Nearly two years after the tragic death of front man Mike Howe, Metal Church are releasing their 13th album, entitled Congregation of Annihilation. It also marks the first album with new vocalist Marc Lopes (Ross the Boss / Let Us Prey) who came on board in the summer of 2022, and features the current lineup of founding guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof, guitarist Rick Van Zandt, bassist Steve Unger and drummer Stet Howland.
The new songs are a return to the band’s musical roots harkening back to the vibes of the self-titled first album and The Dark. Congregation of Annihilation was produced by Kurdt Vanderhoof and is now available for pre-order in various bundle configurations in North America here: https://lnk.to/KiCQKfn1.
Of the album, Kurdt Vanderhoof comments: “This new album is starting a new chapter in the Metal Church legacy. I really love this album. It’s a fresh approach for us in one way, but also a return to the very beginnings of Metal Church as part of the New American Thrash Metal movement. This record contains some of the most aggressive songs we have recorded. I hope the fans will like it as much as we do.”
Born out of the West Coast Metal scene of the 80’s, Metal Church quickly became one of the standout talents of the genre. After signing a deal with Elektra records, they released two critically acclaimed albums, their self-titled release Metal Church and The Dark. With the heavy metal scene starting to rise in the U.S., Metal Church set out on a very successful tour with label mates Metallica.
They tackled political and social issues of the day with the releases of Blessing In Disguise and The Human Factor with vocalist Mike Howe. At a time when heavy metal bands moved from the underground and became part of the hair band/pop fad, Metal Church stayed true to their roots. In March of 2016, Metal Church reunited with Mike Howe and released their eleventh studio album XI that reached #57 on the Billboard Top 200 and landed on several other charts around the globe. Metal Church’s next studio album Damned If You Dowas the follow up to XI and landed on numerous charts around the globe in 2018. Now with Marc Lopes taking over vocal duties, Metal Church is ready to start a new chapter in their impressive canon with Congregation Of Annihilation.
Connect with Metal Church at:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/metalchurchofficial/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/metalchurchis1
Website: https://www.metalchurchofficial.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialMetalChurch