documentary Film") was funded through Kickstarter at 30k. Looks pretty interesting.

-Lastly, SpectreFate (Brian) turned me on to Kurdt's side project, Presto Ballet. My God. It's wonderful music. While it's billed as prog, which is fitting, it really is throwback music with Boston, Kansas, Styx, and Pink Floyd influences. Very accessible while maintaining intricacy, I highly recommend it. I don't know why I never branched out with Kurdt's other work, but I'm glad I did now.

I just saw them last Friday in Pittsburgh.  They actually filmed the entire show.  They also played & filmed the first two songs - Ton of Bricks and Start The Fire twice!  They said they were going to use it for a promo video for the live dvd they are putting out.

If you get the chance, go see them live.  Ronnie pulls of both the Wayne and Howe material easily.  The band sounds great and they are very appreciative of the support.  They hung out and chatted with the crowd after the show.  I would imagine that they will be around for awhile now as it appears their management/label issues are all resolved.  Also, at least 3 of the guys are in TSO, so they are doing Metal Church for the love of it, and making cash from TSO.  

I am so lame. I totally forgot about the show (not like I would have went, I was stuck babysitting all week). It sucks getting old and having more responsibilities. Glad you had a good time though !

007 wrote:

Witchfinder wrote:

corplhicks wrote:

Couple cool things:

-Ordered the Japan version of Gen Nothing from Amazon.jp. Came out to about 30 bucks with shipping. Gonna finally hear that Remain Silent song.

-For those who don't know, there is a remastered version of the first three albums released last year in Japan. Only a few were pressed. Not sure if Kurdt was involved or not. I've seen a couple of copies go up on ebay for 100 bucks.

-There is a live DVD coming. It's vague right now but it looks like they filmed a recent concert in TX. We should be getting videos for Dead City and the title track too as they're in post-production.

-Kurdt will be featured in an upcoming documentary about Elektra A&R rep Michael Alago, the guy who signed Metallica. The movie (working title is "Michael Alago Documentary Film") was funded through Kickstarter at 30k. Looks pretty interesting.

-Lastly, SpectreFate (Brian) turned me on to Kurdt's side project, Presto Ballet. My God. It's wonderful music. While it's billed as prog, which is fitting, it really is throwback music with Boston, Kansas, Styx, and Pink Floyd influences. Very accessible while maintaining intricacy, I highly recommend it. I don't know why I never branched out with Kurdt's other work, but I'm glad I did now.

I just saw them last Friday in Pittsburgh.  They actually filmed the entire show.  They also played & filmed the first two songs - Ton of Bricks and Start The Fire twice!  They said they were going to use it for a promo video for the live dvd they are putting out.

If you get the chance, go see them live.  Ronnie pulls of both the Wayne and Howe material easily.  The band sounds great and they are very appreciative of the support.  They hung out and chatted with the crowd after the show.  I would imagine that they will be around for awhile now as it appears their management/label issues are all resolved.  Also, at least 3 of the guys are in TSO, so they are doing Metal Church for the love of it, and making cash from TSO.  

I am so lame. I totally forgot about the show (not like I would have went, I was stuck babysitting all week). It sucks getting old and having more responsibilities. Glad you had a good time though !

I hear ya! I am sure they will continue touring so you should have a chance to see them. Also, there are lots of good shows coming through Pittsburgh this year. Such as:

3/27 - Anvil at the 31st Street Pub
5/15 - The Golden Gods Tour with BLS & Down - Stage AE
5/23 - Primal Fear - The Altar Bar

I am going to try and hit up all of these.

^^That's rad about Pittsburgh! Glad you enjoyed the show! Unfortunately here in Cali their venues are pretty remote, except for a Sac show that I somehow missed. I've been watching the youtube fan footage and it looks/sounds like they're tearing it up. I think things are finally gonna go up for Kurdt.

I like the debut, but absolutely love "Blessing in Disguise". I remember hearing "Badlands" when it hit MTV. I think I was 13 or so. It's been my favorite song since. I listen to that song at least once a week.

One of the best cds ever by such a talented yet underrated band.

As a kid the band's name frightened me. I only discovered metal church for real in the early 2000's.

Today there are only two of their cds missing in my collection, namely hanging in the balance and masterpeace.

Hope to get them someday.

As for the new album, it is splendid.

Ult just posted something interesting over at Facebook. Apparently there was a merch order form included with the Ground Zero LP of the debut, and one of the items for sale was an official Metal Church neck brace. How f*cking cool is that. I've looked high and low for this brace using 22nd century internet detective skills (second class) and I STILL cannot find this brace. This has got to be the Holy Grail of USPM merchandising. And I plan on owning it.

Here's Scott's copy:

A cool quick interview with Kurdt Vanderhoof :

https://www.metal-rules.com/2022/09/23/kurdt-vanderhoof-talks-new-metal-church-music-mike-howe-and-more/?fbclid=IwAR2JzAJIIaxHMCpsbWl64iSBaghXQ6sjGqiVXU1E5TuQLLurTZ3mqFkVRJc

Read that earlier, sounds like I’m gonna need to save some money with all the stuff they are planning on releasing. Would love to pick up the box set he’s talking about. Still can’t believe mike went out that way. Always seemed like he was a happy go lucky guy.

Oh yeah, I'm A huge Metal Church fan so Ill be picking up everything they have coming down the pike. I'm curious who their new vocalist is.