Which Song Is The Biggest Factor On Metal Church's The Human Factor?

I'm going to move through these more well-known Metal Church albums quickly so I can get to some stuff I haven't heard before.

The Human Factor is Metal Church's fourth album and second to feature Mike Howe on vocals. It was released on March 26, 1991. I remember the video for "Date With Poverty" getting a lot of play on MTV's Headbanger's Ball. I bought the cassette at the mall and played the hell out of it.

There is nothing weak on this album and, lyrically, it is bursting with social and political messages. Now, it kind of comes off a little preachy to me; but, at the time, I immersed myself in the lyrics on this album.

"The Final Word" is an interesting track as it takes a different stance on protesting and flag burning than maybe one would expect on a metal album. It might be more of a country music stance. It basically says the USA is a pretty darn good country and people need to recognize the rights and benefits they enjoy before setting the flag ablaze. I guess that was a big issue at the time. I do remember flag burning being in the news a lot.

A couple of songs look at child abuse/neglect. "In Mourning" takes a blast at music being used as a scapegoat which was a big issue at the time with the PMRC: "A sticker on a record won't give your kids a home."

Though a lot of these songs cover issues that were in the news in the early 1990s, the lyrics to the title track are very apropos today:

I just need a sample 'cause no one says it's wrong
It's so easy to *rip off using someone else's songs
Everybody wants to be a star in modern days
But if I don't have talent then I'll just get by this way

*Actually, always thought he sang "evolve" here until I checked the lyrics booklet

I thought it would be difficult to choose one track because they are all equally good with nothing that particularly stands out, and then I remembered how much I love "Agent Green." Powerful track and great lyrics!

I'll change my name, a different look,
another page in my life's book
It makes no difference just who I am,
I'll take the money from Mother Russia or Uncle Sam


When this song pops up on my mp3 player shuffle, I often end up playing it several times in a row. Great song!

"Date With Poverty"

This is a fantastic album and my personal favorite from them. If I was hard pressed to choose a favorite on here, I guess I'd go with The Final Word.

In mourning. But the entire album smokes.

Date with Poverty just ahead of the title track.

Another fantastic album!

Date With Poverty

In Harm's Way

This is my favorite MC album. I wore the cassette out back in the day. Hard to pick a favorite, this whole album is awesome. For voting purposes I went with In Mourning.

"In Harm's Way" followed by "In Mourning".

Rocking album, I go with The Final Word.

It was almost a tie between The Final Word and Flee From Reality.

In Mourning is my absolute favorite MC song of all time, even if it doesn't embrace the natural MC sound (not unlike a number of tunes on this album). The message still chokes me up a bit, and I've always been a "F*ck the PMRC" kind of lad anyhoo.

It is a rather preachy album. I'm actually not big on Date with Poverty. It's rather heavy-handed and Mike's little quips at the end are rather ridiculous ("I can't even afford to pay attention"? Really??). Poverty is a serious issue but this song doesn't really bring any sympathy out of me.

Agent Green has the next best message. It's metaphorically solid.

corplhicks wrote:

Poverty is a serious issue but this song doesn't really bring any sympathy out of me.

Yeah, I've always thought of the character in that song as a slacker.

Date With Poverty.