The Metal Church Thread

I believe this album is simply brilliant.




Can someone give me a strong arguement about why Metal Church's debut isn't their best output? Which album do you like better?

The first Metal Church belongs enshrined in the Metal Debut Album Hall of Fame right next to KILL'EM ALL as far as I'm concerned. Simply a great, great album. "Beyond The Black," "Hitman," "Metal Church," ... all classics. And like a fine wine, this one keeps getting better with age. Plus it has the most rip-roaring cover of "Highway Star" ever put to tape.

I like all of MC's albums (with the possible exception of MASTERPEACE, which must've been meant as an ironic title cuz it certainly isn't a masterpiece!), but this one is still my all time fave.

R.I.P. David Wayne!!

I was contemplating buying Masterpeace as it is the only Wayne MC studio album I do not have and now I no longer want it so badly. Unless ya got it to trade, FF.

spectrefate wrote:

I believe this album is simply brilliant.




Can someone give me a strong arguement about why Metal Church's debut isn't their best output? Which album do you like better?

I agree. Their self titled has long been my favorite. It's raw, aggressive heavy power metal. REAL POWER METAL. When band's use to be too heavy and/or fast for traditional metal, yet not quite thrash metal, we'd label them "power metal". That's what we use to label Metal Church.

The recording has a live quality to it. The timing wavers a bit, but it's part of the charm. I think today's digital "perfect" recording sometimes robs the music of it's personality.

Anyhow, I enjoy the entire Metal Church catalog, including their newer CDs. Good stuff.

spectrefate wrote:

I was contemplating buying Masterpeace as it is the only Wayne MC studio album I do not have and now I no longer want it so badly. Unless ya got it to trade, FF.

Nah, I got rid of MASTERPEACE quite a while ago... it was just taking up shelf space, I never listened to it. Wayne's voice was shot on that disc. He sounded nothing like his old self. On the rare occasion that I did listen to it I thought there were some decent tracks on it, but also wished they'd drafted Ronny Munroe (current MC singer) a few years earlier.

Ronny Munroe doesn't impress me. In fact what I have heard of the last 2 albums, it just doesn't sound like MC to me. I understand there is only one original member left, Vanderhoof. It's kinda like seeing your best buddy's ex wife out on the town with another dude. It just left a bad taste in my mouth. Then I brushed.

So do you all like WAYNE - Metal Church?

"The Dark" is my favorite but I also like the debut a lot.

ultmetal wrote:

So do you all like WAYNE - Metal Church?

I like it. I haven't heard it in ages, but I thought it was the best thing I heard from David Wayne since The Dark.

(I didn't really care for Reverend)

spectrefate wrote:

(I didn't really care for Reverend)

Did you hear their first EP?

How about their Gathering Of Demons CD?

ultmetal wrote:

So do you all like WAYNE - Metal Church?

I liked Wayne's METAL CHURCH a lot better than I liked MASTERPEACE. I was skeptical at first since his voice seemed pretty shot on MASTERPEACE but eventually checked it out and liked it a lot.

I would've loved to have been a fly on the wall when the Metal Church guys first saw Wayne's album cover, too. I can just imagine Vanderhoof blowing a blood vessel when he saw the "Wayne" logo that looked suspiciously like the MC logo, the album title, and the famed "guitar cross" from the first MC cover on Wayne's cover!!

Haha, what'd you do, search other Metal Church threads for those??

I had a feeling that I might have used that gag before, but I thought maybe I'd said it on a different board. (Embarrassed)

Sorry, what can I say? I tend to repeat myself.

Sorry, what can I say? I tend to repeat myself.

I wasn't criticizing (SIC). I just thought it was funny how they were almost verbatim.

I'm nowhere that consistent with my thoughts.

The first two with David Wayne are awesome, although I do love the whole catalog as well. I think my second favorite album after the ST album is Wieght of the World, there is something about that album that is just classic to me.

Aahh the Metal Church unholy church...thread... Some pretty spot on comments so far. The S/T is in fact a masterpiece. Not a bad track to be found and my favorite MC release. Even though I do enjoy the Mike Howe years. Sidebar: when Blessing came out and started getting momentum and all the guys in MC were still hanging out around town, I would call them the "Meeker Boys" instead of MC. (There used to be a pub called Meekers Landing in Kent, Washington, the bands "home" and most of the band could be found there on any number of nights. Even saw them play there with Mike Howe supprting Blessing circa 89...I was a lofty 20 years old. Only seen them one other rime supporting Metallica with DW on The Dark tour. Even though most of the boys could be easily spotted at a number of watering holes and keggers around town.

I still wonder however why Big Guns was dropped for the major label release? Great song! I remember buying the original release cassette, on Ground Zero Records (still have it too!) and playing the shite out of it.

Still need to hear the Ronnie version of MC, but as stated, only one, maybe 2 at times, original members so why bother?

The Wayne release is brilliant, could have easily folowed the S/T or The Dark! Brilliant!

As far as Reverend is concerned. Not the calibre of the Wayne fronted MC, but Play God and World Won't Miss You are great CD's! Hell the S/T EP is damn good too.

Still on the hunt for Metal Church Live in Japan with Mike Howe on vocals. That and World Won't Miss You are my only missing MC links. Besides the 2 most recent Ronnie releases, but those are still quite readily available around town.

RIP Reverend David Wayne.

Yeah, the debut is my favorite as well. As others have mentioned, it didn't have a bad song on the whole record. I like The Dark just about equally, too. I bought their first 4 releases through The Human Factor and loved each one. They sort of fell off the radar for me around '92-'93 or so. They played here on the Blessing In Disguise tour...

METAL CHURCH/MELIAH RAGE
Wednesday, April 26, 1989
The Switch
Raleigh, NC

I was a senior in high-school and a buddy and I went to the club that afternoon after school. When we got there, we were surprised to see members from both bands playing frisbee in the parking lot as they were loading in. We got to hang out with them and they were the coolest guys, very accomodating. It's always special when you get to meet bands that you're a fan of and they end up being super-nice folks. All of METAL CHURCH autographed an album flat of Blessing for me.

In late '04, I saw the band with Ronny Munroe on The Weight Of The World tour. I hadn't listened to the band since The Human Factor and only went to the show because of how much I liked them back then (another nostalgia trip for me). I was actually very impressed with Munroe that evening. All my friends that were there said the same thing, too. I am only going off that live show because I haven't heard him on CD, but he did an excellent job live, IMO.

The Human Factor (1991)




Metal Church's most fully realised masterpiece, theres no innane and immature lyrics, half baked covers and filler on this album unlike that of the debut.

Total gold all the way through, and probably the best straight up heavy metal album of the weird but cool early 90's.

Love the themes fleshed out in the lyrics. This albums lyrical bite matching the sheer raw power of the music, much like that of righteous metal merchants Warrior Soul.


If you need reminding heres a couple of their video singles released from the album.

Date With Poverty
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPeinL5J8Dc

In Harms Way
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWnw6viTfFE

I love the Human Factor.Its probably my second favorite MC album.Blessing in Disguise is my fave.Nothing wrong with The Dark though or the S/T.Now that I think of it,I really like all their albums.

I honestly don't think they ever released a bad album. My favorite is still Human Factor, but I think Hanging In The Balance is monstrously underrated.



Arttie

I just spun this disc yesterday! Escellent album for sure, and probably their best too. Nah, I think i like The Dark and Blessing just as much...

Does anyone know where Mike Howe went on after Metal Church? He was a great singer.

Never released a bad album , in my opinion. Sure, Masterpeace was kinda weak,but I still really enjoy it and listen to it quite often. The first 2 with David Wayne (R.I.P.) are superb. The Mike Howe releases are excellent as well (maybe only slightly weaker than the first 2). I think an underrated gem is Hanging In The Balance (even though it has a goofy cover). One of my favorite Metal Church songs is one there : End Of The Age. As for the recent M.C. with Ronny Munroe, good stuff as well (I'm a huge Metal Church fan,so I guess I'm a bit biased).

I am only familiar with The Dark and some various other songs but I really liked what I heard and I will definatly get more in the future.